The A2 Reading exam (Lezen) of the Dutch integration exam takes 65 minutes and you sit it on a computer. You read everyday texts and answer questions about them. In DUO’s official practice exams that means 25 questions. It is marked automatically.
Reading gives you the most time of the four parts. Yet many people come unstuck here — not because the texts are too hard, but because they read them the wrong way.
In this article
The format: 65 minutes
DUO describes it briefly: you sit it on a computer, you read texts, and you answer questions.
The A2 Reading exam takes 65 minutes and is taken on a computer.
Source: inburgeren.nl — content of the language exams — consulted 28-07-2026 (Dutch)
On the number of questions DUO is silent. But its official practice exams are not: the start screen of all four A2 Reading practice exams states "U moet in dit examen 25 vragen beantwoorden".
All four official DUO A2 Reading practice exams contain 25 questions and last 65 minutes.
Source: inburgeren.nl — practice exams — consulted 28-07-2026 (Dutch)
The questions are multiple choice. You never have to write anything yourself, which makes Reading fundamentally different from Writing and Speaking.
Which texts you get
The texts come from ordinary life in the Netherlands:
- a letter from your child’s school;
- an email from work about your shifts;
- an advert or a special offer;
- a notice in a shop or at the station;
- information about medicine;
- a letter from the municipality or from DUO.
That is good news. The exam does not test whether you can read literature. It tests whether you can find information you actually need here.
What you do not need
No political news articles. No literature. No professional jargon. No long reports. If you can understand a letter from the municipality, you are on the right track.
The types of question
The questions look varied but come down to a handful of types. Recognise the type and you know where to look.
| Type | What is asked | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Detail | a time, price, date or address | for digits in the text |
| Main idea | what is this text about? | the title and first lines |
| Purpose | why was it written? | who sent it, and to whom |
| Required action | what should you do? | verbs like "bel", "stuur", "kom" |
| Condition | who does this apply to? | words like "alleen", "als", "of hoger" |
That last type costs the most marks. A text says something applies only "vanaf de 4e verdieping" (from the 4th floor up). Miss those words and you pick the wrong answer — even if you understood the whole text.
The real problem: pace
25 questions in 65 minutes is about 2.5 minutes per question, and the text has to be read in that time too.
This is where my students lose marks. They read every text from the first word to the last and look up every unfamiliar word. By question 15 the time is gone.
You do not need to understand every word. You need to find the answer. That is a completely different kind of reading from what most people learned at school.
The strategy: question first
- Read the question. What exactly is wanted — a time? a price? a reason?
- Scan the text until you find that part.
- Read only that part properly. Two or three sentences is usually enough.
- Choose and move on.
Do not know an answer? Pick something and continue. A perfect answer to question 8 is worthless if you never reach questions 20 to 25.
Watch the numbers. Times, prices, dates and house numbers are almost always the point. If a question is about a time, scan for digits — far faster than reading words.
Try a question
A notice by the lift reads: "De lift is kapot. Maandag komt de monteur. Woont u op de 4e verdieping of hoger en kunt u niet traplopen? Bel de beheerder: 020 555 1234." What should you do if you live on the 2nd floor?
Five avoidable mistakes
Reading the whole text. Search instead. Read only what you need.
Practising without a clock. If you never time yourself, you do not know what 65 minutes feels like.
Practising on a phone. The real exam is on a computer with a large screen — DUO advises the same.
Leaving questions blank. There is no penalty for a wrong answer. Always fill something in.
Only learning vocabulary. Words help, but this exam tests a skill, and skills come from practice.
How much do you need correct?
Short answer: nobody outside DUO knows. You will read "18 out of 25" or "19 out of 25" online. Those numbers appear on no official page and they contradict each other. What is official is this:
"De zak-slaaggrens wordt uitgedrukt in een cesuur, vastgesteld door de Minister." — the pass mark is a cut-off set by the Minister, and DUO does not publish it.
Source: DUO exam regulations, article 10(5) — consulted 28-07-2026 (Dutch)
You get a grade per part plus pass or fail, and the plain-language summary of the regulations notes that not all answers need to be correct. Practically: do not aim at a minimum. Practise until you get the large majority right.
Start with DUO’s 4 free Reading practice exams — real format, real clock. Four is a good start but too few to master a format, which is why we have 10, written by a certified NT2 teacher rather than generated by a model. With a language exam that difference matters: a question that is subtly wrong teaches you the wrong thing.
Read on: all four parts explained, or take a free practice exam.