Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf, or ZDfB, (meaning Certificate in German for Business) is an international recognised examination which tests the level of German language

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 ability for business and professional purposes. The ZDfB is a CEFR

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated as CEFR, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries...

 B2 level exam and thus builds on the Zertifikat Deutsch

Zertifikat Deutsch

The Zertifikat Deutsch is an internationally recognized exam of German language ability. It tests for a level of ability equivalent to level B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages scale...

 examination (CEFR level B1).

Generally, the ZDfB requires studying vocationally orientated German for an additional 120 lessons after obtaining the level required for passing the Zertifikat Deutsch exam.

The ZDfB was developed in the early 1990s by the Goethe Institute and the vocational schools (Pädagogischen Arbeitsstelle) and examination centres (Prüfungszentrale) of the German Volkshochschulverbands, or DVV, (the German Adult Education Centre Association). The ZDfB was developed further and organised by telc GmbH, the successor to the Weiterbildungs-Testsysteme GmbH (WBT) which existed from 1998 to 2006.

External links

• Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf on the Goethe Institute website
• telc language tests