How to register for the DELE

You register for one level, at one exam centre, for one sitting, and you pay when you register. Candidates sitting a general DELE in Spain register online with the Instituto Cervantes. Candidates in other countries, and school candidates in Spain, register with an exam centre. No registration is accepted after a sitting’s registration period has closed.

When registration opens and closes

The Instituto Cervantes publishes one opening date for all the 2027 sittings and a closing date for each sitting, several weeks before its written exam. The table after this guide lists the general sittings still to come, with their registration dates. School sittings are on the school exam dates page.

After registering, you can change the level or the sitting, and in Spain also the centre, while registration is still open for both the sitting you booked and the new one and the new one has places. You cannot move a registration to a sitting in the following year. If the new exam costs more, you pay the difference. If it costs less, you get no refund.

Choosing an exam centre

The DELE is given at Instituto Cervantes centres and at the other exam centres the Instituto Cervantes recognises. Not every centre holds every sitting, so check that your centre offers your level on the date you want. The Instituto Cervantes online shop asks for your country and city and lists what the selected Instituto Cervantes centre offers. Outside Spain, ask the exam centre which levels it holds at the sitting you want.

You can sit the exam only at the centre you registered with, or in premises it sets up for the exam, on the date of the sitting you chose.

Registering

The Instituto Cervantes sends candidates who want to register for the DELE to its online shop. For a general DELE in Spain, you register and pay online there after creating an account:

1. Create an account and sign in.
2. Choose the sitting, level and centre.
3. Before you pay, check that your name, document number and date and place of birth match the photo identity document you will show on exam day, and check the centre, date and level. Only candidates whose details match their registration receipt are let into the exam. A mistake can appear on the diploma, and the Instituto Cervantes charges to reissue it.
4. Pay online.
5. Check the receipt (resguardo de inscripción) you receive, including the level, date and centre.

To register at an exam centre, you bring the completed registration form, your passport or official photo identity document with a copy, and proof of payment. The document must show your name, nationality and place and date of birth. The centre sets how you pay. If you do not register in person, you send the completed form with the payment. The form is only a request, and the receipt confirms your registration.

Each candidate needs an email address of their own. Parents or guardians register children, with a different email address for each child.

You can cancel within 14 calendar days of registering and get your money back. The fee covers one attempt on the date you chose. If you miss the exam, you get no refund and cannot use the fee for another sitting, except in serious cases with documents to prove them.

Fees

The fee depends on the level and on the country where you register. In Spain, you see the price of each exam during the online purchase. Elsewhere, ask the exam centre for its price. The fee covers the exam at the centre and on the date you chose, and the issue of the diploma. A candidate who fails registers and pays again.

Documents on exam day

Before the exam, your centre sends you the official exam notice (convocatoria), with the place, days and times of the written tests and the speaking test. If you have not received it by email ten days before the written exam, contact the centre.

Bring these originals:

• the registration receipt from the centre or from the online registration email;
• the photo identity document you registered with, or your passport (citizens of the European Union can also bring the national identity card of their country, even if they registered with another document);
• the exam notice from your centre.

DELE A2 in Spain has its own rule, which asks for two documents. DELE A2 for Spanish citizenship lists them. That rule applies only to exams in Spain.

Staff check your documents and take your photograph before the written tests start. Hats, caps and veils must come off for the check and the photograph. A headscarf is allowed if your face and ears stay visible. Leave bags and electronic devices outside the exam room if you can. Otherwise the centre asks you to put them in a set place out of your reach, and it is not responsible if they are lost.

Taking the exam

The DELE is taken in person at the exam centre, and the written tests are on paper. Reading, listening and writing are on the exam day. The speaking test can be on the same day or on days before or after, at a time your centre sets, so read the exam notice for its date. Arrive on time for the written tests, because a centre can let you sit them at another time only in special circumstances. If you cannot attend the speaking test at the time set, the centre decides whether to give you another appointment. A candidate who does not attend is graded No presentado.

The speaking test cannot be taken online. SIELE, a separate exam, can be taken remotely, and DELE vs SIELE compares the two.

If you need DELE A2 for citizenship

In Spain, candidates sitting DELE A2 for nationality by residence must register with their NIE (foreigner identity number). If your account uses another document, ask the Instituto Cervantes user support service to change it. DELE A2 for Spanish citizenship covers who is exempt, which certificates count instead and when to sit the exam.