The Business PLIDA Certificate is a diploma issued by Società Dante Alighieri in accordance with a convention with the Foreign Ministry (n° 1903 of 4/11/1993).

It was specifically designed for candidates who need to learn the Italian language for professional purposes, in order to work in a context of Italian employment, or to consolidate or improve their professional position. Examinations are therefore designed in accordance with specific fields of communications in the business sector in general, and more specifically for finance, industry and trade.

Levels for Business PLIDA certification run from B1 to C1 in ascending order of difficulty, and they correspond to the top three levels in linguistic skills determined by the European Council’s Common European Framework of Reference.

Level of Italian - Foundation

• PLIDA Certificate B1 - Threshold
• PLIDA Certificate B2 - Progres

Level of Italian - Professional

• PLIDA Certificate C1 - Efficacy

Candidates eligible

Business PLIDA certification was designed for candidates who study and use Italian in the business sector.
While candidature is open to all, to take the certification examination it is advisable to have good knowledge of the Italian language and basic notions in the field of finance, trade, industry and business.

Examination structure

The examination comprises four tests that evaluate competence in the four basic areas of linguistic skill: listening, reading, writing, speaking.
The overall duration of the examination varies according to the level.

Further information on the PLIDA preparation course

Passing the examination, and marks

For each test, marks are expressed in terms of a maximum of thirty. To pass the examination, the candidate has to obtain a pass mark (minimum 18/30) in each of the four skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
The minimum overall score for a pass in the examination is therefore 72/120, while the maximum possible score is 120/120.
A candidate who obtains a pass mark in at least three of the four skills obtains a credit in the skills passed, which can be used in the next session to take just the test still to be passed.

Examination results and certificate issue

Examination papers are sent from the various Certification Centres to the Central Offices, where they are marked and evaluated within 60 days from the date of receipt.
The Central Office sends Certificates for all the candidates who pass the examination.
The certificate indicates the candidate’s details, the level, the marks obtained in the four language skills, and the overall mark.
Candidates’ personal data is used solely for certificate issue, and this data will not be published in any form, in accordance with Italian privacy legislation (law 675/96).

Examination sessions

Examinations are organized to take place on predetermined dates, which apply to all Centres.

• Session of June - Deadline for enrolment: 10 May

Enrolment fee

Business PLIDA:

• Level B1 - € 70,00
• Level B2 - € 75,00
• Level C1 - € 90,00

PLIDA on-line

The complete list of Certification Centres, the Syllabus, and many other useful resources (entrance test to verify level of skill in Italian, exercises, Business PLIDA examination papers from previous sessions) are available on the web, at the PLIDA web pages:
http://www.ladante.it/plida/