Generally, the higher the level of exam, the more recognised, accepted and valuable it is. It is very important that you choose an exam at an appropriate level for you, otherwise you may find it too difficult and fail or too easy in which case the certificate will not correspond to your real proficiency level. We suggest you ask your English language teacher for advice.

For more detailed information about the BEC exams click here

NOTE – some parts of the exam may take place on a different day

The dates of the written exam are fixed and cannot be changed. Parts Listening and Speaking may take place on a different date. Should this be the case, candidates will be notified via invitation letter or email approximately 3 weeks prior to the first part of the test.

Some exams are only available in Bratislava.
All exams are a subject to minimum entry requirements!
The late registration fee is increased by 35 EUR due to the additional administration that comes with this.

Registration

You can register online at http://examinations.britishcouncil.org from anywhere in the world, in your language school or at the British Council office in Bratislava only during the registration periods. Do not forget your registration is only valid upon payment of the full fee (in cash, by credit cards, bank transfers or on-line) by the last day of the respective registration period!

Payment

We accept online payments, bank transfers, postal orders, as well as payments in cash or by debit/credit cards. Please make sure you realise your payment by the last day of the registration period. Should you fail to pay by the last day of the respective registration period, your registration will be cancelled.

			Account number		2008470006
			Bank code		8130 Citibank (Slovakia) a.s.
			Variable symbols		44 + digits from the Customer Reference Number generated from the on-line registration system (e.g. 44845, if the Cust. Ref. No is C845K)

Upon successful registration, you will receive an invitation letter or email from us or your language school approximately three weeks before the exam / the first part of the exam. The letter will specify the date, time and venue for all parts of the test. Candidates who have not received the invitation letter 3 weeks before the date of the written part of the test should contact the institution where they registered for the exams (e.g. language school or the British Council).

Please read the information in the invitation letter or email carefully and follow all instructions.

On the test day(s), please be punctual and bring a valid picture ID (National ID card or passport).

Candidates who registered with language schools will receive both results and certificates from the school.

First, you will receive notification of results. Certificates for passing candidates will be issued after the results only to candidates with passing grades. Candidates first have a chance to collect them at the British Council as they may get damaged when sent via the post. When collecting your result in person, you need to produce a valid picture ID. If you want somebody else to collect the certificate on your behalf, this person needs to have an authorisation from the candidate and a valid picture ID.

Entries cannot be transferred to a future session or to a different exam level. Transfers from one centre to another are permitted only for all papers and only within the respective registration period.

If a candidate withdraws his/her entry on medical grounds or misses the examination due to illness, he/she may be refunded 50 per cent of the normal exam fee (late entry surcharge is not considered for the purposes of refunds) provided that the Request for Refund form is completely filled-in and sent to British Council Bratislava, Examinations Services, Panska 17, 811 01 Bratislava, no later than one week after the date of the exam. The form must be accompanied by a statement from a medical practitioner.

For candidates with special needs, it is possible to make arrangements for extra time, large print, or Braille. Candidates must send their special needs requests before the end of the registration period accompanied by medical evidence. For special needs no late entries are accepted.

The British Council and the Examining Boards take all reasonable steps to provide continuity of service. We feel sure you will understand, however, that we cannot be held responsible for any interruptions caused by circumstances beyond our control. If examinations or their results are disrupted, cancelled or delayed, every effort will be made to resume normal service as soon as possible. The British Council’s liability will be limited to the refund of the registration fee or re-testing at a later date.

Our aim is to continuously improve our services to our customers. If you should have any suggestions or comments that may help us in this process please contact us.

Any comments you may have concerning the conduct of the examination should be directed to the Supervisor immediately after the examination and in writing to the examination centre staff no later than by the date stated in session regulations. In the case of the Listening test all comments should be reported at the beginning of the test, after hearing the introductory recording.

Please read our complaints procedure.