Alerts and Updates for DELE B2 Spanish Diploma Exam

DELE B2 paper structure at a glance

The total is 100 points across four pruebas. The first three are sat on the official examination date; Instituto Cervantes states the oral may be held on the immediately preceding or following day depending on the centre timetable, so candidates should not book travel around the headline date alone. Grading follows the standard DELE two-group model.

Dates and windows

All dates and deadlines are taken from the Instituto Cervantes Cuando es el DELE calendar as published on 22 September 2026. Where a convocation spans two days, the second day carries the wider set of general levels including B2; verify with your own centre, because not every centre runs every level at every convocation.

What this means for your preparation

The mistake that costs most B2 candidates a year is treating the sitting date as the deadline. Registration for the 14 November 2026 B2 exam closes on 30 September 2026, six weeks before the paper. There is no late window, and a missed cut-off means waiting until the 2 April 2027 sitting. The second most common error is assuming a strong overall score is enough; DELE does not aggregate that way.

The two-group pass rule decides everything

Instituto Cervantes grades DELE by splitting the four pruebas into two groups. Grupo 1 is reading comprehension plus written expression and interaction; Grupo 2 is listening comprehension plus oral expression and interaction. Each group is worth 50 points and each requires a minimum of 30 points. The overall grade of Apto is awarded only when both groups independently reach their minimum. A candidate scoring 24 out of 25 in reading and writing but 14 in listening and 15 in speaking has 78 out of 100 and still fails, because Grupo 2 falls short. This is why B2 preparation that is weighted heavily towards reading is a false economy: the productive and aural halves are separately gated and cannot be rescued by the written half.

Reading is the longest paper and sets the tempo

At 70 minutes for 4 tasks and 36 items, reading is the single longest written prueba at B2, longer than listening at 40 minutes for 30 items across 5 tasks. Writing gets 80 minutes for only 2 tasks, one of them interactional, which means each written task carries roughly 12.5 of the 100 available points. The practical consequence is that a single badly planned written task costs more than any individual reading item. Candidates who habitually spend 25 minutes on the first written task and then rush the second are surrendering points in the group that also contains their strongest skill, and can drag Grupo 1 below the 30-point line.

The oral may not fall on the exam date

Instituto Cervantes states that the speaking prueba can be held on the day immediately before or immediately after the official date, depending on the centre timetable. For the 14 November 2026 convocation that means the oral could be scheduled for 13 or 15 November, and candidates travelling to a centre in another city should confirm their personal oral slot with the centre once registration closes rather than assuming a single-day trip. The speaking test itself is 20 minutes of assessment with 20 minutes of preparation and three tasks: evaluating a proposal, describing a photograph with follow-up conversation, and giving an opinion on survey data.

Plan backwards from the result date, not the exam date

Instituto Cervantes publishes results about two months after the written papers for most convocations, but about three months for the May and November sittings. A B2 taken on 14 November 2026 therefore lands results around February 2027. If the diploma is needed for a university admission cycle, a residence or nationality file, or an employer deadline, the April or May sitting of the following year with a two-month turnaround can be the faster route to a usable certificate than a November sitting. The diploma is issued by Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education and is sent digitally by email with the grading certificate.

Fee and centre vary; India goes through New Delhi

There is no single global DELE fee. Instituto Cervantes states the price depends on both the level and the country of registration, and publishes a per-country table. Registration in Spain is online through the Cervantes shop; registration outside Spain is made directly with the authorised examination centre. In India that centre is Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi, which publishes its own dates and prices page. Before paying, check three things on the registration receipt, which Cervantes specifically flags: the level, the date and the exam location. Each candidate also needs a unique working email address, and for minors each child needs a separate address.

Common questions

When is the last chance to register for DELE B2 in 2026?

Registration for the 14 November 2026 sitting closes on 30 September 2026 according to the Instituto Cervantes calendar. The earlier 16 October 2026 sitting, which also offered B2, closed to registrations on 2 September 2026. The remaining published 2026 dates are A2 and school-level only, so 30 September 2026 is the final B2 registration deadline of the calendar year. The next opportunity after that is the 2 April 2027 sitting, which closes on 10 February 2027.

What score do I need to pass DELE B2?

DELE marks four pruebas at 25 points each, for 100 in total, but the pass is decided group by group. Grupo 1 combines reading comprehension with written expression and interaction; Grupo 2 combines listening comprehension with oral expression and interaction. Each group is out of 50 and each needs at least 30 points. The overall grade of Apto is given only when both groups reach that minimum, so a high total score with one weak group still results in No apto.

How many DELE B2 sittings are there in 2027?

Instituto Cervantes lists five 2027 dates that include B2: 2 April, 22 May, 9 July, 15 October and 13 November. Registration deadlines are 10 February, 7 April, 12 May, 1 September and 29 September respectively. The February and September 2027 dates are A2 only and the school-level exams sit on the first day of the two-day May and November convocations, so check the exact day as well as the month before booking travel.

How long does DELE B2 take on the day?

The written portion runs 70 minutes for reading, 40 minutes for listening and 80 minutes for writing, sat on the official examination date. The oral is 20 minutes of assessment preceded by 20 minutes of preparation, and Instituto Cervantes states it may be held on the day immediately before or after the official date depending on the centre. Candidates should confirm their individual oral appointment with the centre rather than assuming it falls on the headline date.

Can I sit DELE B2 in India?

Instituto Cervantes de Nueva Delhi is the Instituto Cervantes centre in India and runs DELE, publishing its own DELE information page and a separate Fechas y Precios 2026 listing with local dates and prices. Because centres are not obliged to offer every level at every convocation, and because fees are set per country, Indian candidates should confirm the specific B2 date and the rupee fee with the New Delhi centre before planning around the global Cervantes calendar.

Does the DELE B2 diploma expire?

No. Unlike the TCF and similar proficiency tests, which are time-limited, DELE is a diploma issued by Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and the Instituto Cervantes guide does not attach an expiry date to it. Results are published around two months after the written papers, or around three months for the May and November convocations, and the diploma is sent digitally by email together with the grading certificate.