kora.
← Inburgering guides

The new KNM exam (2025): what changed

On 1 July 2025 the KNM exam moved to new exam standards. Here is what the government says changed, what stayed the same, and what it means for how you practice.

By the Kora team: Alex, Mariel and Abena, who did inburgering themselves. Written with help from AI. Every fact is checked against the official source. How we write our guides

Checked against official sources on 2026-11-08 · Plain text version to copy (.md)

What happened

KNM is the exam about knowledge of Dutch society (Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij). What KNM tests is written down in exam standards, called eindtermen.

On 30 June 2025, the Dutch government (Rijksoverheid) announced that these standards were renewed. Since 1 July 2025, the KNM exams are taken according to the new standards.

The government says the standards are renewed every 5 to 10 years, so the exam keeps up with changes in society and in the law. The previous revision was from 2015.

What changed, according to the government

The Rijksoverheid announcement names these changes:

  • More attention for women's right to self-determination (zelfbeschikking). People must show they know what this right means for women in the Netherlands.
  • More attention for knowledge of the Holocaust. For example, people must know what the Holocaust was, that many Dutch Jews were killed, and that antisemitism and discrimination are forbidden.
  • The questions are aimed more at knowledge than at behaviour.

More knowledge, less behaviour: what that means

The new standards are published in the Regeling inburgering 2021, on wetten.overheid.nl. The explanation there says the old standards were more about how a newcomer should behave. Some of them described social norms that not everyone in the Netherlands shares.

The new standards focus on the knowledge you need in a situation. For example: which organisation to go to, what a rule says, or what your rights are. They put less weight on what you are expected to think about something.

The explanation also says the Ministry of Social Affairs added one standard on purpose: knowing that women in the Netherlands have the right to self-determination, and what that means.

What stayed the same

A lot did not change. According to the explanation in the Regeling, the eight themes are the same as before:

  • Work and income
  • Manners, values and norms
  • Housing
  • Health and healthcare
  • History and geography
  • Institutions
  • The state and the rule of law
  • Education and parenting

Four everyday situations

The Regeling also keeps the four situations from the old standards. The idea is that KNM tests what you need to know to manage in these parts of life:

For each theme, the standards describe the knowledge you need and how you can tell that someone manages a situation well. That knowledge is the guide for what is in the exam. The standards also say some skills count everywhere, for example finding and using information, asking for help, and acting in time so a deadline does not pass.

  • Working and finding work in the Netherlands
  • Living in your own neighbourhood
  • Contact with organisations and the government
  • Taking part as a citizen

The exam itself

The format is the same exam you read about in our KNM guide. You take KNM on a computer at a DUO exam location. It takes 45 minutes, plus 15 minutes of explanation first. The questions are multiple choice, with short video clips, and a computer marks them. The Regeling says the questions and answers are supported by pictures, to make them easier to follow.

KNM is the same DUO exam on the A2 route and on the B1 route. It is not part of the Staatsexamen NT2.

The new exams were made by Cito, for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. DUO runs the exams.

Which practice exams to use

DUO said before the change: if you took KNM before 1 July 2025, nothing changed for you. If you take KNM after 1 July 2025, practice with the new practice exams. You find them on the practice page of inburgeren.nl.

Be careful with old books and old question lists from before July 2025. They were written for the old standards. Some facts are still useful, but they miss the new focus.

How to practice for the new KNM

Because the exam asks more about knowledge, learning facts works better than learning answers by heart. The real exam asks the same fact in other words, with other names, so a memorised sentence does not help.

Practice by theme, and ask yourself for each one: who do I go to, what does the rule say, what are my rights? Learning who does what in the Netherlands helps across many themes.

Kora's free KNM practice question shows the exam style, explained in your own language. In the app, every KNM question comes back in new words, so you learn the fact and not the sentence. It is practice, and it cannot predict your result.

Questions

When did the KNM exam change?

On 1 July 2025. Since then, KNM exams are taken according to the new exam standards, as announced by Rijksoverheid on 30 June 2025.

What is new in the KNM exam?

More attention for women's right to self-determination and for knowledge of the Holocaust, and questions aimed more at knowledge than at behaviour, according to Rijksoverheid.

Are the KNM themes different now?

No. The eight themes stayed the same, such as work and income, housing, health and the state and the rule of law. What is asked within them changed.

Can I still use old KNM practice exams?

For an exam after 1 July 2025, DUO points to the new practice exams on inburgeren.nl. Old material was written for the old standards.

Official sources

General information, not legal advice. Your letters from DUO and your municipality decide what applies to you.

Practice for the exam with Kora

Practice questions that change every time, with explanations in your own language. 7 days free, no card needed.

Start your free weekSee what you can practice →