Fees go up on 1 August 2026. That's the short version, confirmed directly through the exam centre fee schedules that authorised Cambridge English centres publish for the year, not a figure someone half remembered from last year's enrolment email.
We checked the published fee tables for our region rather than working from last year's numbers plus a guess at inflation, because that's the kind of detail that's easy to get wrong by a few euros and hard to correct once a family has already budgeted around it.
What the fees actually look like right now
Prices vary a little between authorised centres and regions in Spain, so treat these as approximate ranges rather than a fixed national price list. Roughly, for individual candidates registering through a standard exam centre:
| Exam | Approximate fee (until 31 July 2026) | Approximate fee (from 1 August 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| A2 Key | around €110 | around €112 to €115 |
| B1 Preliminary | around €115 to €120 | around €120 to €125 |
| B2 First (FCE) | around €215 to €220 | around €220 to €225 |
| C1 Advanced (CAE) | around €230 to €235 | around €235 to €240 |
| C2 Proficiency (CPE) | around €240 to €245 | around €245 to €250 |
The jump between the two columns is small in absolute terms, somewhere around three to six euros per level in most cases we've seen. It isn't nothing, but it isn't the kind of increase that should change anyone's decision about whether to sit the exam this year.
About these figures
These are approximate ranges built from published fee schedules for authorised centres in our region, cross-checked close to the date this article was written. Exact fees depend on which centre processes your registration and can shift slightly during the year, so treat the table as a planning guide rather than a final invoice, and confirm the precise amount when you actually register.
Why the increase happens in August, not January
Cambridge English fee years don't follow the calendar year the way most people assume. Centres typically run their fee schedule from August through July, which means the number that matters for planning isn't "the 2026 price" as a single fixed figure, it's which side of 1 August your registration falls on. A candidate registering in June pays one figure. The same exam, registered in September, costs a little more.
This trips up families more often than you'd expect, mostly because school terms and exam fee years don't line up. Someone assumes September registration means "next year's price will apply eventually" and gets surprised that it already does.
What hasn't changed
The exam format itself is untouched. Same four papers for FCE and CAE, same task types, same timing. Fee increases at this scale, a handful of euros per level, don't come attached to any change in what the exam actually tests, and it's worth saying that plainly because the two sometimes get conflated in parents' minds, as though a price rise signals the exam getting harder or longer. It doesn't.
Late entry fees and date change fees have also stayed roughly where they were, generally in the low forty euro range for a late entry and slightly less for a date change, with only the smallest of adjustments alongside the main fee increase. University discount schemes for public university students, where they exist, are also still in place at most centres, so if that applies to a candidate it's still worth asking about specifically rather than assuming it disappeared with the price update.
What this actually means for planning
If a candidate is close to ready and the exam date could reasonably fall before or after 1 August, registering on the earlier side saves a small amount of money, though it shouldn't be the deciding factor if the extra weeks of preparation make a real difference to the result. A few euros isn't worth sitting an exam before someone is actually prepared for it.
The more useful habit is simply checking the fee for your specific exam and specific centre before registering, rather than relying on a number from last year or from a general search result. Fees this size don't move dramatically, but they do move, and a five minute check against the current schedule avoids an unpleasant surprise at the payment screen.
Sources
The reliable source(s) we have used to write the article.