VisaWho this applies to
Use this guide if you are checking Germany B1+ before choosing an exam, paying a centre, or submitting a document. It does not decide eligibility, an exemption, or certificate acceptance for an individual case.
Key decisions
- Identify the authority or institution receiving your proof.
- Confirm the exact certificate, level, exam version, and document format it accepts.
- Verify local booking, ID, fee, result, cancellation, and timing details with official sources.
Detailed explanation
Compare the authority’s answer before the exam brands
DTZ, Goethe-Zertifikat B1 and telc Deutsch B1 are different exam products or testing contexts. Their official pages can describe their own products. They cannot establish that your settlement, citizenship, work, study or other receiving authority accepts them.
If your authority has only written “B1”, ask which exact documents, modules or result formats it accepts before paying for an exam.
Product scope at a glance
| Option | What the first-party source establishes | What still needs separate confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| DTZ | Integration Course Ordinance section 17 describes DTZ as the scaled language test for listening, reading, writing, and speaking at A2 to B1. | Whether the result or integration-course certificate fits your route and document instructions. |
| Goethe-Zertifikat B1 | The current Goethe-Zertifikat B1 page is the exam owner’s product page. Open it for the current skill, module, and certificate description. This comparison does not restate a module rule. | Whether the receiving authority accepts a full certificate, a partial result, or another format. |
| telc Deutsch B1 | On 2026-11-07, telc described this as the general German examination at CEFR B1, consisting of a written examination and an oral examination. | Whether the receiving authority accepts this exact product and which local centre terms apply. |
A module or partial-certificate rule, if the current Goethe page still describes one, is a product rule. It does not make that document legally equivalent for every receiving authority. Record the wording on the Goethe page and the wording the receiving authority accepts.
Use a three-step comparison
- Acceptance: record the receiving authority, route, exact accepted proof and date checked.
- Product: compare only the options the authority has left open, using the exam owners’ current pages.
- Local execution: ask the selected official or authorised centre about the exact product, date, seat, fee, currency, registration, identification, cancellation, accessibility, result and certificate process.
Do not rank the exams by unverified difficulty, speed, price, pass rate or general recognition claims.
What to verify officially
| Item to verify | Who finally decides | Official source | Confirmed on this page | You still need to confirm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current route requirement and accepted proof | Competent receiving authority for proof acceptance; each exam owner for its product rules | Authority source | The official entry and verification sequence recorded on 2026-11-07. | Your current individual route, exceptions, document format, and submission instructions. |
| Exam product and booking rules | Official exam owner and authorised local centre | Exam-owner source | The exam-owner entry used by this guide. | Current centre authorisation, dates, fees, ID, cancellation, results, and certificate delivery. |
Common mistakes
- Treating “CEFR B1” as a universal acceptance list.
- Treating DTZ, Goethe B1 and telc B1 as identical products.
- Treating an older Goethe module description as an immigration or citizenship decision.
- Using a centre finder as proof of a current seat, price or result date.
Next action
When an accepted option is clear, continue to fees and booking verification. Return to the settlement route guide or citizenship language-proof guide if the authority has not yet identified possible proof.