The CCSE exam in 2026: what changes and what doesn't

What doesn't change

The rules of the test have been the same for some time and don't depend on the year: the number of questions, the duration, the pass mark, and the fact that wrong answers don't cost marks.

The five tasks don't change either, nor how much each one weighs. If you learned the structure last year, it still holds and there is no need to study it again.

• 25 questions per exam.
• 45 minutes to answer them.
• You pass with 15 correct answers, 60% of the exam.
• Neither wrong nor blank answers cost you marks.
• Multiple choice with three answers, except for one true-or-false task.
• The questions are taken from a bank published by the Instituto Cervantes.

What does get updated

The question bank is revised periodically: new questions come in and others go out, and the Instituto Cervantes publishes each edition of its preparation manual with the bank then in force.

That's why material goes out of date even though the exam doesn't change. Studying an old edition teaches you nothing wrong about the format, but it can leave you never seeing questions that are in, and wasting time on others that no longer are.

Which bank you practise with here

In this app you practise with the 2026 edition. When the Instituto Cervantes publishes a new one, the content is updated and the year you see on this page changes with it.

If your sitting belongs to a different year, check on the Instituto Cervantes website which edition of the manual applies to it before you start studying.

How to tell whether your material is out of date

The most reliable signal isn't the date on the PDF you downloaded, but the edition the Instituto Cervantes has published right now. It's free and it's on their site, so checking takes a minute.

Be wary of loose question lists circulating in forums and messaging groups without saying which edition they come from. They tend to mix years, and a withdrawn question studied thoroughly is time lost.

What this page won't tell you

You won't find the 2026 exam dates here, nor the fee, nor the available venues. That isn't an oversight: they are figures that change and are only worth having from the source that sets them.

The Instituto Cervantes publishes them on its official site, and that is the only place worth consulting. A date copied from another website and left stale is worse than no date at all.

Frequently asked questions

Does the CCSE exam change every year?

The structure doesn't: it is still 25 questions in 45 minutes, with 15 correct to pass and no penalty for wrong answers. What is updated periodically is the question bank the Instituto Cervantes publishes.

Is last year's CCSE manual still any use?

For understanding the exam format, yes. For studying the questions, use the current edition, because the bank is updated and an old edition may include withdrawn questions and miss the new ones.

Which questions does this app use for practice?

The official questions from the 2026 edition published by the Instituto Cervantes, each with its explanation.

When are the 2026 CCSE exam sittings?

The calendar of sittings is set and published by the Instituto Cervantes on its official site, and can change from year to year. We don't reproduce it here so as not to give you a stale date: always check it at the official source.