Épreuve
Fondations
Level
B2
How the DELF B2 works
Four papers, 25 points each, two thresholds. The shape of the exam day, the scoring map, and what really changes between the two tracks.
By the end of this lesson
- Name the four papers, the order they come in, and how long the collective block lasts.
- Read the scoring map: 25 points per paper, uneven question values, and the two thresholds that decide your diploma.
- Set up an exam day that costs you nothing: documents, timing, legible writing, anonymity.
- Tell tout public from option professionnelle, and know what actually changes between them.
Most candidates arrive at the B2 knowing French and not knowing the exam. They find out the running order in the room. They guess what each question is worth. That guessing eats minutes they had counted on.
This lesson hands you the map. You'll find the four papers and the order they come in. You'll also find the points behind each one and the two thresholds that decide your diploma. Then come the exam-day habits that cost you nothing and protect your score.
The diploma, the papers, the day
The DELF is a diploma issued by the French Ministry of Education. Once you've passed, it's yours for life. There's no expiry date and nothing to renew. Universities, employers and immigration offices accept it worldwide, and B2 is the level most of them ask for.
B2 certifies things you can name. You can follow a complex argument on a subject you already know a little. You can read press articles on current issues. You can talk with a native speaker without either of you working hard at it. And you can defend a position in writing.
The exam has four papers, one per skill, and each one is marked out of 25.
- Compréhension de l'oral (listening), 30 minutes.
- Compréhension des écrits (reading), 60 minutes.
- Production écrite (writing), 60 minutes.
- Production orale (speaking), 30 minutes of preparation, then about 20 minutes with the examiner.
The first three run in one sitting, always in that order, and the block lasts 2 h 30. There's no break you get to choose. The speaking test is individual, so it has its own slot and often falls on a different day.
That order isn't neutral, and you can prepare for it. Listening comes first, while your attention is intact, and it's the one paper you cannot slow down. Writing comes last, when you're tired, which is exactly why you plan on paper before you draft.
Two numbers decide your result. You need 50 out of 100 across the four papers. And anything under 5 out of 25 in a single paper fails you, whatever your total. A candidate on 62 points who scores 4 in speaking goes home without the diploma.
Point d'étape 1/4
0 / 3
Q1In what order do the three collective papers run on exam day?
Q2How long do the three collective papers last in total?
Q3A candidate totals 62 out of 100 but scores 4 out of 25 in speaking. What happens?
Where the 100 points sit
Every paper is worth 25. The inside of each one looks different, and knowing the shape tells you where your minutes should go.
Listening holds three exercises in 30 minutes. Every question is a QCM, which means three options and exactly one right answer. Exercise 1 gives you one long recording played twice, with 7 questions for 9 points. Exercise 2 works the same way: 7 more questions, 9 more points. Exercise 3 changes the rules with three short documents, each played once only, for 6 questions and 7 points.
Reading also holds three exercises worth 9, 9 and 7, this time in 60 minutes. The first two give you one long text each and 7 multiple-choice questions. The second text argues a position, so its questions ask what the writer thinks and why. Exercise 3 is a different job. You get three short texts and 6 items, and you match each viewpoint to the person who holds it.
Writing is one task in 60 minutes. You produce one argued text of 250 words minimum, and you take a position in it. The prompt frames that text either as a formal letter or as a contribution to a public debate. The first writing lesson decodes those two genres.
Speaking splits three ways. The monologue suivi runs about 6 minutes and carries 5 points. The débat with the examiner runs about 11 minutes and carries 5 more. The last 15 points go to your language across both parts: vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation.
| Paper | Time | What's inside | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| CO · compréhension de l'oral | 30 min | 3 exercises, all QCM: 7 + 7 + 6 questions | 9 + 9 + 7 |
| CE · compréhension des écrits | 60 min | 2 long texts in QCM, then 6 viewpoint matches | 9 + 9 + 7 |
| PE · production écrite | 60 min | one argued text, 250 words minimum | 25 |
| PO · production orale | 30 min prep, about 20 min oral | monologue, then débat, language across both | 5 + 5 + 15 |
One detail changes how you spend the last minutes of a comprehension paper. The questions are not worth the same. One can be worth half a point, and the next one 2.5. That value is printed beside each question, so read it before you decide where to fight.
Older practice books still show vrai/faux with justification and open written answers, but those belong to the previous format.
Point d'étape 2/4
0 / 3
Q1Which comprehension exercise carries the fewest points, and why?
Q2How are the 25 points of the speaking paper distributed?
Q3Two minutes are left. One unanswered question is worth 0.5 points, the next one 2.5. What do you do?
Habits that protect points on the day
Nothing in this section is about your French. All of it is about not losing points for reasons that have nothing to do with your level.
Arrive at least fifteen minutes early. Centres check identity at the door, and a queue is a poor way to start a listening test.
Bring your ID and your convocation, the letter confirming your seat and your time. Bring two black pens as well. A pen that stops writing during the production écrite costs you minutes you can't get back.
Turn your phone off completely and leave it where the invigilator tells you. Silent mode isn't enough, and a phone that lights up can get your papers cancelled.
Write so a stranger can read you. Your examiner credits what they can read, and a word nobody can decipher earns nothing. The risk peaks in the last ten minutes, when your hand speeds up.
Your copy is marked anonymously, so your real name never appears in your answers. When the writing task asks you to sign a letter, invent a name and sign with that. Do the same with an address if the layout calls for one.
Plan your timing before you need it. In reading, budget about 18, 20 and 12 minutes on the three exercises, then 5 to check. Work in one order: the paratext, then all the questions, then one pass marking zones, then the answers. The reading playbook sets that order out in full. If one question blocks you for two minutes, leave it and come back at the end.
One habit belongs to listening alone. The questions are printed, and you can read them before any audio plays. Use those seconds. Knowing what you're listening for beats understanding every word.
Point d'étape 3/4
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Q1Why do you sign a letter in the writing paper with a made-up name?
Q2What should you have with you on exam day?
Q3How should you split the sixty minutes of the reading paper?
Q4A reading question has blocked you for two minutes. What is the move?
Tout public or option professionnelle
When you register, you pick one of two tracks: tout public or option professionnelle. Candidates worry about that choice far more than it deserves.
The two share everything that gets marked. Same four papers, same durations, same points, same marking grids, same 250-word floor in writing. Your diploma reads DELF B2 either way.
What changes is where the documents come from. Tout public draws on general and civic life: culture, environment, education, consumer questions, town decisions. Option professionnelle draws on work and institutions: recruitment, training, company life, public services and their users.
One rule settles the borderline cases. The setting and the person you write to decide it, not the theme on its own. A document set inside an institution or a workplace is professionnelle, even when it talks about education or consumption.
Two writing prompts show you the whole difference.
Sujet · tout publicB2 · 250 mots minimum
La mairie de votre ville veut interdire les voitures dans le centre historique le samedi et le dimanche. Usager de ce centre, vous participez au débat ouvert sur le forum du site municipal. Vous exposez les effets de cette mesure sur la vie du quartier et vous défendez votre position. Vous rédigez un texte construit et argumenté de 250 mots minimum.
ENYour town hall wants to ban cars from the historic centre on Saturdays and Sundays. As someone who uses that centre, you join the debate open on the town's website forum. You set out what the measure would do to life in the neighbourhood and you defend your position. Write a structured, argued text of at least 250 words.
Sujet · option professionnelleB2 · 250 mots minimum
Votre entreprise vient de supprimer le télétravail et impose un retour sur site cinq jours par semaine. Représentant du personnel, vous écrivez à la direction des ressources humaines. Vous contestez cette décision, vous en exposez les conséquences sur l'organisation du travail et vous proposez une autre formule. Vous rédigez un texte construit et argumenté de 250 mots minimum.
ENYour company has just scrapped remote working and now requires five days a week on site. As a staff representative, you write to the human resources department. You contest the decision, set out what it does to the way work is organised, and propose another arrangement. Write a structured, argued text of at least 250 words.
Read them side by side. The situation moved, the work didn't. Both ask you to contest something, to show its consequences, and to propose an alternative. Both want a structured 250 words.
So the method in this guide serves both tracks. The only thing you tailor is vocabulary. If you sit the professional option, give a few sessions to the words of work: contrat, recrutement, formation, représentant du personnel.
Choose on the reason you're taking the exam. If it's for a job or a work permit, the professional documents will sit closer to your daily life. If it's for study or for yourself, tout public is the natural one.
Point d'étape 4/4
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Q1What actually differs between tout public and option professionnelle?
Q2A prompt asks a school employee to write to their management about the quality of the canteen meals. Which track does it fit?
Q3You've registered for option professionnelle. What do you change in your preparation?
Key takeaways
- Four papers, 25 points each. You pass at 50 out of 100, and under 5 out of 25 in one paper fails you.
- The order is fixed: listening, then reading, then writing, for 2 h 30. Speaking is individual and gets its own slot.
- Listening and reading are three exercises each, worth 9, 9 and 7. Writing is one argued text. Speaking is 5 plus 5 plus 15.
- Questions aren't worth the same. One can carry 0.5 points and the next one 2.5, and the value is printed beside it.
- Both tracks share the format, the timing and the marking grids. Only the subject matter of the documents changes.