Home › DELF B2 exam

DELF B2 exam: the lifetime diploma for French citizenship, residence and university

By Augusto Grone · Updated 8 October 2026 · 11 min read

Lire en français · Leer en español

The DELF B2 is a French state diploma, valid for life, awarded by France’s Ministry of National Education. Four sections scored out of 25, a total out of 100, and a pass from 50/100 — with a minimum score per section that, every year, fails candidates whose total was otherwise high enough. Here is the format, the scoring, what the diploma is for, how to prepare, and the dates and fees in France, the UK and the US.

Contents

1. What is the DELF B2?
2. Your path in 5 steps
3. The exam format: four sections
4. Scoring and the minimum-score trap
5. What the reform changed
6. What the DELF B2 is for
7. The writing test, the one that decides
8. The speaking test: monologue, then debate
9. How to prepare
10. Dates and fees: France, the UK, the US
11. Frequently asked questions

What is the DELF B2?

The DELF B2 is an official diploma of France’s Ministry of National Education, awarded by France Éducation international, that certifies level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR): the level of an independent user who can argue a case, defend an opinion and follow a university course. You take it at an approved test centre — in France, at one of the ten national sessions of the year — in four sections scored out of 25: listening, reading, writing (250 words) and speaking (a presentation followed by a debate).

You pass from 50/100, with a minimum score of 5/25 per section, and the diploma is valid for life. It is the most sought-after DELF diploma: it opens the doors of French universities, and since 1 January 2026 it proves the B2 level required for French citizenship — permanently, whereas a TCF IRN expires after two years.

Who it’s for

• Applicants for French citizenship, who must prove B2 in speaking and in writing.
• Students aiming for a French or French-speaking university — except on the courses that ask for C1.
• Anyone who wants permanent proof of their level, without retaking a test every two years.

Your path in 5 steps

1. Check that B2 is your levelFrench citizenship: B2 in speaking and in writing since 2026; university: B2, sometimes C1. What the DELF B2 is for.
2. Diploma or test?The DELF B2 never expires; the TCF IRN is held every week but is valid for two years. B2 for French citizenship.
3. Prepare for the four sections250 words of argument, a speaking test with a debate, two thresholds. The scoring, the writing, the speaking, and practice exercises with answers.
4. Register in timeIn France, the B2 is held on a Wednesday at 2 pm, ten times a year, and registration closes four to ten weeks before. The calendar and the centres, in France and beyond.
5. Exam day, then the diplomaTest-day notice and ID; results within 4 to 6 weeks, a diploma for life — and a mock exam beforehand, so you don’t pay the fee (€125 to €280 in France) twice.

The DELF B2 exam format: four sections

The first three sections are group tests, taken one after another in the same half-day. The speaking test is individual and can take place on another day.

In listening, the first two exercises are based on long radio documents — around two and a half to three minutes — which you hear twice. The third exercise strings together three short documents, about a minute each, which you hear only once. This asymmetry is the first trap of the format: candidates used to hearing everything twice are caught out on the last exercise, just when their concentration is already flagging.

In reading, the first two exercises are based on long articles, around 425 to 450 words. The third is different: three short documents of 100 to 120 words set out three points of view on the same topic, and your task is to match each point of view to its author. It is an exercise in comparative reading, not literal comprehension.

Scoring and the minimum-score trap

The DELF doesn’t work like the TCF. It is an exam, not a placement test: you can fail it. Two rules decide, and the second is the one candidates discover too late.

The strategic consequence is clear, and counter-intuitive: a very weak skill costs you more than a strong one earns you. A candidate with 20/25 in reading and 4/25 in speaking fails, even though their total is above the pass mark. So the first job in your preparation is to get your weakest section out of the danger zone, before you even try to gain points elsewhere.

Only then comes the balancing act on the total: aim for 15 or more in your strong sections to secure it. Points do offset each other in the DELF — that is what sets it apart from the TCF and the TEF, where the authority that receives your application reads each test separately.

What the reform changed

The 2020 reform created a new format without retiring the other one: in October 2026, France Éducation international says that two formats of the listening and reading papers are used in official sessions. Three changes from the reform matter for your preparation.

• In the reformed format, listening and reading are entirely multiple-choice. No open questions, no true/false with justification: you write nothing in these two sections, which completely changes how you manage your time: no more written answers to polish, but no chance of picking up points with a partly correct justification either.
• The point-of-view matching exercise appeared in reading, in the reformed format. It asks you to identify an argumentative position, not a factual piece of information.
• The guided interview was removed from the speaking test. The test now starts straight away with the sustained monologue. The friendly warm-up that used to help you relax no longer exists: you get to the heart of the matter immediately.

What the DELF B2 is for

The DELF B2 is the most sought-after French diploma because it opens two doors at once: university — most bachelor’s and master’s degrees require it, with some courses asking for C1 — and, since 1 January 2026, French citizenship, for which it proves the language requirement for life. B2 is the pivotal level of the French system, with three main uses, one of which has become crucial this year.

• French universities. Most bachelor’s and master’s degrees require B2. Some courses and some grandes écoles ask for C1 — in which case it is the DALF you should aim for. The institution’s requirement always takes precedence over any general rule.
• French citizenship. Since 1 January 2026, an application for French nationality requires level B2, in speaking and in writing. A DELF B2 diploma proves it directly — see our page on the B2 level for French citizenship.
• Lasting proof of your level. This is the decisive argument against the TCF and the TEF. A test’s results certificate is valid for two years; a diploma never expires. If your administrative journey is going to stretch over several years, the diploma is by far the safest option.

The writing test, the one that decides

One task, 60 minutes, 250 words minimum. The topic asks for a personal position: a contribution to a debate, a formal letter, a critical article. It is the most selective section of the DELF B2, and the one where the gap between a good level of French and a good mark is widest.

What the examiner assesses is not your opinion but your ability to build it:

• Following the instructions and the genre. A formal letter with no greeting and no letter structure loses points before the first sentence is even assessed for language.
• The structure of the argument. A clear position, ranked arguments, the opposing objection taken into account. Piling up correct but unconnected ideas quickly hits a ceiling.
• Logical connectors. They are the most visible marker of B2 — and the easiest to work on mechanically.
• Register. Slipping unnoticed into casual language is a frequent loss of points for candidates who speak French well day to day.
• Length. 250 words is a floor, not a target. Below it, task completion is marked down, whatever the quality of the language.

The speaking test: monologue, then debate

Thirty minutes of preparation, then twenty minutes in front of the examiners, in two parts. You draw a short prompt document, you identify the issue it raises, and you defend a point of view — first on your own, then facing examiners who contradict you.

The second part is the one that takes candidates by surprise. The examiners don’t agree with you, and that is deliberate: their role is to test your ability to hold a position, to qualify it, to concede without giving in. Candidates who abandon their argument at the first objection lose points — not on language, but on the skill being assessed.

The thirty minutes of preparation need specific practice too. They aren’t enough to write out a text: they are for building a plan and noting keywords. A candidate who writes out sentences and then reads their notes is spotted immediately, and penalised on fluency.

How to prepare

1. A full mock exam right at the start, scored on the official scales, to identify your weakest section. Because of the minimum score, that is the one that decides.
2. Get that section out of the danger zone as your absolute priority, before looking for points elsewhere.
3. Work on the writing test through structure, not vocabulary. Most lost points come from the plan and the instructions, not from your vocabulary.
4. Simulate the speaking test in real conditions, the 30 minutes of preparation included, with someone deliberately contradicting you in the second part.
5. Repeat timed mock exams until the format no longer surprises you.

For both the writing and the speaking test, the blind spot is the same as in every French exam: you can’t assess yourself against criteria you don’t know. Knowing whether your text is worth 9 or 13 out of 25 is exactly what AI feedback against the official criteria solves. One exercise per section, in the reformed format and with the answers explained, is on our DELF B2 practice test page.

DELF B2 dates and fees: France, the UK and the US

In France, you take the DELF B2 at one of the 143 approved centres, during one of the year’s ten national sessions — always on a Wednesday at 2 pm — and you register with the centre, never with France Éducation international. The autumn 2026 sessions fall on 7 October, 4 November and 2 December; in 2027, there are ten sessions from January to December, never in April or September. Each centre chooses which sessions it opens and closes registration four to ten weeks before the written papers — some sessions are full months ahead.

Each centre also sets its own fee. At the centres we checked on 17 September 2026, the same B2 cost €125 at Nantes Université, €159 at the Alliance Française de Lyon, €180 in Lille, €249 at the Sorbonne Nouvelle, €269 at the Cours de civilisation française de la Sorbonne and €280 at the Alliance Française de Paris. Results arrive within 4 to 6 weeks, and the diploma is valid for life.

Six centres from our guide, among the 143 approved in France: the Alliance Française de Paris, the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, the Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne (CCFS), the Alliance Française de Lyon, Nantes Université and the Alliance Française de Lille Métropole. Our directory of the 143 centres, with addresses and phone numbers, our guide to where to take the DELF in France, with the 2026-2027 calendar, and our city pages — Paris, Lyon, Lille, Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseille, Toulouse, Montpellier, Strasbourg — are in French.

In the UK, the DELF B2 costs £160 for 2026 sessions and £170 for 2027 sessions, and the next session is in December 2026: dates, centres and registration deadlines are on our DELF in the UK page. In the US, the next session runs from 7 to 11 December 2026, and the DELF B2 costs US$190 on the centres’ shared fee schedule, before any extra fees: see DELF in the USA. Both pages were checked on 8 October 2026.

DELF and DALF outside France, country by country

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

• DELF B2 practice test, with answers

  One exercise per section, with answers, and the strategy the minimum score imposes.

• French citizenship: the B2 level

  What has changed since 1 January 2026: B2 in speaking and in writing, the civics exam, the transitional rules.

• DALF C1 and C2: the advanced level

  The level above, and the exemption from language tests it gives you at university.