DELE vs SIELE: Which Spanish Exam Should You Take?

DELE or SIELE: the short answer

The DELE is a diploma: you sit one level (A1 to C2) on a fixed date, on paper, and you either pass it or you do not. It never expires. The SIELE is a score: one computer-based exam places you anywhere from A1 to C1 on a scale of 0 to 1,000, you book your own date, results arrive within three weeks, and the certificate is valid for five years.

The decision is your goal, not the exam's difficulty. If you need Spanish nationality, a Spanish public-sector competition such as the MIR, or a diploma that will still count in twenty years, it is the DELE. If you need a recognised level fast, are not sure which level you are, or want to certify only some skills, it is the SIELE. If you need C2 on paper, only the DELE goes that high.

What exactly is the DELE?

The Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera are official titles of Spain's Ministry of Education, with the Instituto Cervantes running them academically and administratively since 2002. There are six adult exams, one per CEFR level from A1 to C2, plus three school versions (A1, A2/B1 and B2/C1 escolar). You choose the level you sit; the exam then tells you whether you have it.

Each exam is sat on paper at an exam centre, on one of the international dates the Instituto Cervantes announces every year, with the oral test sometimes on a different day from the written ones. Registration closes well ahead: the Valencia centre's November 2026 sitting, for example, closed registration at the end of September. Results are published about two months after the exam, and candidates who pass later receive the printed diploma.

The DELE never expires, and that permanence is why it is the exam named in Spanish regulations: nationality by residence requires the DELE (A2 or higher) together with the CCSE civics test, and competitive exams such as the MIR and FIR accept it. More than a thousand centres in over a hundred countries run it.

What exactly is the SIELE?

The Servicio Internacional de Evaluación de la Lengua Española was created in 2016 by the Instituto Cervantes, Mexico's UNAM, the University of Salamanca and the University of Buenos Aires, which is why it deliberately uses the varieties of Spanish from Spain and Latin America throughout. It is taken on a computer at an exam centre, on a date and time you book, and the results come back within three weeks.

It is a single multilevel exam: the same sitting contains tasks from A1 up to C1, and each of the four tests is scored from 0 to 250, so the full exam gives a score out of 1,000. Each score is reported with its CEFR level. There is no pass or fail — the certificate states the level you showed on the day, and it is valid for five years.

You do not have to sit all four. The independent modalities certify parts of the language: S1 (reading and listening), S2 (reading and writing) and S3 (listening and speaking) are each scored out of 500, and S4 is the speaking test alone, out of 250. A partial sitting gives you a report rather than the full certificate.

Which one do universities, employers and immigration accept?

For Spanish nationality and for Spanish public competitions, the answer is settled: the DELE, and only the DELE. SIELE is not accepted for nationality, whatever its level.

For universities, both work in most cases. The DELE is recognised in regulated education systems in countries such as Brazil, France and Italy as well as by universities worldwide; the SIELE is recognised by the higher-education institutions in its network, which its brochure puts at more than 75 universities. If a specific programme is the reason you are sitting the exam, check its own list before you book — it is the one that counts.

For employers, either certificate does the job of proving a level. The practical difference is the clock: a SIELE certificate reaches a recruiter in three weeks and lapses after five years; a DELE arrives in about two months and is yours for life.

How is each exam scored, and what counts as a pass?

The DELE is pass or fail at the level you sit. The tests are scored in groups, and you have to clear the minimum in every group — a brilliant written paper does not rescue a failed oral. The exact thresholds are in each level's exam guide; the point to internalise is that you are proving the whole level, not averaging your way through it.

The SIELE cannot be failed. Each test returns a score and a CEFR level, and the overall score out of 1,000 comes with its own level. A B1 reader who speaks at A2 sees exactly that on the certificate, which is honest and sometimes uncomfortable. It also means the exam answers the question the DELE makes you answer in advance: what level are you?

That is the hidden cost of the DELE. Sit B2 when you are a strong B1 and you pay the fee, wait two months and get a no apto. What B2 Spanish actually means and the B1 vs B2 side-by-side are the two pages to read before you pick a level.

How do the formats compare on exam day?

Both exams test the same four skills: reading, listening, writing and speaking. The DELE spreads them across four tests sat on paper, with the speaking test an interview in front of examiners; the SIELE puts all four on a computer in about three hours, with the speaking recorded. Here is the DELE B2 — the level most people aim for — next to the full SIELE.

If the thought of a live examiner is the thing you dread, that is not a reason to choose the SIELE: the recorded speaking test gives you nobody to repair a misunderstanding with. Prepare the speaking either way — the DELE B2 oral guide explains what is actually scored.

How much do they cost in 2026?

Every level's test-by-test timing, the 2026 exam calendar and the pass rule are on our DELE exam page, beside the table of what each level certifies.

The fee is the smaller cost. The bigger one is sitting the wrong level: a second DELE attempt is another full fee and another date months away, while a SIELE sat a level too early simply reports the lower level and lets you book again when you are ready.

When can you take them, and how fast are the results?

The DELE runs on fixed international dates announced each year — several a year, not every level on every date — and centres close registration weeks in advance. The Valencia centre's 2026 autumn sittings, for instance, took registrations until 2 September for the 16–17 October exams and until 30 September for the 13–14 November ones. Results take about two months.

The SIELE is booked by appointment at any centre with a free slot, which in practice means most weeks of the year in a city with a centre, and the results arrive within three weeks. If a deadline is the reason you are reading this, that difference decides it.

Who should take the DELE?

• You are applying for Spanish nationality, or for a Spanish public competition that names the DELE — there is no alternative.
• You want a credential for life. A DELE from 2026 is as valid in 2046 as the day it was issued.
• You know your level. The DELE rewards certainty: pick the level you can pass and prove it.
• You need C2. The SIELE stops at C1; only the DELE certifies the top of the scale. What separates C1 from C2 in Spanish is worth reading before you decide you need it.
• Your target is a regulated system such as a school or university abroad that lists the DELE specifically.

Who should take the SIELE?

• You need a result quickly — a job application, a university deadline, a visa file that wants proof within the month.
• You are not sure of your level. One sitting places you anywhere from A1 to C1 instead of betting a fee on a guess.
• You want to certify part of the language — reading and listening for a research post, speaking alone for a customer-facing role.
• Fixed dates do not fit your life. You book the day and the hour.
• You learned Latin American Spanish. Both exams accept every standard variety, but the SIELE was built with Mexico and Argentina from day one, and its listening reflects that.

What if you do not know your level yet?

Then do not book a DELE yet. In Nivelo's own data — 386 completed free Spanish tests, recounted 18 October 2026 — 55% of test-takers sat at A1 or A2, 18% at B1, 13% at B2 and 14% at C1. Most people who think they are 'about B2' are a level lower, and the DELE charges you to find that out.

Nivelo's free 5-minute Spanish test gives you a calibrated CEFR level from reading and listening in the time it takes to make a coffee. If it says B1 and you want B2 on paper, the plan from B1 to B2 is about 200 hours of the right kind of work; how long Spanish takes sets the calendar for every level. Still torn after that? The DELE or SIELE quiz asks five questions about your goal and timeline and gives you a recommendation.

DELE vs SIELE: the short version

• Nationality, a Spanish public competition, or a diploma for life: DELE.
• A result in three weeks, your own date, or an honest answer to 'what level am I?': SIELE.
• C2 on paper: DELE — the SIELE's scale ends at C1.
• Not sure of your level: measure it free first, then book the level you can pass.

Whichever you choose, the exam is the last step. Find your Spanish level free, then spend the weeks before the date on the skills the exam will actually score.