Every week someone asks me a version of the same question: how many points do I need to pass telc B1? The short answer fits in one line. You need 135 of 225 on the written exam and 45 of 75 on the oral exam. The long answer is more interesting, because the way most people do the math is wrong, and the real calculation can fail you with a score that looks comfortably passing.
I had to get this exactly right when I built Yulo's score calculator. That meant reading the telc rules the way a compiler reads code: no vibes, no folklore. This post is that reading, in plain language.
The math everyone does first (and why it fails people)
The exam has 300 points. 60 percent of 300 is 180. So 180 points to pass, right?
No. The written exam and the oral exam are graded as two separate exams that happen to share one certificate. You need 60 percent in each part, independently. There is no compensation between them. A brilliant written exam cannot rescue a bad speaking exam, and the other way around.
Concrete example: you score 195 of 225 on the written part. That is 87 percent, genuinely excellent. Then the speaking exam goes badly and you get 40 of 75. Your total is 235 of 300, deep in the "gut" grade band. You still fail, because 40 is below 45. Meanwhile someone with exactly 135 and 45, a full 55 points behind you, passes.
Where the points live
| Section | Points |
|---|---|
| Leseverstehen (reading) | 75 |
| Sprachbausteine (grammar and vocabulary) | 30 |
| Hörverstehen (listening) | 75 |
| Schriftlicher Ausdruck (the letter) | 45 |
| Written total | 225 |
| Sprechen (all three speaking parts) | 75 |
| Exam total | 300 |
Two things are worth noticing here. Sprachbausteine, the section people fear most because it says "grammar" on the tin, is worth 30 points. That is ten percent of the exam. Speaking alone is worth 75, as much as the entire reading section. If you are going to allocate panic, allocate it proportionally.
Half points are real
The letter and the speaking exam are graded by two assessors against criteria, and averaging criterion scores produces half points. This matters at the boundary: 134.5 written points is a fail. There is no rounding up and no discretion. The thresholds are hard numbers, which is exactly why you should know them before exam day, not after.
Nothing is ever dropped from your score
This is the part almost nobody tells you. Every section you sit (or skip) stays in the denominator. If you leave the letter blank, you do not get a smaller exam. You get 0 of 45, and now you need 135 points from the 180 that remain, which is 75 percent on everything else.
The same logic produces the harshest rule in the whole exam: a letter that completely misses the task can score zero even if the German in it is beautiful. I wrote a whole post about that one: the telc B1 zero rule.
The grade bands
If you pass both parts, your grade comes from your total:
| Total points | Grade |
|---|---|
| 270 to 300 | sehr gut |
| 240 to 269.5 | gut |
| 210 to 239.5 | befriedigend |
| 180 to 209.5 | ausreichend |
Note the trap hiding in there: the bands describe totals, but they only apply once both parts are individually passed. 235 total with a failed oral part is not "befriedigend". It is a results sheet instead of a certificate.
If you fail one part
Good news, finally. You do not repeat the whole exam. You can retake just the part you failed, written or oral, and carry the passed part over. Three fine-print rules:
- The retake must happen within 12 months of the date on your results sheet.
- You must request the carryover when you register for the retake, not afterwards.
- There is no limit on attempts.
When do results arrive?
It depends on the exam center, so ask when you register. A few weeks is normal. If you passed, you get the certificate. If not, you get the results sheet, which at least tells you exactly which part to retake and how far off you were.
What I do with this
One practical conclusion: track your written and oral scores separately, always, because that is how telc will judge you. Yulo does exactly that. Every practice session is scored against the real thresholds, 135 of 225 and 45 of 75, so "am I passing right now?" is a number on your dashboard, not a feeling. Given what a wrong feeling costs here, I recommend the number.