Spanish Nationality Exam 2026: CCSE and DELE A2 Guide

Updated: June 2026. The Spanish nationality exam is the language and civics test the Instituto Cervantes runs on behalf of the Ministry of Justice for anyone applying for Spanish citizenship by residency. It is split in two: the CCSE, a 25 question civics test on the Spanish Constitution and culture, and the DELE A2, a Spanish language exam at A2 level of the Common European Framework. You sit them at any Instituto Cervantes centre worldwide or at an authorised exam centre in Spain.

If you are reading this from the US or the UK and you already have your decade of legal residency in Spain (or two years if you come from Latin America, or one year if you are married to a Spanish national), the exam is the last technical hurdle before the citizenship file goes to the Civil Registry. Our team enrols you in the next available convocatoria and runs the application around your exam date, so the timing of the certificate and the timing of the file are not fighting each other.

What the Spanish nationality exam is in 2026

There is no single “Spanish nationality exam”. There are two exams, both run by the Instituto Cervantes, and most adult applicants for citizenship by residency must pass both.

CCSE: the civics and Constitution test

• Full name: Prueba de Conocimientos Constitucionales y Socioculturales de España.
• Structure: 25 multiple choice questions drawn from a public pool published by Instituto Cervantes.
• Duration: 45 minutes.
• Pass mark: 15 correct answers out of 25 (60 percent).
• Fee: 85€, which includes two attempts inside the same calendar year if you fail the first one. [Instituto Cervantes, examenes.cervantes.es/es/ccse/cuanto, 2026]
• Certificate validity: 4 years from the date it is issued. [Instituto Cervantes]
• Convocatorias: monthly, on the last Thursday of each month at most authorised centres in Spain. The 2026 calendar published by Cervantes confirms exam dates from 29 January through 26 November; see examenes.cervantes.es/es/ccse/cuando for the live calendar.

DELE A2: the Spanish language test

• Full name: Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera, A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
• Structure: reading, listening, writing and speaking, in line with A2 descriptors.
• Duration: approximately 2 hours 25 minutes including the oral.
• Fee: 138€ at centres in Spain; $130 at the Instituto Cervantes in New York for 2026. [Instituto Cervantes NY, nyork.cervantes.es, 2026]
• Validity: the DELE diploma does not expire.
• Convocatorias: several fixed dates per year, Cervantes has published 2026 A2 dates on 13 February, 17 April, 23 May, 17 October, and 13 and 14 November. Registration deadlines fall several weeks earlier. Always confirm the live calendar at examenes.cervantes.es/es/dele before booking.

Who has to take both exams in 2026

The rule is simple: if you are applying for Spanish nationality by residency under Article 22 of the Civil Code, the Ministry of Justice will not certify your integration unless you produce both certificates, with the exceptions listed below.

• 10 years of legal residency (general route, US and UK applicants): CCSE plus DELE A2.
• 2 years of legal residency (nationals of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, and Sephardic Jews who completed their file under Ley 12/2015 before the closing window): CCSE plus DELE A2 unless exempt below.
• 1 year of legal residency (married to a Spanish national for at least one year, widowed of a Spanish national, or born outside Spain to a parent or grandparent who was originally Spanish): CCSE plus DELE A2 unless exempt below.
• Citizenship by option (children of Spanish parents under Article 20 Civil Code): different procedure, exams generally not required, talk to us.

Important exemptions in 2026

DELE A2 exemptions

• Nationals of countries where Spanish is the official language do not have to sit the DELE A2. The list, as published by Instituto Cervantes, includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. [Instituto Cervantes, examenes.cervantes.es]
• Applicants who have completed reglada (state recognised) education in Spanish may be dispensed by the Ministry of Justice on a case by case basis when they present the academic certificate instead of the DELE diploma. Send us your file so we confirm the dispensation in your specific case.

CCSE exemptions

• Minors applying for nationality through their parents do not sit the CCSE.
• Adults with judicially modified capacity (the Spanish legal figure of capacidad modificada judicialmente) are exempt from the CCSE. The application is filed through their legal representative.

If you are not sure whether an exemption applies to you, do not assume. The Civil Registry will reject the file if the wrong certificate is attached. Send us your nationality and your residency history, our team checks it the same day.

How much the Spanish nationality exam costs in 2026

• CCSE: 85€, two attempts included in the same calendar year. [Instituto Cervantes 2026]
• DELE A2 in Spain: 138€. [Instituto Cervantes 2026]
• DELE A2 at Cervantes New York: $130. [Cervantes NY 2026]
• Citizenship application fee (tasa) at the Ministry of Justice: 104,05€ at the time of writing.

These are official fees set by the Instituto Cervantes and the Ministry of Justice. They are not our legal fee. If you want a quote for the full citizenship application handled by our lawyers, ask us and we send you a proposal the same day.

2026 CCSE convocatorias

The CCSE is run monthly in Spain on the last Thursday of each month at most authorised centres. Centres outside Spain (Instituto Cervantes branches in London, New York, Manchester, Chicago and others) follow a slightly different calendar.

Registration closes roughly two and a half weeks before the exam date. You register online through the Instituto Cervantes portal, pay the 85€ fee online, and you choose your exam centre at registration.

2026 DELE A2 convocatorias

The DELE A2 has fewer dates than the CCSE. The 2026 dates published by Cervantes are 13 February, 17 April, 23 May, 17 October, and 13 and 14 November. Registration deadlines close several weeks before each exam, so check examenes.cervantes.es/es/dele before planning your citizenship timeline.

Where to sit the exams as a US or UK applicant

• Already in Spain: any authorised exam centre. There are hundreds, including language schools, universities and academies recognised by the Instituto Cervantes.
• Still in the United States: the Instituto Cervantes branches in New York, Chicago, Albuquerque, Boston, Seattle and other cities run both CCSE and DELE A2 convocatorias.
• Still in the United Kingdom: the Instituto Cervantes in London and Manchester run both exams.
• Other countries: any Instituto Cervantes centre worldwide. The full list is at cervantes.es.

You do not have to sit the exam in the same place where you will file the citizenship application. The certificate from Cervantes is valid across Spain.

How to register, step by step

1. Create an account at examenes.cervantes.es.
2. Select CCSE or DELE A2 and pick the convocatoria that gives you enough preparation time.
3. Choose an exam centre (in Spain, at a Cervantes branch abroad, or another authorised centre worldwide).
4. Pay the fee online: 85€ for CCSE, 138€ for DELE A2 in Spain, $130 for DELE A2 at Cervantes New York.
5. Save the confirmation. You will need it on exam day with your passport, NIE or TIE.
6. Prepare with the official free resources published by Cervantes.

The only resources we point clients to are the ones published directly by the Instituto Cervantes at examenes.cervantes.es: the manual de preparación for the CCSE, the public pool of 300 sample questions, the DELE A2 official guide, and the past papers (modelos de examen). They are free and they are the literal source of the exam content.

What happens after you pass: the citizenship file

Passing both exams is not the end of the procedure. It is the moment when the citizenship file becomes viable. Once you have the certificates, the application goes to the Ministry of Justice through the electronic procedure, with the following documents:

• Apostilled birth certificate from your country of origin, with sworn translation into Spanish.
• Apostilled certificate of criminal records from your country of origin (and any other country where you have lived in the last 5 years), with sworn translation.
• Spanish certificate of criminal records (certificado de antecedentes penales del Registro Central).
• Empadronamiento (proof of registered residence at your Spanish town hall).
• Marriage certificate if you are applying through the 1 year marriage route.
• Tasa modelo 026 paid (Ministry of Justice fee).
• CCSE and DELE A2 certificates from the Instituto Cervantes.

For the full procedure, requirements and timing, see our pages on how Spanish citizenship by residency works, on citizenship by marriage to a Spanish national, and on whether Spain allows you to keep your US or UK passport.

Common mistakes we see in our consultations

• Sitting the CCSE too early. The certificate is valid for 4 years. If your file drags on at the Civil Registry, the certificate can expire while you are waiting for the resolution. We time the convocatoria to the file, not to the calendar.
• Choosing DELE B1 instead of A2. A2 is the legal minimum for citizenship. B1 is fine, but it costs more and takes longer to prepare. Unless you have another reason to want a B1 diploma, A2 is enough.
• Assuming Latin American nationals do not have to sit anything. Latin American nationals are exempt from the DELE A2, but they still have to pass the CCSE.
• Underestimating the empadronamiento gap. The Civil Registry checks that your residency was legal and continuous. The CCSE pass does not fix gaps in your residence record. We audit your padrón history before we file.
• Trusting third party question dumps. The CCSE question pool is officially published by the Instituto Cervantes for free. There is no need to buy anything else.

Frequently asked questions about the Spanish nationality exam

What is the CCSE exam in Spain?

The CCSE is the Prueba de Conocimientos Constitucionales y Socioculturales de España, a 25 question multiple choice test on the Spanish Constitution, institutions, geography, history and culture, run by the Instituto Cervantes on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. It is mandatory for adult applicants for Spanish nationality by residency, with limited exemptions.

What is the passing score for the CCSE?

15 correct answers out of 25. That is 60 percent. You have 45 minutes to complete the test, and the 85€ fee includes a second attempt in the same calendar year if you fail the first one.

How do you pass the CCSE exam?

The Instituto Cervantes publishes the official manual de preparación and the public pool of sample questions on examenes.cervantes.es, free of charge. The actual exam questions are drawn from that pool. Working through the manual and the question pool is the only preparation you need.

What does CCSE stand for?

CCSE stands for Conocimientos Constitucionales y Socioculturales de España, in English “Constitutional and Sociocultural Knowledge of Spain”. It has nothing to do with IT certifications that share the acronym in other industries.

How long is the CCSE certificate valid for?

4 years from issue date. If your citizenship procedure runs longer than that, you have to sit and pass the CCSE again.

Do US or UK citizens need the DELE A2 for Spanish nationality?

Yes. The DELE A2 exemption applies to nationals of Spanish speaking countries, which does not include the United States or the United Kingdom. US and UK applicants going for nationality by residency need both the CCSE and the DELE A2.

Can I take the Spanish nationality exam in New York or London?

Yes. The Instituto Cervantes branches in New York, London and other capitals run both CCSE and DELE A2 convocatorias. Dates are published at examenes.cervantes.es.

The MSV way: exam, file and Civil Registry as one workflow

Most of our US and UK clients come to us with two questions on the table at the same time: when do I sit the exam, and when do I file the citizenship application. The answer is rarely “sit the exam as soon as possible”. It is “sit the exam when the rest of the file is ready, so the certificate is fresh when the Civil Registry opens it”.

Lucia and the legal team at MySpainVisa have been running citizenship files since 2018. We do not run exam prep courses and we do not point you to a third party academy. Our team enrols you in the right Instituto Cervantes convocatoria, prepares the rest of the documentation in parallel, and submits the file electronically to the Ministry of Justice the moment your certificate comes through. If you are ready to start, send us a message and we will tell you exactly which convocatoria fits your timeline.

Reviewed by Lucia Lagunas Reyes, Spanish immigration lawyer, MICAP Nº 2572, co-founder of MySpainVisa (2018).

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