DUO has 15 free practice exams for the A2 exams and KNM. You take them online, except Writing: those are three pdfs. For B1 and B2, the Staatsexamen NT2 has its own practice environment with real exams from earlier years. For each part, you can read below what we counted in the practice exams.
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All practice exams at a glance
| Part | Number | Format | The real exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 4 | Online | 65 minutes on a computer |
| Listening | 3 | Online | 45 minutes on a computer |
| Speaking | 3 | Online, not in Safari | 35 minutes on a computer |
| Writing | 3 | Pdf to print | 40 minutes with pen and paper |
| KNM | 2 | Online | 45 minutes on a computer |
| B1 and B2 | 3 per part, per level | Online, only works well on a computer | Staatsexamen NT2 |
| Basisexamen | 3 | Online, on a computer with a microphone | Abroad |
Before you start
- DUO advises you to take the practice exams on a computer. Are you using a phone or tablet? Then turn the screen sideways.
- The Speaking practice exam does not work in Safari. On an iPhone, most browsers use the same technology as Safari. So take Speaking on a computer, in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
- Use headphones for Listening.
- Print the Writing practice exam and do it with a pen. You also take the real exam on paper.
Reading
In the real exam you read texts and answer questions. DUO has 4 practice exams.
What we counted. We counted the questions from three of the four practice exams, 75 in total. In 41 of them, the answer is almost word for word in the text. So look for the answer first. Only read the whole text after that.
Have you done all four from DUO? Our own practice exam is free too: A2 reading practice exam.
Listening
In the real exam you watch short videos and listen to conversations. Sometimes one fragment has more than one question. DUO has 3 practice exams.
What we counted. In the practice exams you can always read the question before the fragment starts. This is true for all 75 questions, so always do it. In 25 of the 75 questions, someone first names an answer and then takes it back. Wait until the fragment has ended before you choose.
Do you want to hear more fragments? We have a free A2 listening practice exam.
Speaking
In the real exam you look at videos and pictures and answer out loud. Your answers are recorded. DUO has 3 practice exams.
What we counted. In 46 of the 48 tasks in the practice exams, there are two questions, often with "Vertel ook" ("Also tell me …"). Answer both. If you forget one part, your answer is incomplete and you get fewer points. If you do not answer the question at all, you get 0 points for that task, even if your Dutch is good. This is what DUO's marking model says.
You can also practise Speaking for free with us: A2 speaking practice exam.
Writing
In the real exam you do 4 tasks, such as a short letter or a form. You write with pen and paper. DUO has 3 practice exams as pdfs.
What we counted. In all 12 tasks in the practice exams, the start is already written for you, for example "Beste …" (Dear …). In 10 of the 12, the task says exactly what you need to mention. Check each point before you finish. That way you do not forget anything the task asks for.
After the three pdfs from DUO, you can continue with a free A2 writing practice exam.
KNM
KNM (Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij, knowledge of Dutch society) is about life in the Netherlands: work, housing, health care, education and the rules. DUO has 2 practice exams.
What we counted. Not every topic gets the same number of questions. Work and income gets 8 or 9 of the 40 questions. The topic Institutions gets 7. Together that is 15 or 16 of the 40 questions, about 4 in 10. The split is almost the same in both practice exams. Start with these two topics if you do not have much time.
For KNM we also have a free KNM practice exam.
B1 and B2: the Staatsexamen NT2
For B1 and B2 you take the Staatsexamen NT2, the state exam for Dutch as a second language. It has its own practice environment. There you find real exams from earlier years: 2023, 2024 and 2025, for Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking, at B1 and at B2. For B1 there are also separate tasks for Speaking and Writing. These tasks can also appear in the real exam, together with other tasks. The Staatsexamen NT2 website also has instruction videos. The practice environment only works well on a computer or laptop.
Have you done those? With us you can continue with other exams for B1 and B2: inburgering B1 practice and Staatsexamen NT2 practice exam.
The basisexamen abroad
You take the basisexamen inburgering abroad, before you move to the Netherlands. On naarnederland.nl there are practice exams for KNS (Kennis van de Nederlandse Samenleving, the basisexamen's test about Dutch society), Reading and Speaking. You need a computer with a microphone. After Reading you can see which answers were right. After Speaking you get no result. The KNS practice exam has 5 questions. The real exam has 30.
How to use the practice exams
For A2 and KNM there are only 2 to 4 official practice exams per part. So do not use them all in the first week.
- Take one practice exam per part. This shows you where you stand.
- After that, check which questions you got wrong. For Reading, Listening and KNM, the results screen shows the right answers. You do not get a grade.
- Then practise mainly what you got wrong.
- Take a second practice exam. Compare it with the first time.
- Keep one practice exam per part for the last week before your exam. KNM has only two, so do not take the second one until that last week.
When you have done them all
After that, DUO has no more practice exams for you. On netinnederland.nl and oefenen.nl there are more videos and lessons. With us you can take a free full practice exam for each part. It has the same format as the DUO practice exams. The questions are our own. You find all parts on the inburgering practice exam page.
Our inburgering course has more practice exams. You also get practice questions that return as long as you still find something hard. In our exam research you can read how we counted the figures on this page.
