The Norskprøve C1 is not a higher band of the ordinary Norskprøve. It is a separate test, built differently, and it carries a risk the A1–B2 test does not: you receive either C1 or Ikke bestått — not passed. There is no lower level to fall back on. It runs only twice a year, in June and December, it pairs two skills in each of its two subtests, and it is assessed by a central panel rather than at your test centre.

Sources: HK-dir — Norskprøven C1, høgare akademisk nivå; HK-dir — praktisk gjennomføring av norskprøve C1; HK-dir — resultater fra prøver i norsk og samfunnskunnskap; HK-dir — meld deg på norskprøven C1.

Who it is for

C1 was developed to help highly qualified immigrants move into work that matches their competence, and it is aimed at people who have come a long way in the language and want to document it — or who are applying for roles where the language demands are very high.

It is not the test for the citizenship requirement. That sits at B1 on the ordinary Norskprøve’s oral subtest, and nothing about C1 is needed for it.

One thing worth knowing if you are weighing it against a lower test: B2 is the current requirement for admission to higher education in Norway, and a pass at C1 also covers that requirement. Results from the A1–B2 test and from C1 can be combined.

Two subtests, each pairing two skills

The ordinary Norskprøve measures each of the four skills in its own subtest. C1 does not. It has two independent subtests, each combining two skills:

  • Listening comprehension and written presentation
  • Reading comprehension and oral communication

You may register for one or both. You may also register for a different level of the ordinary Norskprøve alongside C1 — but not for the same C1 subtest twice in one test period. Test centres choose the order, and may hold both subtests on the same day.

What each subtest involves

Listening and writing is entirely digital. You hear a recording twice over about 15 minutes, then have 45 minutes to write a summary of it, then about 90 minutes for a second written task. The completed test is sent automatically to the assessors when you submit.

Reading and speaking runs in two parts. You get 30 minutes to read texts, on screen or on paper, and may take notes. The oral part then takes 15 to 25 minutes, and test centres are required to schedule it so that you go straight from the preparation period into the examination.

The oral part has three tasks. One requires summarising a text so that someone who has not read it gets a clear impression of it; another asks you to present the views in two texts, say whether you agree, say who you agree with most, and argue for your position. You speak for three to five minutes per presentation.

You may use your notes, but HK-dir is explicit that it must be an oral presentation, not read aloud. And because the subtest also measures reading comprehension, how you retell the text is itself being assessed.

How it is marked

Both subtests are assessed by a centralised panel of assessors — at least two per response — not by staff at your test centre.

For the reading and speaking subtest, the examiner is local but the assessors are not present on the day. The examiner makes an audio recording of the examination, which is uploaded to the digital test system and assessed afterwards.

The marking threshold is strict: all criteria must be at C1 level for a task to pass. One assessment form covers the whole subtest, with delivery assessed separately across the three tasks and the language criteria assessed collectively.

What the only published pass rates show

Treat this section as historical rather than current, because it is the only figure there is.

HK-dir published results from the first sitting, in December 2020. Of the candidates who took it:

  • 29.7 per cent achieved C1 on the listening and writing subtest
  • 44.1 per cent achieved C1 on the reading and speaking subtest

HK-dir described these as very good results compared with other tests at high levels — which tells you something about how demanding tests at this level are generally.

Nothing more recent is available: HK-dir’s statistics bank covers the Norskprøve, samfunnskunnskapsprøve and statsborgerprøve from 2020 onwards, and states that C1 results are not yet included. So the figures above are five years old and describe the very first cohort, who had no past papers to work from. Read them as an indication of difficulty, not as your odds.

Read alongside the binary outcome, the implication is practical rather than discouraging: this is a test to sit when you are confident, not one to attempt speculatively to see where you land. The ordinary Norskprøve, where a B1–B2 booking can return either result, is the one that rewards trying.

Booking

Registration opens for a short window well before the test — for a June sitting, a recent window ran across five days in mid-April. You receive the dates for your subtests no later than two weeks beforehand.

Registration is binding: you pay whether or not you attend. With a medical certificate you can take the test later without paying again, but you must contact your test centre to withdraw.

Prices are set by the municipality and C1 typically costs more than the ordinary test — one municipality has charged 1 300 kroner for the reading and oral subtest against 1 210 for other tests, another 2 000 kroner per C1 subtest.

The test can be adapted in various ways; arrange that with your test centre in advance.

HK-dir recommends speaking to a teacher who knows the highest levels well before deciding whether C1 is the right test for you, and provides a free guidance test that recommends a level.

If C1 is not what you need

For most readers of this site it will not be. The citizenship requirement is B1 on the oral subtest of the ordinary Norskprøve, and permanent residence is A2. For healthcare authorisation it is B2 on all four subtests — and where C1 appears in a job advert, that is the employer’s own bar, lawfully set, not a legal requirement.

C1 is worth considering only where an employer, an institution or a professional route specifically asks for it — in which case the thing to establish first is which of the two subtests they actually require, since you can sit them separately.

What the CEFR levels describe covers the levels most people are working towards.