The First Certificate in English is an intermediate level Cambridge ESOL exam, at level B2 of the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Choose FCE if your knowledge of English is adequate for many practical everyday purposes, including business and study.

To be successful, you will have a wide grasp of vocabulary, and be able to construct an argument and use appropriate communication styles for a variety of situations. You also need to show an awareness of register and of the conventions of politeness and degrees of formality as they are expressed through language.

FCE is taken by more than 270,000 people each year in more than 100 countries.

Registration for the FCE sessions

Schools can find information about registration for the FCE exams on the contact page. They can also register their candidates on-line on this web site.

Late registration and cancellations

A late registration fee of 24 € per candidate will be charged for entries received during the 2 weeks after the end of the registration period and 30 € after this period. If a candidate is unable to attend an exam session on medical grounds, a 24 € administration fee will be retained by the centre and the remainder of the fees will be returned to the candidate. No refund will be made for any other reason.

Special arrangements for candidates

Cambridge ESOL provides a Special Arrangements service for some candidates, for example those with learning difficulties, hearing difficulties or visual difficulties.

For further information on the services we provide, click the links on the left or below:

Learning difficulties
Hearing difficulties
Visual difficulties

We also have information on the range of modified materials that can be provided for candidates with special requirements.