telc B1 exam: points, Sprachbausteine and partial retakes

telc Deutsch B1, also called Zertifikat Deutsch, certifies German at B1 level. You take it as one exam, written and oral together, and you pass when each of the two parts reaches its own minimum. Inside the written part only the total counts, so strong reading can make up for a weaker letter. If one part fails, you retake only that part. You can prepare on your own: telc gives away a full practice test with answers and audio.

What telc Deutsch B1 is accepted for

telc lists the exam as «Zertifikat Deutsch / telc Deutsch B1». The same list has other exams with B1 in the name, such as telc Deutsch A2·B1 and telc Deutsch B1·B2 Beruf, and they follow their own rules. A telc certificate carries no expiry date, and whether it is good enough for your purpose is decided by whoever asks for it. So ask them which exam and which level they accept before you book.¹

In Austria a telc B1 certificate does not fulfil Module 2 of the Integration Agreement (Integrationsvereinbarung). You need that module for the «Daueraufenthalt – EU» residence permit, and according to the authority, in principle also for citizenship. It is fulfilled by the ÖIF integration exam certificate at B1, by the ÖSD B1 integration exam taken before 30 May 2021, or by certain school and university records. The Vienna citizenship office (MA 35) lists telc only from B2 upward, for the route of special integration. If you need B1 for these purposes, look at the ÖIF B1 integration exam.^2·3

For the Red-White-Red Card in shortage occupations, German at B1 earns 15 points; telc is among the named institutes, and the proof may be at most five years old. Time limits for other purposes are in our article on how long German certificates stay valid.⁴

telc Deutsch B1 exam pattern

The written part takes 150 minutes. Reading and Sprachbausteine share 90 minutes, listening comes next, and the last 30 minutes are for the letter. Dictionaries, phones and other electronic devices are not allowed.⁵

The oral is a pair exam with two licensed examiners. If only one candidate is booked, one examiner plays the partner. You get 20 minutes to prepare first, and you may take your notes in but should not read from them. Getting to know each other takes about 3 minutes, the other two parts about 6 each. The oral is held on the day of the written part or up to seven calendar days later.^1·5

How many points you need to pass telc B1

The exam has 300 points: 225 for the written part and 75 for the oral. You need 60 % in each part separately, which is at least 135 written and 45 oral. Only when both parts are passed are they added up and graded: from 270 sehr gut, from 240 gut, from 210 befriedigend, from 180 ausreichend.⁵

Reading, Sprachbausteine, listening and the letter have no minimum of their own; they form one total. Points never move between the two parts, so extra written points will not rescue a weak oral. Reading and listening are worth 75 each, while Sprachbausteine get only 30 for the same 20 items. Reading part 3 and listening part 2 have 10 items each yet are worth no more than the neighbouring parts with 5.⁵

Here is a walk-through with numbers we made up. Reading 50, Sprachbausteine 12, listening 45 and the letter 27 make 134 of 225, one point short. An oral of 63 passes that part, but the exam is failed, even though the two add up to 197. The letter is marked on three criteria at 5, 3, 1 or 0 points, and the sum is multiplied by three. One criterion a step higher, from C to B, would have added 6 points and made 140.⁵

Marking is done centrally by telc, which scans the answer sheet. How the letter is marked and where it loses points is covered in our article on telc B1 Schreiben, together with a sample answer and phrases.

telc B1 Sprachbausteine: a worked example

Sprachbausteine part 1 is a text with 10 gaps, each with options a, b or c. Part 2 also has 10 gaps, filled from a word list a to o in which every word fits only once. Part 1 tests grammar, part 2 vocabulary.⁵

We wrote the task below ourselves in the style of part 1; it is not from the official practice test.

Liebe Leserinnen und Leser,

ab März hat die Stadtbibliothek auch am Samstag geöffnet, (1) auch Berufstätige in Ruhe zu uns kommen können. Während der Umbauarbeiten im Februar (2) der Lesesaal leider geschlossen sein. Bücher verlängern Sie ab sofort auch online, (3) Sie dafür in die Bibliothek kommen müssen. Wir freuen uns schon (4) Ihren Besuch. Wenn Sie Fragen haben, (5) Sie uns gern eine E-Mail.

How to get each answer:

1. damit. What follows is a clause with its own subject and the verb at the end. «Um» needs «zu» and an infinitive with no subject, and after «deshalb» the verb would come second.
2. wird. The sentence ends in «sein», so it needs the future auxiliary. «Ist … sein» and «hat … sein» are not German.
3. ohne dass. The meaning is «renew without coming in». «Obwohl» is grammatical but says the opposite, and «statt» alone cannot open a clause.
4. auf. «Sich freuen auf» looks forward to something; «sich freuen über» is about something that has already happened. The visit is still to come.
5. schreiben. A polite request uses the Sie imperative, which is the infinitive followed by «Sie». «Schreib» and «schreibt» are the du and ihr forms.

Gap 3 tests meaning, and gaps like it slip past anyone who only checks word order. Read the whole sentence before you choose.

Retaking one part of telc B1

You may repeat the whole exam as often as you like, and every result stays valid. After failing B1 you may retake only the written or only the oral part and have the other credited. That has to happen within twelve months of the date your result sheet (Ergebnisbogen) was issued, and you must ask for the credit when you register. Single sections cannot be retaken, and the credit always goes onto your most recent result. Exams spanning two levels, such as A2·B1 or B1·B2, allow no credit at all.¹

The 2020 practice test still gives the old rule of retaking within the same or the following calendar year. Since 15 April 2025 the telc rules with twelve months apply.^1·5

Two more deadlines matter when you plan. Crediting a passed part after the fact (Nachträgliche Anrechnung) costs €40 and is possible up to one year after the certificate or result sheet is issued. A review of your result must be requested within six weeks, also for €40, and the new mark may come out lower. In Vienna, DeutschAkademie runs telc exams several times a month, B1 from €209 and one part from €189. What happens after a fail in other exams is in our article on failing a German exam.^1·6

Preparing with the telc B1 practice test

telc publishes Übungstest 1 with audio for free, including the answer key, the points table and the marking criteria for the letter and the oral. That is where to start.⁵

1. Do reading and Sprachbausteine in one 90-minute block, then listening straight away. Mark them with the key and note the points per section.
2. Write the letter in 30 minutes, add everything up and compare it with 135. The section that loses the most points gets your next week.
3. Practise the oral with a partner: 20 minutes of preparation, then introductions, the topic and the planning task out loud.
4. If you are only a few points short, collect them where you are strong, because written points are interchangeable.

How telc B1 differs from Goethe B1 and ÖSD B1 is explained in Goethe vs ÖSD vs telc, and the Goethe exam has its own guide. Pass marks of other exams are collected in our article on points needed to pass.

Источники

· 6 проверены 08.11.2026

1. 1telc Prüfungsregularien, telc gGmbH · от 15.04.2025
2. 2Integrationsvereinbarung, migration.gv.at
3. 3Deutschkenntnisse für die Staatsbürgerschaft, Stadt Wien
4. 4Fachkräfte in Mangelberufen, migration.gv.at
5. 5telc Deutsch B1: Übungstest 1, telc gGmbH
6. 6telc Prüfungen in Wien, DeutschAkademie