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CILS Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language

Certifications of Italian are titles that declare the degree of communicative competence in Italian as a foreign language speaker. The recipients are all foreign citizens, Italian citizens residing abroad (descendants of Italian emigrants) and foreign immigrants in Italy. No special qualifications are required to take the tests.

ItalCultura offers intensive preparation courses for CILS exams. Students have the opportunity to test their proficiency in Italian, and receive an official designation of their level of linguistic ability. Certification is awarded by the Università per Stranieri di Siena and is recognized by the Italian Government on the basis of an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The CILS exam takes place at the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago (an Italian Government entity).

The next CILS exam at the Italian Cultural Institute will take place on the days indicated below. Registration closes 60 days prior to the exam dates.  Please note that in addition to the standard exam fee, each candidate will be required to pay an additional fee of $60 to the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Chicago to cover the costs of administering the exam.

To register for the CILS exam at the Italian Cultural Institute in Chicago or for any questions related to taking the exam at our office, please email maryanne.melchior@esteri.it

2026 Exam Dates and Levels

20 GIUGNO** (scadenza iscrizioni 7 maggio)

**Please note that other locations will be offering this exam on June 16th.

A1*
A1 Bambini*
A1 A*
A1 Integrazione in Italia*
A2 Standard
A2 Bambini
A2 A
A2 Integrazione in Italia
B1 A
B1 C
B1 Standard
B2
B2 A
C1
C2
22 LUGLIO (scadenza iscrizioni 22 giugno)

A2 integrazione
B1 C
21 OTTOBRE (scadenza iscrizioni 21 settembre)

A2 Standard
A2 Integrazione
B1 C
3 DICEMBRE (scadenza iscrizioni 24 ottobre)

A1*
A1 Bambini*
A1 A*
A1 Integrazione in Italia*
A2 Standard
A2 Bambini
A2 A
A2 Integrazione in Italia
B1 A
B1 C
B1 Standard
B2
B2 A
C1
C2

For more information regarding the CILS exams, including the opportunity to review the contents of prior exams, please click here.

To prepare yourself for the CILS exam, visit our website italculturachicago.com for information regarding the Italian language courses offered at ItalCultura, the language school at our Institute.

For a list of other locations throughout the world that are still offering the CILS exams click here.

For certifications obtained abroad through the network of Italian Cultural Institutes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established relations with the following institutions: Università  per Stranieri di Siena (CILS), Università per Stranieri di Perugia (CELI – CIC), Università degli Studi Roma Tre (IT – ele.IT), Società Dante Alighieri.

Certification levels according to the standard system of the General European Framework

Università per Stranieri di Perugia Università per Stranieri di
Siena		 Università degli Studi di Roma Tre Dante Alighieri
Level C2
Padonanza		 CELI 5 CILS Quattro-C2 IT PLIDA C2
Level C1
Efficacia
CELI4
CILS Tre-C1 —— PLIDA C1
Level B2
Progresso		 CELI3 CILS Due B2 —— PLIDA B2
LIVELLO B1
Soglia		 CELI2 CILS Uno B1 ele.IT PLIDA B1
Level A2
Sopravvivenza		 CELI1 CILS A2 —— PLIDA A2
Level A1
Contatto		 CELI1 CILS A1 —— PLIDA A1