Short version, if you're here for the headline. Zkouška A2 (full name: "Zkouška z českého jazyka pro trvalý pobyt v ČR, úroveň A2") is the language exam you have to pass to get permanent residency (trvalý pobyt) in Czechia. Four parts, 110 points total, it costs 3,200 Kč, and you can sit it up to 3 times a year. It's run by the Národní pedagogický institut ČR (NPI ČR).
Below: how the parts are structured, how many points you actually need (this is where everyone gets confused), who's exempt, what really changed in 2026, and where to get the official materials. All of it straight from NPI's own sources, not secondhand summaries.
What the exam consists of
| Part | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Čtení (reading) | 40 min | 25 |
| Psaní (writing) | 25 min | 20 |
| Poslech (listening) | ~40 min | 25 |
| Mluvení (speaking) | 15 min | 40 |
Look at the last row: speaking is worth 40 points — more than any other part. That's not an accident. The exam is testing whether you can actually live in the country and communicate, not fill in test forms. And speaking is exactly where most people fail — more on that below.
How many points you need to pass
This is where most articles and forum posts get it wrong. The passing score is not "60% in every part." The actual rule:
- reading + writing + listening — combined minimum of 42 out of 70 (60%);
- speaking — separately, minimum 24 out of 40 (60%).
In other words, the three written parts are scored as one combined total: a weak writing score can be pulled up by a strong reading score. Speaking stands alone — nothing compensates for it. Fail either half and you retake the entire exam, not just one part.
If you've read anywhere that "you need 60% in every single block" — that's wrong, and it's a costly mistake: people convince themselves they failed everything when they actually passed on the combined score.
Price, attempts, and certificate
- The fee is 3,200 Kč. You can sit the exam a maximum of 3 times per calendar year, and if you fail, you can't retake it for at least 3 months.
- Free vouchers no longer exist. They were discontinued on August 31, 2023. Plenty of articles and forum threads still describe them as current — don't trust that; the exam is paid for everyone now.
- Pass, and you get the "Osvědčení o znalosti českého jazyka" certificate within 30 days.
- The exam level was raised from A1 to A2 back on September 1, 2021 — if you've come across information about an A1 exam, it's outdated.
Who's exempt
You don't have to take the exam if you are:
- a child under 15;
- over 60 years old;
- someone who studied for at least one year at a school or university taught in Czech within the last 20 years;
- someone with a health condition that affects your ability to communicate.
Everyone else applying for trvalý pobyt needs the A2 certificate.
What changed as of April 11, 2026
There's a lot of rumor around this date, so straight to the point: what actually changed isn't what most people assume.
What stayed the same:
- the level — still A2;
- the certificate, and the rules and timeline for getting it — unchanged;
- the point split (25 / 20 / 25 / 40) — unchanged.
What actually changed is the task types in two parts:
- writing now leans more on interaction (not just "write a text," but react, respond, negotiate);
- speaking got more topics and more initiative expected from the candidate: you're expected to drive the conversation yourself, not just answer questions;
- in both parts, A2-level vocabulary became an explicit scoring criterion.
What didn't happen: no "new phonetics section worth 3 points." Points for pronunciation have always existed and remain a criterion applied across the entire speaking part — not a separate task and not new in 2026. If an article is warning you about a new pronunciation test, it's copied from someone else's secondhand summary, not from an NPI press release.
The actual press release on the format change is a page and a half, a five-minute read.
How to register and where to take it
The exam is administered at accredited schools across Czechia. Registration goes through the official NPI website, which also lists exam locations by city:
Register early: ahead of permanent residency application waves, spots in popular cities fill up fast, and you only get three attempts a year.
Official materials — go to the source
The best preparation isn't secondhand summaries (including this one) — it's the materials from the organizer itself. They're free and built in the actual exam format:
- Sample test 1 (new format) and Sample test 2
- "Na co si dát pozor" — the organizer's own breakdown of common mistakes in writing and speaking
- Příručka pro uchazeče 2026
- Interactive sample test
Where people fail — and what to do about it
You can learn the exam format in an evening — you just read the whole thing above. The written parts are also something you can prepare for: the sample tests above show exactly what will be on the exam.
The real problem is speaking. It's worth 40 points, scored separately, and can't be made up elsewhere. And people fail it not because they don't know the format, but because they've lived in Czechia for two years, understand everything — and have never once spoken out loud for fifteen straight minutes. It happens for the first time in the examiner's office: your head knows the answer, your mouth won't open, the clock keeps running, and no points get scored.
What actually helps is speaking out loud before the exam, not during it. We broke down the speaking part task by task in a separate article: A2 exam speaking part — the four tasks explained. And for why understanding doesn't turn into speech on its own, and how to fix that, see Understand But Can't Speak.
Short version: don't train the format, train the act of speaking itself. Every day, out loud, with feedback — so that by exam day, fifteen minutes of Czech speech feels routine, not like a stress test.
More on the exam and preparation is in the A2/B1 Exam section.