The state examination

• The state examines Estonian at four levels: A2, B1, B2 and C1. There's no exam at A1 or C2.
• Every level has four parts: writing, listening, reading and speaking. It tests your Estonian, not what you know about Estonian culture or history.
• It's free, and so is sitting it again.
• The papers, the level descriptions and the sample materials are all in Estonian.
• The spoken part starts with a short chat with the examiner, the kind people have when they first meet: who you are and a bit about yourself. Two assessors mark a recording of it.

From Harno, Estonian language proficiency examinations and Harno, the language examinations (the fuller page, in Estonian)

• Applying for citizenship takes two examinations: this one at B1 or higher, and a separate examination on the Constitution and the Citizenship Act.
• If you're applying for citizenship and you're 65 or over, you can skip the writing part of the B1 exam and sit the other three. You choose that on the registration form.
• The level a job needs is set by a government regulation, depending on the kind of post and its professional standard.
• The Police and Border Guard Board decides which level a residence permit needs. Ask them about your own case before you register.

From Harno, the language examinations (the fuller page, in Estonian) and Harno, Estonian language proficiency examinations and The Police and Border Guard Board

• Register in EIS. If you have an Estonian personal identification code, you have to register there. Paper applications are only for people without one.
• You'll need an email address. The form won't send without one.
• Registration closes on the 1st of the month before the examination. You can register for one examination at a time.
• You'll get an email with the time and place at least 14 days before. You can cancel up to four working days before the date.
• If you need special conditions for health reasons, like more time or a separate room, apply to an expert committee. It meets in the first week of the month before the exam.

From Harno, Estonian language proficiency examinations

• Examinations are held once a quarter in Tallinn, Tartu, Narva and Jõhvi, and in Pärnu in March and September if at least twelve people register.
• They start at 10:00. When a lot of people register, the written and spoken parts can fall on different days.
• There's a free consultation before each exam, up to four and a half hours long, and you don't need to register for it. Bring an ID document, just as you would to the exam.

From Harno, Estonian language proficiency examinations

• A pass is 60 percent of the total, and no part can score zero.
• Results are published no later than 40 days after the examination, in EIS and on eesti.ee. The certificate is electronic only; the certificate number and your identification code are what an employer checks.
• If you score below 45 percent, or miss the exam without a good reason, you wait six months before registering again. You can't register for the next sitting until the last one's results are out.
• You can ask to see your marked paper and appeal the result.

From Harno, Estonian language proficiency examinations and Harno, the language examinations (the fuller page, in Estonian)

• Since 1 January 2024 the state only refunds Estonian course fees to citizenship applicants who have passed both exams, and to people the Language Board sent to sit one.
• You can get up to 384 euros back for a course from a provider licensed for that level. Claim it within three months of finding out you passed.

From Harno, the language examinations (the fuller page, in Estonian)

• It takes 45 minutes on a computer: 24 multiple choice questions in Estonian. You pass with 18 right.
• The Constitution, the Citizenship Act and a dictionary are in the room, and you're allowed to use them.
• It's held once a month except in July, in Tallinn, Tartu and Narva, and you get your result as soon as it ends. Harno publishes a handbook for it in English and Russian.

From Harno, the citizenship examinations (in Estonian)

The Board publishes its own practice materials, for free. Start with these before anything else, this app included.

• Written samples by past candidates, with the examiners' comments, A2
• Written samples by past candidates, with the examiners' comments, B1
• Written samples by past candidates, with the examiners' comments, B2
• Written samples by past candidates, with the examiners' comments, C1
• Consultation workbooks, listening tests and sample tasks for every level
• Public practice tests in EIS
• The Constitution and Citizenship Act examination: handbook, dates and practice

Kodukeel sets a mock paper at A2, B1, B2 and C1, plus one of its own at A1. Each one keeps the published time limits, the points, the pass mark and the rule that you fail if any part scores zero, and every task tells you which official task it stands in for. The questions are built from sentences a lexicographer recorded, so they aren’t the Board’s own. Nothing here scores your pronunciation, and it’s free.

Sit a mock paper, What Kodukeel is