The B2 exam in Polish

Who needs a B2 certificate

Today a B2 certificate is above all a ticket to studies taught in Polish. Since 1 July 2025 a university that admits a foreigner to studies in Polish sets the required level of language knowledge – not lower than B2. The requirement does not apply to every foreigner – it does not cover, for example, people admitted on the basis of a Polish secondary school-leaving certificate. Check who the B2 requirement for university applies to.

B2 is also chosen by people who work in jobs that require fluent communication – in an office, customer service, project teams – and want a document that confirms their level to an employer. For recognition as a Polish citizen or an EU long-term resident permit, on the other hand, level B1 is enough – you will find everything about it in the guide to the B1 exam.

What the B2 exam looks like

The B2 exam for adults has the same parts as B1, but it is longer and has a higher passing threshold.

The higher threshold changes the strategy: at B1 you can "get through" with one weaker part at the 50% limit, while at B2 every part must be clearly good. We show how the result is calculated, using B1 as an example, in our description of the exam structure and scoring.

What level B2 requires

The exam standard describes B2 as fluent communication with native speakers of the language – also on abstract topics. In practice this means four requirements that B1 does not yet have:

• Longer written texts in new forms – including a cover letter, an application, an official letter to an institution and an essay, that is, an argumentative text.
• Discussion and argumentation – you present a position and respond to another person's statement, e.g. Rozumiem ten argument, ale moim zdaniem…
• Richer grammar – the passive voice (Projekt został zatwierdzony), participles (pracując, zmęczony), impersonal forms (otwarto, mówi się).
• Choice of style – the same information differently in an e-mail to a friend and differently in a letter to an office.

How do you move from B1 to B2 step by step? Read our preparation plan.

Dates of sessions with level B2

Level B2 is not offered in every session, and in some sessions it is available only for young people – so an adult candidate has fewer dates to choose from than with B1.

From 1 January 2027 the existing groups "adults" and "children and young people" are replaced by the groups aged 16 and over and under 16 – see what else is changing in the exam. We have collected all the sessions, also for other levels, in the exam calendar.

Planning to study from October? Ask the university by when you have to submit the certificate. If the deadline falls in summer, the February, April and June sessions are realistic – and for the June one it is worth leaving some time for the results.

How much time it takes from B1 to B2

Moving from B1 to B2 usually takes at least as much work as moving from A2 to B1 – and often more, because new written forms and abstract language are added. Roughly speaking – these are general teaching estimates, not statistics from our school – this is about 200–350 hours of lessons and independent study – closer to 200–250 hours for speakers of Slavic languages and closer to 250–350 hours for others. Exactly how many depends on regularity, daily contact with Polish and how solid your B1 is.

If you need the certificate for university, count backwards from the university's deadline and the exam session. See how to divide your study into stages, and if you want a teacher to assess your writing and speaking regularly, check our B2 course online. At a trial lesson we will estimate how many hours you in particular need.

B2 certificate without an exam

A graduate of first-cycle studies, as well as of some schools listed in the Act, can receive a B2 certificate without taking an exam. Check whether your education qualifies.