Retaking the A2 check after a fail — what you can sit again, and when

Cabinet Regulation No. 157 (MK noteikumi Nr. 157) sets no general waiting period after a failed state language proficiency check — you apply for the next one in the ordinary way, with the same deadlines as the first time. The only six-month ban the regulation provides for attaches not to a failed result but to being expelled from the check for breaking its rules.

That is good news, and it is often retold wrongly. There are, however, two things that really do work against you, and they are worth knowing before you apply.

The waiting period: what the regulation actually says

After a plain fail, reapplying follows the same provision as the first time: no later than seven working days before the check you have chosen, or ten working days if the application is sent by post. In practice the limiting factor is not the regulation but the schedule — times and places are published at least two months in advance, and there may simply be no free place on the nearest date.

So the answer to "how long do I have to wait" has two halves: a statutory waiting period — there is none; the real wait — as long as the published schedule says.

The six-month ban — when it starts

The six-month ban does exist, but it has a specific cause. It applies when a person is expelled from the check for breaching the rules of the check — for using aids, for example. In that case more than the particular sitting is lost: the state fee is not refunded, and the next application can only be made after six months.

The distinction matters: a failed result is not a breach. Someone who sat the check honestly and did not reach 9 points in writing, and someone found with a phone during the check, are in two completely different situations.

Situation	Waiting period	Fee
Check not passed	none prescribed	not refunded
Absence without a valid reason	none prescribed	not refunded
Expulsion for breaching the rules	6 months	not refunded

A passed skill cannot be carried over

This is the question people ask most often, and the answer is an unwelcome one: no.

The regulation provides that the result is assessed only if the person sits all parts of the check. If a part is not sat or is broken off, no part is assessed at all. It follows that next time all four parts have to be sat again — including the three that went well last time.

The practical consequence is clear: when preparing for the second attempt, the skills you already managed must not be neglected. What happens is often the opposite — all the attention goes to the weak skill, and next time a different one drops below 9 points.

The fee has to be paid again

Unless you are among those exempt from the state fee — Latvian citizens, Latvian non-citizens and citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, as well as persons with the status of a needy or low-income person — the 52 euro for a repeat check has to be paid anew, no later than seven working days in advance. The fee paid last time is neither carried over nor refunded.

If you did not turn up

Not turning up is not a postponement. The fee is not refunded, and you have to apply for the next sitting again in the ordinary way. If there was a valid reason for the absence, the justification can be submitted within one month.

In practice that means that in the event of illness or another objective reason for being absent, the document has to be prepared straight away, not when the time comes to apply for the next sitting.

Which decision stays in force when there are several

This question becomes important for anyone who already holds an earlier certificate. What governs is the chronologically latest decision, with one exception: an earlier decision stays in force if the person sat a higher level or degree and did not pass it.

The consequence is reassuring. If you have already passed A2 and you tried B1 but did not pass, the A2 certificate does not disappear — you have not become a person without a language certificate because you attempted something more.

The naturalisation examination works differently

If you are thinking about naturalisation rather than residence status, then this is a different examination under a different set of rules — laid down by Cabinet Regulation No. 973 (MK noteikumi Nr. 973) on the basis of the Citizenship Law (Pilsonības likums). There, retaking has limits of its own: the second and third attempt no earlier than after three months, and no more than three attempts per application.

Two things must not be confused here. First, those three months do not apply to the state language proficiency check — they are regularly attributed to it. Second, the law names no CEFR level for the naturalisation examination, so claims that it "corresponds" to some particular level do not come from the legislation.

Before applying a second time

The second attempt differs from the first in that you have a decision in hand, and it states the points and percentages for each skill separately. That is the most precise information about your readiness that can exist — more precise than any self-assessment.

Start there: look at which skill came in under 9 points and by how much. Being two points short in writing and being seven points short in speaking call for completely different preparation plans and completely different amounts of time.

If you disagree with the marking itself, there is a route of appeal as well — the submission is examined by an appeal commission under the procedure of the Administrative Procedure Law (Administratīvā procesa likums).

What to do in the meantime

Since there is no waiting period, the time between two checks is as long as you choose to make it. It makes sense to plan it around the weakest skill rather than around the nearest free date in the schedule — a check sat too early costs another 52 euro.

All four parts in the exam format are available here, writing and speaking can be practised with artificial-intelligence feedback, and on which parts most often decide the result there is the article why people fail the A2 check. Short answers are in the FAQ.

This article is not legal advice. Deadlines, fees and procedures can change — confirm the conditions for reapplying in the version of Cabinet Regulation No. 157 in force before you submit your application.