The Polish B1 Exam for Children and Teenagers — How It Differs
4 min read
The Polish state certificate exam has a separate version for children and young people — and the most important difference is not in the tasks but in how passing is counted: for children and youth the 50% threshold applies to the written part as a whole, not to each module separately as it does for adults. That is a genuinely gentler condition: one weaker module does not sink the result.
The second difference is organisational: the children-and-youth version is not offered at every session.
Three differences that actually change your plan
| Adults | Children and youth | |
|---|---|---|
| Pass threshold (B1) | 50% in each module separately + 50% oral | 50% of the written part as a whole |
| 2026 sessions | all five (adult B1) | February (B1 and B2) and December (B2) |
| Exam fee (statutory cap) | 150 € for B1/B2 | 90 € for levels A1–B2 |
In both cases there is an additional fee of about 20 € for issuing the certificate. These are statutory maximum rates — the złoty amount is revised over time and some centres charge less; confirm it on the fees page.
Dates: this is where you must plan ahead
In 2026 the children-and-youth version appears in the schedule twice:
| 2026 session | Levels for children and youth |
|---|---|
| 14–15 February | B1, B2 |
| 5–6 December | B2 |
By comparison, adult B1 runs at all five sessions of the year. Which means B1 for children and youth had only one date in 2026 — the February one. If your child is sitting B1, missing that session is not a two-month delay but potentially a year. Registration opens about two months before a session, and the certificate then takes about 5–6 months.
The full schedule: B1 exam dates. The 2027 dates have not been announced yet — watch certyfikatpolski.pl.
Does your child even need the certificate?
Often not. People under 16 are exempt from the Polish-language requirement for the EU long-term resident permit. Before you register a child for an exam "just in case", check whether the certificate is required in their case at all — that is a question for the voivodeship office handling the case, not for the exam centre.
It is also worth remembering that the certificate never expires. If a teenager passes B1 now, the document will still be valid years later when they apply for recognition as a Polish citizen in their own right. Which certificate serves which procedure: the B1 exam for citizenship and residence.
What about TELC for younger candidates?
The TELC "Polish B1·B2" exam is open to candidates aged 10–17 with the consent of a parent or guardian (adults take it with no extra condition). It is more frequent and faster than the state exam, but it is not accepted for citizenship — though it is for the EU long-term resident permit. A comparison of the two: the FAQ.
What has not been published about the children's version
Let us be precise about the limits of what we know. The materials this article rests on publish the pass threshold, the levels offered per session and the fee. They do not publish:
- the exact age boundaries that define "children and youth" for this exam,
- a detailed task-by-task comparison of the children's version against the adult one (topics, text lengths, module timings).
We are not guessing at them here. If your decision depends on those details, ask the exam centre or the State Commission directly before registering and paying.
How to prepare a teenager
The logic of the format is the same — five skills: listening, reading, grammar, writing and speaking — so preparation looks much like an adult's, only with a gentler pass rule:
- Practise in the exam format, not "in general": sample tests.
- Train spoken and written answers with feedback — writing and speaking with AI feedback.
- Spread it over weeks, not over the last month: the eight-week study plan.
- See the whole exam first: what the B1 exam looks like.
The levels offered at a given session, the fees and the organisational rules are set annually and can change — confirm them on certyfikatpolski.pl and with your chosen centre. This is not legal advice; confirm whether a certificate is required in your child's case with the voivodeship office handling it.