telc B2 Beruf (DTB) or telc Deutsch B2: what is the difference?

The Deutsch-Test für den Beruf B2 (DTB B2, often searched as “telc B2 Beruf”) is the final exam of the B2 job-language course: it tests German at work, and you take it at the end of a course that needs an entitlement. telc Deutsch B2 is a general exam you book yourself at an exam centre. Both certify B2, but the format and the pass rule differ a lot.

What is the Deutsch-Test für den Beruf B2?

telc developed the DTB for the Federal Labour Ministry, together with the BAMF, as the final exam of the B2 basic job-language course. It tests whether you can act appropriately in German at a workplace: the texts come from working life, and there are mediation tasks, such as listening to a customer enquiry and writing it down. The certificate states reading, listening, writing and speaking at B2.

telc Deutsch B2 is not a job exam. The topics are general, the level the same: according to the CEFR, at B2 you understand the main ideas of complex texts and can explain a viewpoint with the pros and cons of options.

Who takes which exam?

You sit the DTB B2 at the end of the job-language course (Berufssprachkurs). For the course you need a finished integration course or proof of B1, and according to the BAMF you must be in one of these situations: job-seeking or on Bürgergeld or unemployment benefit, looking for or in vocational training, in a recognition procedure for your qualification, or employed. The entitlement comes from the Jobcenter or the employment agency if you receive benefits, otherwise from the BAMF. B2 courses are running: since 1 October 2026 the BAMF continues them unchanged.

For a 400-unit course that is 1,024 € for employees above the limit; the employer may pay it. Where you can take telc Deutsch B2 is on telc exam dates.

How do the format and points differ?

The biggest difference for your preparation: in the DTB each of the four skills weighs the same, speaking too with 60 of 240 points. In telc Deutsch B2 the written exam carries 225 of the 300 points. What the language elements look like in telc is on telc B2 Sprachbausteine.

When have you passed?

In the DTB B2 you need 60 % of all points, 144 of 240, and more than 60 %, 36 points, in at least three of the four parts. One weaker part is made up by the others if it lies between 40 and 60 %. That is the rule in the DTB B2 practice test.

telc Deutsch B2 has a different rule: 60 % in the written exam (135 of 225) and, separately, 60 % in the oral (45 of 75). Within the written exam, reading, listening, language elements and writing balance each other; the oral counts on its own. How the points split and how much time each part has is on telc Deutsch B2 exam.

Which exam will the place asking for B2 accept?

Both certificates state B2. Whether your employer, the recognition office or a university accepts one or the other is their decision. Ask them before you register.

If you are in a job-language course anyway, the DTB B2 is the exam it ends with. If you learn without a course or have no entitlement, telc Deutsch B2 is the way. For practice, telc offers a free practice test with audio for each exam. How B2 differs from B1 is in the difference between B1 and B2.