# CEFR Level B1

> B1 is the third level of the Common European Framework and the lower Independent User level. Its informal name is Threshold — the oldest label in the framework, inherited from the Council of Europe's…

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Last updated: 2026-10-24
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**B1** is the third level of the Common European Framework and the lower **Independent User** level. Its informal name is **Threshold** — the oldest label in the framework, inherited from the Council of Europe's *Threshold Level* specification of the 1970s, which is the document the whole scale grew out of.

## Why B1 is the line that matters

B1 is where the framework stops calling you a Basic User. The descriptors say a B1 speaker can:

- understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school and leisure;
- **deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling** in an area where the language is spoken;
- produce simple connected text on familiar or personally interesting topics;
- describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions, and **briefly give reasons and explanations** for opinions and plans.

The operative word is **independent**. Below B1 you need the other party to accommodate you. At B1 you can generally cope with ordinary speech at ordinary speed in familiar territory, and you can give reasons — which is the point at which a person can argue, negotiate and explain rather than only report.

## What it is worth in practice

- **Citizenship.** B1 is the most common level attached to **naturalisation** requirements in Europe. Where a country sets a language test for citizenship, B1 is the usual bar.
- **Work.** The level at which a person becomes employable in roles involving customers, colleagues and judgement rather than only routine tasks.
- **Study.** Sufficient for some vocational training and foundation courses; generally **not** sufficient for a full degree taught in the language, which usually wants B2.

## Certificates at B1 with staying power

- **English** — **B1 Preliminary** (the Preliminary English Test). Cambridge's own history dates it to **1980**, with a revised version documented in **1995**. One of the longest-running B1-targeted examinations anywhere.
- **Spanish** — **DELE B1**, Instituto Cervantes, on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education.
- **French** — **DELF B1**, French Ministry of Education. Lifetime diploma, no expiry.
- **German** — **Goethe-Zertifikat B1**, Goethe-Institut, developed jointly with the Swiss and Austrian partners in the *telc* / ÖSD arrangement for this level.
- **Italian** — **CILS Uno B1**, **CELI 2**, **PLIDA B1**.

## How long it takes

Published estimates commonly put total guided hours to B1 at **350 to 400** for a closely related language. The gap from A2 to B1 is the one learners most often underestimate, because it is where vocabulary stops being a list and starts being a range.

## Where to go next

CEFR Level B2 — the university and professional line, and the level at which most doors stop being conditional.

See also: CEFR The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages · CEFR Level A2 · CEFR Level B2 · Getting Paid to Teach Abroad