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The SFI national test: how it works in courses B, C and D

The SFI national test has four parts: reading, listening, writing and speaking. How it works in courses B, C and D, how it is graded, what changes in 2027.

  • 7 min read
  • Updated October 27, 2026
Adult students writing a paper test in a classroom while the teacher helps one of them
Foto: Andy Barbour / Pexels
Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. When do you take the test?
  3. The four parts of the test
  4. How the speaking test works
  5. Pass, fail and your course grade
  6. What if you fail the test?
  7. Adaptations for dyslexia or disability
  8. What changes in January 2027?
  9. Are there old tests to practise with?
  10. Practise the four skills on Beyond SFI
  11. Our honest take
  12. Common questions
  13. Related articles

In SFI there is a national test at the end of courses B, C and D. The test has four parts: reading, listening, writing and speaking. In autumn 2026 and spring 2027 the test is on paper. The result is Godkänt (pass) or Icke godkänt (fail), and your teacher sets the course grade from an overall assessment. From January 2027, new tests come with the new course plans. If you want to train the four skills on your own, you can do it for free on Beyond SFI.

When do you take the test?

There is no national test day in Sweden. Each test has a first and a last date when schools may use it. Your school picks the day, when your course is close to its end.

You take the test once, at the end of the course. Skolverket estimates that the whole test takes about four to five hours. Your teacher tells you when it is, how it works and how it is marked. A few things are always true:

  • You may not have a mobile phone or a smartwatch with you.
  • During the test you may not talk to the other students, not even in your own language.

The four parts of the test

The test has four parts, called delprov: Läsa (reading), Höra (listening), Skriva (writing) and Tala (speaking). Reading and listening test that you understand. Writing and speaking test that you can express yourself. Course D is the last SFI course (there is no SFI E).

The table shows the tests used in autumn 2026. The new tests from 2027 may look different.

PartWhat you doWhat the teacher assesses
Läsa (reading)You read short and slightly longer texts in two booklets and answer questions. In courses C and D there is usually a longer article. Here are reading exercises at the level of courses C and D.Whether you understand the texts. You need a set number of points to pass this part.
Höra (listening)You listen to recorded interviews, conversations or news and answer questions. Courses C and D have one booklet, course B has two.Whether you understand what you hear. Here too there is a points limit.
Skriva (writing)Courses B and C have one writing task. Course D has two: usually one informal and one more formal.Whether the text solves the task and suits the reader, and whether it is clear and hangs together. Then words, grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Tala (speaking)A conversation led by a teacher. Course B has one individual task. Courses C and D have an individual task and a paired task.Whether what you say fits the task and is easy to understand, whether you keep the conversation going and adapt to the person you talk to. Then words, grammar and pronunciation.

Writing and speaking are marked with assessment matrices that Stockholm University publishes for each course. The teacher starts with the whole: does the text or the conversation do its job? Your Swedish does not have to be perfect, as long as your mistakes do not make you hard to understand. But being understood is not enough. In course D you also need to show that you can vary your language, link your sentences and write more formally to someone you do not know.

How the speaking test works

The speaking test, delprov Tala, is a conversation led by a teacher. The teacher is called the samtalsledare (conversation leader).

In the individual task you talk with the conversation leader about a topic. The conversation leader asks questions and helps you on if you get stuck. In the paired task in courses C and D you talk with another student. You get question cards to help you start, and you talk to each other. The conversation leader is less active then. The topics are everyday ones. In course B they are mostly about you and your life, and in course D also about more general questions.

Stockholm University publishes guidance for the conversation leaders. For course D it says, for example:

  • Silence is fine. You get time to think before the next question.
  • The conversation leader does not correct your Swedish during the conversation.
  • If you search for a word, you first get to try yourself. Then the conversation leader can help.
  • A single word in another language is fine, as long as you mostly speak Swedish.
  • If it is clear that you are reciting a speech you learned by heart, a new question comes when you pause.

Pass, fail and your course grade

The test result is Godkänt (G, pass) or Icke godkänt (IG, fail). Since 2022 there are no A to F grades in SFI. Every course is graded Godkänt or Icke godkänt.

The test is compulsory in courses B, C and D, and it counts a lot when the teacher sets your grade. But one test cannot show everything you can do. So the teacher makes an overall assessment of everything you have shown during the course. You need to do all four parts to get a test result.

Afterwards you may go through your test with your teacher and get a copy of your results. You may not take the test itself home, because it is confidential.

What if you fail the test?

A fail on the test does not automatically mean a fail on the course. Your teacher weighs everything you have shown, and the test is only one part of it.

The idea is that you take the test once, at the end of the course. According to the test group at Stockholm University, you may still sometimes get a second chance to take it, after more study. Your teacher knows how this works at your school. Ask early.

Keep the time limit in mind too. Since 1 January 2026 you have the right to SFI for three years from the day you were admitted. If you started SFI before 1 January 2026, the three years count from 1 January 2026. With special reasons you can get an extension, at most six months at a time and at most three more years. So you can study SFI for at most six years in total. The kommun (municipality) can also end your studies if you do not make enough progress. You can read more about the rules in our guide to applying for and starting SFI.

Adaptations for dyslexia or disability

If you have a disability or reading and writing difficulties, the test can be adapted for you. The rektor (head of the school) decides, and you do not need a formal diagnosis. The adaptation has to be prepared in good time, so talk to your teacher early.

Stockholm University gives examples of adaptations in courses B, C and D:

  • More time, in all four parts.
  • Larger text or text on coloured paper.
  • The test split up over several sessions, for example several days.
  • Writing on a computer that is not connected to the internet, in Skriva.
  • Listening alone with headphones in Höra, for example for hearing loss.
  • A suitable conversation partner in Tala, for hearing loss.

The test must still test the same thing. So nobody may read the texts in Läsa aloud to you: the part would then test listening instead. For special reasons the rektor can let you skip a part of the test, but then you get no test result.

What changes in January 2027?

From January 2027 there are new national tests in SFI. They are built on the new course plans and are used for courses that start after 31 December 2026. If you started your course before 1 January 2027, you take the tests that exist today.

With the new course plans, the courses get new names by study path, for example 2C or 3D. How the names fit with courses A to D is explained in our guide to the SFI levels. The grade is still Godkänt or Icke godkänt. What the new tests look like is not public yet. Ask your teacher which test you will take.

Are there old tests to practise with?

No, not officially. Old SFI tests are confidential, even after they are no longer used, because the tasks can be used again. Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) has free example tasks for all four parts, and the assessment matrices for writing and speaking are on Stockholm University's website. How and where to practise each part is in our guide to practising for the SFI national test.

Practise the four skills on Beyond SFI

Beyond SFI (beyond-sfi.se) is a free website where you can practise Swedish for everyday situations, during or after SFI. Its courses are built on Skolverket's syllabus for SFI. There you train reading, listening, writing and speaking. Everyday Swedish A2 fits during course C and early in course D, and Everyday Swedish B1+ late in course D and after SFI. They contain no test tasks, and we cannot promise anything about your test result. The courses, their own final exams and the certificate are free to use. There are model answers to compare with when you write and speak. AI feedback on what you write and say costs money (Beyond SFI Plus).

Our honest take

The test is fairer than many people think. The teacher first asks one simple question: does the other person understand you? You may make mistakes, take pauses and stop to think. So you train much of what the test measures every time you use Swedish for real, at the doctor's, at work or with a neighbour. The formal text and the longer article, though, need practice of their own. And one bad test day is not your whole grade.

Common questions

Facts checked: October 2026. Your school decides when and how the test is taken. Ask your teacher if something is unclear. Beyond SFI is independent and not affiliated with Skolverket or Stockholm University.

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