If you have gone looking for the price of B2 First or C1 Advanced on Cambridge's own website and come away empty-handed, that is not a gap in the site. Cambridge does not publish one global fee for either exam. This page explains who does set the price, how you actually book a seat, what the choice between a digital and a paper-based entry changes, and what arrives on results day. If you want the papers themselves, the B2 First and C1 Advanced exam format page covers parts, timings and scoring, and the Myndaq Cambridge course drills them.
The short version
- There is no published global fee. Cambridge says the cost "depends on which exam you take and where you take it" and tells candidates to ask their chosen centre.
- You register with an authorised exam centre, not with Cambridge. The centre takes your booking, tells you the fee and how to pay, and holds your exam dates.
- Digital entries run up to 365 days a year; paper-based entries run on set dates, and not every centre offers every published date.
- Results: 5-10 working days after a digital session, normally 4-6 weeks after a paper-based one.
- The certificate does not expire, but a university or employer can still apply its own recency rule.
Why there is no price on the Cambridge website
Cambridge's registration page puts it plainly: "The cost of entering for a Cambridge English exam depends on which exam you take and where you take it." It then sends you to your chosen exam centre for the figure - the centres, it says, "will give you more information about Cambridge English exams, how much they cost and how you can prepare".
Exams are delivered by a worldwide network of authorised centres, and each one prices its own sessions against local costs. That makes a quoted figure from a coaching site or a forum worth very little: it may be a different country, a different delivery mode, or a bundle that includes a preparation course. The only number that binds is the one your centre gives you in writing.
Two questions are worth asking when you get that number:
- Is this the exam entry alone, or does it include a preparation course, materials or an administration charge?
- What are the centre's transfer, withdrawal and refund conditions, and by what date do they apply? Cambridge does not publish these centrally either; they sit with the centre.
Finding an exam centre
Cambridge runs a centre database you search by country and city. For each centre it gives you contact details and the list of Cambridge English exams that centre offers - which matters, because not every centre offers both B2 First and C1 Advanced, and not every centre offers both delivery modes.
Once you pick one, Cambridge describes the centre's job like this: "they will tell you how to book your exam (paper-based or digital), share information on their exam dates and provide information about any preparation courses."
One detail in the small print is easy to miss on the day. Cambridge notes that "exam centres can run exams in locations and regions other than where the exam centre is based", and advises candidates to always check with the centre about where the test venue actually is. The address you booked through is not automatically the address you sit at.
How registration works
Cambridge sets out three steps: choose your exam, find an exam centre, and book directly with that centre. In practice the sequence runs like this.
- Fix the qualification first. B2 First, B2 First for Schools and C1 Advanced are different entries. If an institution has named one, enter for exactly that.
- Decide digital or paper-based, because it changes which dates exist (see below) and how quickly your result lands.
- Contact the centre and follow its procedure. It sets its own closing date, its own payment method and its own documentation list.
- Ask about access arrangements early if you need them. Cambridge's instruction for candidates with a physical, learning or other difficulty is to "ask your centre to make a Special Requirements application" - the application goes through the centre, so it has to be raised before the centre's deadline, not on the day.
- Keep the Confirmation of Entry. It carries your Candidate ID number and Candidate Secret Number, and you will need both to see your result online.
Reading the exam calendar without being caught out
Cambridge publishes set dates for paper-based exams, and downloadable date lists for the coming years, but the calendar is not a guarantee of availability. Its own guidance on the exam-dates pages is to confirm dates with local exam centres, because centres choose which of the published sessions they run.
So treat the published calendar as the outer boundary of what is possible and the centre's own list as what is actually on offer. Digital sessions are the flexible end of this: Cambridge makes them available up to 365 days a year through local centres, subject to that centre scheduling them.
The Speaking test is worth asking about separately. It is face to face with an examiner, and centres frequently schedule it on a different day from the written papers.
Digital or paper-based
Cambridge's position is that "the qualification at the end is the same, but there are differences in the exam delivery, experience and timing". What differs:
- Digital - on-screen timer, headphones for the Listening test, a word counter for Writing, and a notes and highlighter function. Available up to 365 days a year. Results in 5-10 working days.
- Paper-based - pen and pencil, with a digital audio player for the Listening test. Set dates. Results normally in 4-6 weeks.
- Both - the Speaking test remains face to face, which Cambridge explains as testing real-life language skills.
If your application has a deadline, the results gap is the deciding factor rather than any preference about screens: five to ten working days against four to six weeks is the difference between comfortably making a deadline and missing it.
What to have ready on exam day
- Photo identification. Your centre tells you beforehand which form of ID it accepts, and you have it ready for checking.
- A test-day photo. For B2 First, C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency, the centre takes your photo on the day. It appears on your Statement of Results so that universities, immigration authorities and employers can be sure the result belongs to you. Cambridge's C1 Advanced factsheet states the photo is mandatory for that exam.
- No phone. Cambridge is explicit that you cannot access your mobile phone or electronic items during the exam or during breaks.
Results day, the Statement of Results and the certificate
When results appear. Digital exam results are available 5-10 working days after the exam session; paper-based results are normally available 4-6 weeks after the session.
How to see them. Cambridge runs a free Online Results Service. You sign up with the Candidate ID and Secret Number printed on your Confirmation of Entry, and the service notifies you as soon as results are released. If you cannot find either number, Cambridge's instruction is to contact your exam centre.
What the Statement of Results shows. A separate Cambridge English Scale score for each skill, the overall score derived from those scores, a grade, a CEFR level, your test-day photo and a verification number.
Who gets a certificate. Cambridge issues one above a threshold per exam: 140 or above for B2 First, 160 or above for C1 Advanced. Read the level printed on it, though, because the threshold is not the target level. A B2 First score of 140-159 certifies B1, not B2; a C1 Advanced score of 160-179 certifies B2, not C1. Below the threshold you still receive a Statement of Results with your score on it, but no certificate.
When the certificate arrives, and where. Paper certificates go to the exam centre, not to your home: usually within 3-4 weeks for a digital exam, and 7-10 weeks after the exam date for a paper-based one. Collect it from the centre you sat with.
How long it lasts. Cambridge states that your certificate does not expire. That is not the same as universal acceptance - recognising organisations set their own view of how recent a result must be, so check the rule of whoever you are sending it to before you book, not after.
Sharing a result. Organisations can check a result through Cambridge's Results Verification Service: you send them the reference number from your certificate or Statement of Results together with your date of birth, and they verify it at cambridgeenglish.org/verifiers. You can also send a result to a recognising organisation yourself through the Results Service for Candidates. Cambridge links an enquiries-and-appeals route from its results pages, but does not set out the procedure or any fee there - that comes from your centre.
Quick answers
How much does B2 First or C1 Advanced cost?
Cambridge does not publish a single price. The cost depends on which exam you take and where you take it, and your chosen exam centre tells you the amount and how to pay.
Do I book with Cambridge or with an exam centre?
With an authorised exam centre. Cambridge's own instruction is to register directly with the centre, which handles booking, dates, fees and payment.
When can I take the exam?
Digital sittings are available up to 365 days a year through local centres; paper-based sittings run on Cambridge's set dates. Not every centre offers every published date, so confirm with the centre.
How soon will I get my result?
5-10 working days after a digital session, and normally 4-6 weeks after a paper-based one. You see it through the free Online Results Service using the Candidate ID and Secret Number on your Confirmation of Entry.
Where do I collect my certificate?
From the exam centre where you sat. Cambridge sends paper certificates to the centre, usually within 3-4 weeks for digital exams and 7-10 weeks after the exam date for paper-based exams.
Does my Cambridge certificate expire?
No - Cambridge states the certificate does not expire. Individual universities, employers and authorities may still require a recent result, so confirm their rule before applying.
