The CCSE exam: what you will be asked, and how to prepare

The CCSE (Conocimientos Constitucionales y Socioculturales de España) is the Instituto Cervantes test required, together with the DELE A2, when applying for Spanish nationality by residence. It is not a language exam, that is the DELE, but a test of knowledge about Spain: its constitution, its institutions, its geography and its everyday life.

How the CCSE exam works

• 25 questions: multiple choice with three options (only one correct) and true/false
• 45 minutes
• You pass with 15 correct (60 %); a wrong or blank answer scores 0 and is not penalised
• The questions come from the manual of 300 questions published by the Instituto Cervantes; the 2026 edition renewed 25 % of the questions from 2025

That last point makes this exam unlike almost any other: the questions are not secret. They are published. Passing is, quite literally, a matter of working through the 300.

The five tasks

The exam has two parts and five tasks, and each task sets a fixed number of questions:

Government, legislation and citizen participation (15 questions, 60 %)

• Task 1, government and institutions (10 questions): the Constitution, the Crown, the Cortes, the Government, the courts, the laws and citizen participation
• Task 2, rights and duties (3 true/false statements): citizens' rights and duties adapted from the Constitution
• Task 3, territory and geography (2 questions): autonomous communities, provinces, rivers, mountains and capitals, sometimes with a map

Spanish culture, history and society (10 questions, 40 %)

• Task 4, culture and history (3 questions): traditions, art, literature, music and historical facts
• Task 5, society and daily life (7 questions): administrative procedures, healthcare, education, work, customs

Task 1 alone is 10 of the 25 questions: it weighs the most and is the one most often forgotten, full of the names of bodies, who elects them, and for how long.

Where candidates lose marks

Studying by topic and being examined by task. The exam is organised by task, so preparation should follow the same structure. Practising everything shuffled leaves you unable to say which task you are weak in.

Confusing similar institutions. Congreso and Senado, Tribunal Supremo and Tribunal Constitucional, Defensor del Pueblo and Fiscal General. These are easy marks to win and easy marks to lose.

Leaving geography until last. Provinces, communities and rivers look like the least serious part of the manual. They are free marks if revised and lost marks if not.

Not using a clock. 45 minutes for 25 questions is plenty, but only if you do not freeze. One full timed simulation before the day removes that problem.

When it is held and what it costs

The exam is held on the last Thursday of each month except August and December, and registration closes a few weeks before. It costs 85 euros, paid on the Instituto Cervantes exams website, and includes a second attempt if you fail or miss the first. Our detailed guides are in Spanish: registration, dates and results and the requirements for nationality by residence.

A plan that works

With a sitting almost every month, there is almost always a date four to six weeks out. With that:

• One task per week, and a fifth week for general revision
• Short daily sessions: 300 questions stick better spread out than crammed
• Revise your mistakes, not the ones you already get right
• Two full timed simulations before the sitting

What this app does

Aprueba: CCSE 2026 works through the 300 questions of the Instituto Cervantes manual, organised by the exam's five tasks, so you practise with the same structure you are assessed on. The simulation keeps the real format (25 questions in 45 minutes, pass at 15) and the mistake drill returns what you have not yet mastered. You can mark your sitting and watch how you are tracking towards it.

It works offline and without an account. The download is free; full access is unlocked with a one-time payment or, if you prefer, a monthly subscription. Aprueba is an independent app, not affiliated with the Instituto Cervantes.

Sources: Instituto Cervantes, CCSE specifications and the exam pages on examenes.cervantes.es; Real Decreto 1004/2015, article 6.

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