DELE results: when they come out and how to check them
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DELE results come out two to three months after the written exam. The Instituto Cervantes emails you when they are published, and your certificate of grades is in your personal space on its website. With Apto (pass) you also receive a digital diploma.
When results arrive
The official results page says results arrive about two months after the written tests, or about three months for the May and November sessions. One answer in the DELE FAQ says about three months. The November 2025 results came out on 4 March 2026.
Results are not released before the publication date. You get an email when they are published, and for the November 2025 session the certificate of grades was attached to that email. The certificate is also in your personal space. The exams site moved to cervantes.org in 2026, and its DELE page links to the personal space while a new exams site is in preparation.
The certificate and the diploma
According to the C1 guide, the certificate of grades lists the points in each test, each group’s total against the minimum, each group’s result and the overall result. It is signed electronically and carries a secure verification code (Código Seguro de Verificación, or CSV) that lets an institution check a printed copy.
With Apto you also get a digital diploma, issued by the Instituto Cervantes on behalf of Spain’s Ministry of Education under Royal Decree 1137/2002. It arrives by email with the certificate and carries its own CSV and a QR code. Diplomas from 2024 onward can be downloaded from your personal space. For an older diploma, ask your exam centre for a digital copy.
The diploma does not expire. A diploma issued before the DELE diplomas were updated in 2008 still counts, for example as the language proof in a Spanish nationality application.
Asking for a review
If you disagree with a grade, you can submit one review request through the form in your private area. Candidates graded No apto, Apto or No presentado can all apply. The official pages allow one month to apply. Recent results notices have set their own windows. For the February 2026 A2 session, requests were accepted only from 8 to 24 April 2026. Late requests are not accepted. No official page yet describes how to apply on the new cervantes.org site.
A review checks how the exam was run and rechecks the automatic marking. Expert graders give writing and speaking a third independent rating, using the recording of your speaking test, or the examiners’ report if there is no recording. A review can lower your grade. You cannot see or copy your exam papers.
For 2026 sessions the review costs 60% of the exam price before discounts, paid in euros when you apply. For 2025 sessions it cost 40%. The fee is refunded if the result changes from No apto to Apto.
The Instituto Cervantes has three months from the end of the request period to decide. To contest the decision, file a recurso de reposición (formal administrative appeal) through its sede electrónica (official online office) within one month of receiving the decision.