When you complete the National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) test or subtest(s) at a certain level, you will be issued a YKI certificate. The certificate will include a separate grade for each completed subtest (listening comprehension, speaking, reading comprehension and writing). The reverse side of the certificate shows the proficiency level scale.  

The possible grades are below 1, 1 and 2 for the basic level test

 The possible grades are below 3, 3 and 4 for the intermediate level test.

The possible grades are below 5, 5 and 6 for the advanced level test.  

If you did not complete a subtest at all or completed one only partially, the certificate will be marked “cannot be assessed” for that subtest. 

If the test date was March 31, 2026 or earlier, the participant received a paper YKI certificate.

If the test date was April 1, 2026 or later, the participant could have received either a digital YKI certificate or a paper YKI certificate.

 

The YKI certificate contains the following information:  

  • the name and date of birth of the test-taker,  
  • the proficiency level and the language of the test,  
  • the completed subtests and their grades,  
  • the legislation on which the certificate is based, 
  • the proficiency level descriptions of the National Certificates of Language Proficiency,  
  • and a mention that the proficiency level scale of the National Certificates of Language Proficiency is empirically linked to the scale of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. 
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The digital YKI certificate includes an electronic seal certificate. The seal can be used to verify that the certificate was issued by the Finnish National Agency for Education and that it has not been modified since it was sealed.

How to validate the digital YKI certificate: 

  1. Go to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's online validation service for electronically sealed documents (link provided below). 
  2. Choose the document to validate according to the instructions provided on the page. 
  3. Check the following: 
    • There is only one signature on the page, and the issuer of the certificate is EU-accredited. 
    • The signatory is the Finnish National Agency for Education. 
  4. If the above information is correct, the certificate and all the information on it are authentic. 
    • If the above information is not correct, the certificate might not be authentic. In that case, please contact the Finnish National Agency for Education (kirjaamo@oph.fi). 
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Please contact the Finnish National Agency for Education.

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