KNM Exam Fee and Booking 2026: EUR 50, the 6-Week Wait and the 7-Day Rule

The KNM exam costs EUR 50 for each attempt, under both integration laws. You book it yourself in Mijn Inburgering, choose the date and location, and can change or cancel for a refund up to one week before. DUO warns that a seat "may take more than 6 weeks", and your result comes by letter within 8 weeks. Plan around those two numbers. For the IND what usually counts is the civic integration diploma, which DUO issues only once you have passed every exam you need, not a single KNM result; for an integration term, the deadline in Mijn Inburgering is the one that applies to you. This guide covers the fees by law, the booking steps, the locations, the day, the result and diploma, and retakes. ProSyllabus is an independent study site. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, DUO, the IND or the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment; every rule below is quoted or summarised from their published pages and regulations, and DUO or the IND decides every individual case.

DUO pages on paying, registering and results; DUO news of 17 November 2025.

Who pays. Under the 2021 Act, asylum status holders get their first two attempts at each exam free, but not below the level in their personal plan; after that they pay and cannot borrow (DUO; Regeling inburgering 2021 art 3.5). DUO's paying page states that rule for the 2021 Act only, so do not assume it under the 2013 Act. Family migrants and other migrants pay themselves or borrow from DUO, which DUO ties to courses at approved schools. Someone integrating voluntarily can also borrow: DUO checks when you were first registered with the municipality, and you can borrow until 3 years after that date (DUO borrowing page).

If you cannot log in, DUO has a paper form, "Aanmelding inburgeringsexamen". To change or cancel without Mijn Inburgering, write to DUO Servicecentrum Inburgering, Postbus 764, 9700 AT Groningen, so that the letter arrives at least 7 days before the exam. DUO's November 2025 news item announced the shorter window for the A2 exams; its registration page applies the one-week rule to the KNM, ONA and A2 exams alike.

For KNM the two sources agree: 45 minutes. For the language exams they do not, and we print both. DUO's examenreglement gives the same times as its web pages (Reading 65, Writing up to 40, Speaking 35, Listening 45, KNM 45 minutes) and adds 15 minutes of instructions before each exam, so instruction time does not explain the gap with the annex. For planning a day, use DUO's figures plus 15 minutes per exam.

Bring a valid ID. DUO's list includes a passport or identity card issued outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland (an Indian passport qualifies if valid) and a Dutch residence document of types I to IV. Without a valid ID you cannot sit the exam and must register again. DUO's examenreglement asks you to be there 30 minutes before the exam starts, because you have to identify yourself first. You promise to keep the exam secret, and you may not take photos or copy questions; disturbing others after a warning, or aggressive behaviour, ends your exam as invalid.

The result comes by letter within 8 weeks and appears in Mijn Inburgering. Since 1 January 2026 the integration diploma is digital; DUO says the IND and municipalities accept it. The diploma becomes available only once you have passed all the exams you need; if KNM is your last one, its result is what completes it. The first paper diploma is free and sent once, taking up to 8 weeks, which matters if you need to show it at an embassy; a duplicate later costs EUR 72 (DUO diploma page).

Retakes. The DUO pages we read publish no limit on the number of KNM attempts. Our reading of the fee rules is that each attempt is a new booking and a new EUR 50, except the two free attempts for asylum status holders under the 2021 Act. Under the 2013 Act, three attempts at all exams is one of the conditions for the 600-hour exemption, and DUO counts attempts in the advice on demonstrable effort. So keep your attempt history; it can help you later. We have no official pass rate or pass mark to tell you how likely a retake is.