State exam or TELC: which Polish B1 certificate to choose

Updated 3 November 2026

Short answer: which exam for which goal

Goal	State exam	TELC
Citizenship (uznanie za obywatela polskiego)	Accepted	Not accepted
Karta rezydenta długoterminowego UE	Accepted	Accepted
Karta stałego pobytu	No certificate needed	No certificate needed

If there is even a small chance you will apply for citizenship later, take the state exam: one certificate covers both goals.

How the two exams differ

The state exam (Państwowy egzamin certyfikatowy z języka polskiego jako obcego) is run by the state Commission through exam centres. The Commission issues the certificate under the Polish Language Act. Sessions are nationwide; the schedule is on certyfikatpolski.pl.
TELC is an exam by the private organisation telc. Licensed centres run it, and each centre sets its own dates and price. TELC has its own task format, different from the Commission’s.

Citizenship: state certificate only

For uznanie za obywatela polskiego you need Polish at B1 or higher, proven by the state certificate or by a school-leaving certificate from a school in Poland or a school abroad that teaches in Polish (art. 30 ust. 2 ustawy o obywatelstwie polskim). TELC, ECL and other non-state certificates are not accepted for citizenship, even at the same level.

Details with legal references are in our article on the B1 certificate for citizenship and the resident card.

EU long-term resident card: both work

The EU long-term resident permit requires Polish at B1 or higher (art. 211 ustawy o cudzoziemcach). The accepted documents are listed in an MSWiA regulation (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1076):

the Commission’s state certificate;
ECL and TELC certificates;
a university certificate of Polish after classes or a course in Polish as a foreign language;
a sworn translator’s document.

Permanent residence card: no certificate needed

The permanent residence permit (pobyt stały, art. 195 ustawy o cudzoziemcach) does not require a Polish certificate. The B1 requirement applies to the EU long-term resident card, a different permit; the two are often confused.

Dates, price and timing

Compared	State exam	TELC
When	Nationwide sessions: the next B1 sessions for adults are 5–6.12.2026, 6–7.03.2027, 24–25.04.2027, 12–13.06.2027	Set by the centre
Price	Until the end of 2026, at most €150 (the centre sets the price); from 2027, a cap of 7% of the average wage, about 646 zł	Set by the centre
Pass mark	50% in each of the five parts	Check with the centre
Result and certificate	Result from the centre within 3 days of the protocol; the Commission issues the certificate within 30 days	Check with the centre

We give no TELC figures: we could not verify them in official telc materials, and prices in centre listings vary a lot. Check telc.net and your chosen centre. State exam fees from 2027 are covered in our article on the 2027 changes.

How to choose

You may apply for citizenship — take the state exam. Otherwise you will have to sit an exam twice.
You only need the EU resident card — both work. Compare the next exam dates and centre prices in your city and pick what suits you.
You need B2 for study or work — ask the university or employer which certificate they accept. How B2 differs from B1 is in our article B2 or B1.

How to prepare

Zdałem trains you for the state exam: five parts, timing, pass marks and tasks in the Commission’s format, official samples with answer keys and a B1 mock exam. The TELC format is different, and we do not model it. The language practice helps there too, but prepare for TELC tasks with telc materials.

Not sure of your level? Start with the diagnostic test: about 10 minutes, a forecast per part and a plan up to the session. A one-month plan is in B1 in a month.

Take the diagnostic All about the B1 exam Official samples

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Zdałem is an independent trainer, not affiliated with Państwowa Komisja. Rules change: before registering or filing documents, check certyfikatpolski.pl