DELE
DELE (DIPLOMA SPANISH AS A FOREING LANGUAGE)
Description
The DELE Spanish Diplomas are official qualifications that certify a candidate’s degree of competence and proficiency in the Spanish language. They are awarded by the Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport.
The Instituto Cervantes is responsible for the academic, administrative, and financial management of the DELE diplomas, in accordance with Royal Decrees 1137/2002 (31 October), 264/2008 (22 February), and 1004/2015 (6 November).
The DELE exams are designed following the guidelines of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the Manual for Relating Language Examinations to the CEFR, both developed by the Council of Europe.
The DELE diplomas are available for all CEFR levels, from A1 to C2.
Exam Training
The DELE exam consists of four sections, and the total exam duration depends on the level being assessed.
- Reading Comprehension
- Listening Comprehension
- Written Expression and Interaction
- Oral Expression and Interaction
Teaching Staff
The exam is supervised by instructors from the Centro Complutense para la Enseñanza del Español (CCEE).
Test
Course Certificate
The results of the DELE exams are available approximately three months after the test date.
The Instituto Cervantes notifies candidates via their registered email address and through the exams portal as soon as results are published.
From that moment, candidates can download their certificate of marks, which is officially valid as a certificate, from their private user area on the Instituto Cervantes platform.
Candidates who obtain the overall grade of ‘Apto’ will also receive the official accreditation diploma, which can be collected from their designated examination center approximately three months after the publication of the results.
Enrolment Process
Registration must be completed through the Instituto Cervantes platform within the official registration periods.
Candidates must register online via the official registration portal.
To register, candidates must provide their personal details, including a personal email address, which must remain active and be checked regularly until the DELE diploma is received.
Both registration and payment must be completed online via the candidate’s private user area on the Instituto Cervantes website.
Payments must be made using a credit or debit card via the Santander Elavon Merchant Services Virtual POS system.
Duration
- 1h 55 min to 5h 05 min (depending on the level)
Scheduled Examinations
2024/2025
The upcoming DELE exam sessions at UCM are:
February
- Test date: Friday, 14th February
- Registration deadline: 8 January
- Levels: A2 and A2 NA
April
- Test date: Friday, 4 April
- Registration deadline: 12 February
- Levels: A2 / A2 NA, B1, B2 and C1
July
- Test date: Friday, 11 July
- Registration deadline: 14 May
- Levels: A2 / A2 NA, B2 and C1
September
- Test date: Friday, 12 September
- Registration deadline: 16 July
- Levels: A2 / A2 NA
October
- Test date: Friday, 17 October
- Registration deadline: 3 September
- Levels: A2 / A2 NA, B1 and B2
Levels
- A2, B1, B2, C1
Modality
- Face to face
Price
The registration fee for the DELE exams depends on the exam level and the country of registration.
You can consult the official DELE 2025 price table (PDF format) at the bottom of this page. Prices vary by location and level.
Contact
- Registration is managed through the Instituto Cervantes
- Inscription Cervantes Institute