The Polish exam in numbers

How many people take the Polish exam – 2021–2025

The number of candidates for the state Polish exam is growing year after year: from 2021 to 2025 it more than doubled. The table shows the total number of candidates in a given year according to the State Commission's statistics. You will find other compilations of public data on learning Polish and on foreigners in Poland in the overview of our reports.

* The percentage change is a calculation by the editorial team based on the State Commission's numbers, rounded to whole percentages. The report shows only the years for which we have checked the data – you will find the full annual compilation on the Commission's website (certyfikatpolski.pl).

Levels B1 and B2 – who takes which exam

The vast majority of people take the exam at level B1. In 2025 B1 candidates made up 79% of the total. The fastest growth, however, is in the number of B2 candidates.

The State Commission does not publish the exam pass rate, so we do not give it in the report. The numbers in the tables are people who sat the exam, not those who passed it.

Examination centres and sessions

The number of places where you can take the exam is also growing: according to NAWA, 65 centres ran exams in 2025, and 68 in the February 2026 session. The director of NAWA, in a statement to PAP of 4 September 2026, spoke of a scale of about 40 thousand candidates a year.

We have collected the dates of all sessions and the levels in individual sessions in the exam calendar.

Exam fees – statutory limits

The exam fee is set by the centre, but it cannot exceed the limit in the Polish Language Act. Until 31 December 2026, an adult candidate at level B1 or B2 pays at most 150 euros (A1–A2: 120 euros, C1–C2: 180 euros, children and young people at levels A1–B2: 90 euros); the fee of 20 euros applies only to a certificate issued without an exam. From 1 January 2027 the limit is a percentage of the average salary from the third quarter of the previous year – for B1 and B2 7% – and issuing a certificate costs 100 PLN. You can read more in our guides to fees and registration and to changes to the exam.

What these numbers mean for you

This is our interpretation of the data – the numbers do not say directly why the number of candidates is growing. From a practical point of view, however, the conclusions are clear.

• Register early. With a growing number of candidates, it pays to apply to a centre right after the list of centres for the chosen session is published – usually about two months before the exam.
• B1 is the "official" level. A certificate of at least B1 is required, among other things, for recognition as a Polish citizen and for an EU long-term resident permit – which explains why so many candidates choose exactly this level.
• B2 is gaining importance. From 1 July 2025, a university that admits a foreigner to studies in Polish requires a level no lower than B2. The rapid growth in the number of B2 candidates in 2025 coincides with this change – but the data do not allow us to say whether it is a result of it.
• More centres means more choice. You can compare centres in terms of registration deadlines and fees within the limit.

If you are planning the exam, start with the guide to the B1 exam, and check the legal requirements in our guide to Polish in residence matters. At a trial lesson we will assess how much time you need for the session you choose.

Methodology

The report is based solely on public data, as at 3 October 2026. The number of candidates is the total number of candidates in all sessions of a given year, according to the State Commission's statistics. We give the numbers of centres from NAWA. The percentage changes were calculated by the editorial team. We do not fill in years for which we have not checked the data, and we do not give data on Pol-Langua students.