Goethe-Zertifikat B2: Exam Format, Timing & Scoring
The Goethe-Zertifikat B2 certifies advanced German at level B2, the fourth level of the CEFR scale. Like B1, it is a modular exam with four modules: Lesen (reading), Hören (listening), Schreiben (writing), and Sprechen (speaking). The modules can be taken individually or in combination. Each module is scored out of 100 points, and the pass mark is 60 points per module. This guide covers all four modules and explains the two receptive modules, Lesen and Hören, in full, because those are the modules Solvi offers as timed mock exams.
| Module | Time | What it asks of you |
|---|---|---|
| Lesen | 65 minutes | Read forum posts, newspaper and magazine articles, commentaries and regulations; grasp key information, important details, viewpoints, opinions and rules |
| Hören | About 40 minutes | Listen to interviews, lectures, conversations and everyday statements, including from the radio; pick out the main points and key details |
| Schreiben | 75 minutes | Express and justify your opinion on a current social issue in a forum post, and write a formal message in a professional context |
| Sprechen | 15 minutes | Give a short presentation on a given topic and discuss it with your partner, exchanging arguments (oral exam in pairs) |
Lesen: 65 minutes, 30 questions, 5 parts
| Part | What you do | Type | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teil 1 | Read forum posts by four people and decide which person each statement applies to (a person can be chosen more than once) | Matching: statement to person | 9 |
| Teil 2 | Read a magazine article and choose which sentences fit the gaps in the text (two of the eight sentences do not fit) | Sentence insertion | 6 |
| Teil 3 | Read a newspaper article and answer questions on it | Multiple choice (3 options) | 6 |
| Teil 4 | Read opinion statements on a topic and match each one to the headline it belongs under (one statement fits no headline) | Matching: statement to headline | 6 |
| Teil 5 | Read a set of regulations (for example university study regulations) and match each paragraph to its heading in the table of contents (four of the eight headings are not used) | Matching: paragraph to heading | 3 |
Three of the five parts are matching tasks, so the skill B2 Lesen tests most is orientation: finding which person, sentence, headline, or heading belongs where, across texts that are longer and more argumentative than at B1. You may start with any part and move freely between questions inside the 65 minutes.
Hören: about 40 minutes, 30 questions, 4 parts
| Part | What you hear | Type | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teil 1 | Five short conversations and statements, each played once, with two questions on each | Richtig / Falsch and multiple choice | 10 |
| Teil 2 | A radio interview, played twice | Multiple choice (3 options) | 6 |
| Teil 3 | A radio discussion with several speakers, played once | Matching: who says what | 6 |
| Teil 4 | A short lecture (Vortrag), played twice | Multiple choice (3 options) | 8 |
The 40 minutes are the length of the recording itself, including the reading pauses printed in the exam. The repeats are part of the exam: the Teil 2 interview and the Teil 4 lecture are played twice, Teile 1 and 3 once. Note the step up from B1 here: the B1 Teil 1 texts are played twice, while at B2 you hear each Teil 1 text only once. On Solvi the repeats are in the recording, exactly as in the exam room, so each clip plays once.
Schreiben and Sprechen: the other two modules
Schreiben (75 minutes) has two tasks: a forum post in which you express and justify your opinion on a current social issue, and a formal message in a professional context. Sprechen (15 minutes) is an oral exam taken in pairs: you give a short presentation on a given topic, discuss it with your conversation partner, and exchange arguments in a discussion. Solvi does not offer Schreiben or Sprechen practice; its German section covers Lesen and Hören only, at B1 and B2 alike.
Scoring: 100 points per module, pass at 60, and no published conversion table
The official exam regulations (Durchführungsbestimmungen) for the Goethe-Zertifikat B2 set the frame: a maximum of 100 points per module, a module is passed with at least 60 points, and the certificate reports each module result with a grade band:
| Points | 90 to 100 | 80 to 89 | 70 to 79 | 60 to 69 | 0 to 59 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade | sehr gut | gut | befriedigend | ausreichend | nicht bestanden |
What Goethe does not publish for B2 is a table converting your raw result (correct answers out of 30) into points. B1 has one: the B1 Übungssatz prints an Umrechnungstabelle, and the B1 guide shows it. The B2 sample sets and exam regulations print no equivalent, so any B2 table you find on a third-party site is not an official Goethe table.
Solvi scores B2 practice with the same scaled model it uses at B1: your correct answers out of 30 are scaled to 100, so 18 correct answers give 60 points, the pass mark. At B1 that model reproduces the official conversion exactly. At B2 it is a practice model, not an official Goethe conversion: treat your Solvi score as a readiness signal against the 60 point pass mark, not as the score Goethe itself would award. And because the exam is modular, each module stands on its own: a 90 in Lesen does not rescue a 55 in Hören.
How B2 differs from B1
The skeleton is the same: four modules that can be taken individually or in combination, Lesen at 65 minutes and Hören at about 40, 30 questions per receptive module in the sample sets. What changes is the task mix and the demand. B1 Lesen opens with true/false questions on a blog text and includes a situations-to-advertisements matching part; B2 Lesen drops those for forum matching, a sentence gap-fill, and heading matching over regulations. In Hören, the B2 Teil 1 texts play once instead of twice, Teil 3 asks who says what in a multi-speaker discussion, and Teil 4 is a lecture. The level itself is the bigger step: passing B2 shows you can grasp the main content of complex texts on concrete and abstract topics, follow specialised discussions in your own area of expertise, and express a viewpoint on a topical issue clearly and in detail, including the advantages and disadvantages of different options. The Goethe-Zertifikat B1 guide covers the B1 format in the same detail.
Adults and youth versions, and who B2 is for
The B2 exam comes in two variants with identical format, timing, and scoring: Erwachsene (adults, recommended from age 16) and Jugendliche (youth, recommended from age 15). Only the topics and texts differ. For B2 the Goethe-Institut publishes one free sample set per variant, a Modellsatz, and both are on Solvi as timed mocks with the original audio and the published transcripts.
The Goethe-Institut presents the B2 certificate as the one to take if you want to prepare to study at a university or institution of higher education in Germany, provide evidence of advanced German skills for a job application, or prepare to work in the medical field in Germany, and as an official, internationally recognised certificate. It is accepted for studying at some universities and universities of applied sciences in Germany, but acceptance is not universal: check in advance which certificate your chosen university requires for your course. Goethe estimates reaching the level takes 600 to 800 lessons of 45 minutes, depending on prior knowledge.
Practice with the official sample sets
Work through the sets under real timing before you book: 65 minutes for Lesen with no pause, and the Hören recording start to finish. Then read the published transcripts for every text you misheard; the sample sets print them in full, which is the fastest way to find the vocabulary that cost you points.
Take the B2 mock exams
Both official B2 sample sets, adults and youth, timed and scored out of 100 per module, with the original audio.
Sources
The part structures, task types, and play counts come from the official B2 Modellsatz sets published by the Goethe-Institut as free preparation material, listed on its B2 practice materials page. Module tasks and durations follow the Goethe-Institut's B2 further information page; the 100 points per module, the 60 point pass mark, and the grade bands are from the official Durchführungsbestimmungen for the Goethe-Zertifikat B2 (version of 1 September 2025). The candidate profile is from the Goethe-Institut's Goethe-Zertifikat B2 exam page, and the age recommendations, lesson estimate, and university acceptance note are from the same exam page as published by the Goethe-Institut Namibia.