Online preparation for the German Latinum certificate

The Latinum is a German state certificate of Latin proficiency. Its requirements are set by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education (KMK), the joint body of the education ministers of Germany's 16 states. Under the KMK agreement on the Latinum and Graecum of 22 September 2005, the Latinum confirms that you can grasp the content, structure and message of original Latin texts as difficult as the more demanding passages of Cicero. The texts come from political speeches, philosophy and historiography.

You demonstrate this ability with an accurate translation into appropriate German. If you earn the Latinum through an exam, you also show a deeper interpretation in an oral exam. The exam assumes secure morphology and syntax, a sufficient vocabulary and knowledge of Roman politics, history, philosophy and literature.

The Latinum is not a level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the six-level scale for modern languages from A1 to C2. It measures only reading and translation, and speaking and listening play no part.

German universities have a clear reason to ask for it. Students of medieval history, theology or classical archaeology work with sources in the original. The joint agreement of the states ensures that a Latinum from Bavaria means the same as one from Hamburg.

Many German examination regulations do not ask for the full Latinum. They name a lower level instead. Bavaria distinguishes four levels in its 2022 notice, and each higher level includes the lower ones.

The school comparison comes from an information sheet of the University of Regensburg. The same sheet roughly matches the Kleines Latinum to CEFR level B1 and basic Latin to A2, the CEFR being the European six-level scale for languages. This matching is the university's own guide, not an official rating.

The term Großes Latinum (large Latinum) still appears in older certificates and regulations. Today it usually means the Latinum as defined by the KMK. North Rhine-Westphalia also still examines a Kleines Latinum alongside the Latinum.

The examination regulations of your degree programme decide whether you need the Latinum. Requirements differ between universities, and bachelor's programmes today often ask only for Latin short of the Latinum. The University of Tübingen states that teacher training programmes with a Latin requirement usually ask for the Latinum, while many bachelor's programmes ask only for basic Latin.

The University of Regensburg lists its requirements in a 2026 information sheet. The examples show how wide the range is.

Many students earn the certificate during their degree, because many universities run their own Latin courses. The examination regulations state the deadline for submitting it. In Regensburg, the Magister in theology also accepts an exam set by the faculty of theology.

Foreign Latin qualifications such as a British A level or the American AP Latin exam do not count as a Latinum automatically. The University of Regensburg notes that other certificates can be recognised after an individual check for equivalence.

Adults reach the Latinum by one of three routes. The right one depends on whether you studied Latin at school.

1 Proof from your school years

In Bavaria, students who learned Latin from grade 5 or 6 and scored at least sufficient in grade 10 or 11 already hold the Latinum. If you attended a German school, check your school-leaving certificate before you book a course.

2 State supplementary exam

The supplementary exam (Ergänzungsprüfung) is an additional exam to the German school-leaving certificate, run by the state. North Rhine-Westphalia calls it an extension exam (Erweiterungsprüfung). Admission usually requires that you live in the state or district or are enrolled at a university there. In Bavaria, state grammar schools offering Latin hold the exam at least once a year as part of the school-leaving exams, with registration by 15 January. University towns add dates at the end of each semester at designated schools, with registration by 15 January or 15 June. In North Rhine-Westphalia you register with the district government by 15 January or 15 July, and the exams take place in February and March or in August and September.

3 University course followed by the exam

Many universities offer Latin courses for their students. In Bavaria these courses prepare you for the state exam, which you then sit at a grammar school. Universities usually require enrolment for these courses.

The supplementary exam for the Latinum has a written and an oral part. Each state sets its own rules, and Bavaria describes them in detail in a 2022 notice.

If your written paper is graded insufficient, you are not admitted to the oral exam and have failed. North Rhine-Westphalia also sets about 180 words in 180 minutes. A bilingual dictionary without grammar tables is allowed there, and the written paper is a pure translation task.

In the oral exam you first translate a short passage. A discussion follows that should show a deeper understanding of the passage. At schools in North Rhine-Westphalia it also covers the author, the work and the historical context.

At a German school the road to the Latinum takes five to six years, from grade 5 or 6 to grade 10 or 11. Adults get there much faster in intensive courses, because they learn more purposefully and invest more hours per week.

The University of Regensburg shows a typical model. Its Latinum course amounts to 12 semester weekly hours (SWS). One SWS is one class hour per week over a full semester.

The university explicitly recommends daily study on the days without class. Without this self-study the sessions are not enough, because forms and vocabulary only stick through repetition.

For the Kleines Latinum, Regensburg runs a course of 10 SWS up to the end of the intensive phase. If you study alongside a job or family, plan for three semesters. International students should add time if their written German is not yet secure.

You sit the exam itself in person before an examination board. You can organise most of your preparation online.

1 University course with online elements

Some universities provide materials and recordings online. Their courses are mainly for enrolled students and usually take place on campus.

2 Distance course with a tutor

A distance course sends you lessons and marks your assignments. In Germany such a course needs approval from the State Central Office for Distance Learning (ZFU), the authority that checks distance learning courses. The ZFU database lists total prices of about 800 to 1,700 euros for courses leading to the Kleines Latinum or the Latinum (as of 2026). These courses are taught in German.

3 Live private lessons by video

A Latin teacher trains you in translation, dictionary use and the oral exam. This is most useful in the final weeks before your exam date.

4 Self-study with a textbook and digital tools

A textbook for adults gives you the structure. Digital text collections and vocabulary trainers add to it. AI tools, meaning software that analyses texts automatically, can explain forms and sentence structure.

A good Latinum course takes you from the textbook to reading Cicero and trains the exam situation. Check every offer against these points.

1. The course has a syllabus with a grammar phase followed by reading original texts.
2. The reading includes Cicero, because the Latinum requires that level.
3. The course sets mock exams of about 180 words in 180 minutes.
4. A teacher marks your translations and counts errors as in the exam.
5. You practise with the dictionary approved in your state.
6. The course prepares you for the oral exam with translation and discussion.
7. The schedule ends in time for the exam date and registration deadline of your state.
8. A distance course holds ZFU approval, and the teacher has studied Latin.

1. You study for the full Latinum, although your regulations ask only for basic Latin or the Kleines Latinum.
2. You miss the 15 January deadline and lose half a year or a whole year.
3. You register in the wrong state, although admission depends on your residence or university.
4. You underestimate the time spent looking up words and do not finish in 180 minutes.
5. You practise only in writing and enter the oral exam without training for a discussion of text and author.