Language Proficiency Examination (LPE)

1. Announcement of participating LPE Screening Centres (LPESCs) and fee-paying entities

Those may change from year to year depending on local needs and available resources. The Special Assessment Section (SAS) will collect participation requests from LPESCs and nominations of Financial Focal Points from fee-paying entities by no later than 16 February 2024. The role of the LPESCs is solely to screen applications, ALL exams are online.

• List of participating LPESCs

If you do not see your duty station in the list, please select the nearest duty station to you when you enroll in the 2024 LPE in Inspira.

• List of 2024 LPE UN Entities

*Applicants from paying entities should check with their Organization about the fee recovery policy before registering for the LPE, as some Organizations deduct the LPE fees from applicants’ salaries.

2. Applicants should determine their eligibility, prepare supporting documents and update their Inspira profile

Policies and Guidelines

• Policies and Guidelines
• The 2024 LPE will be administered in accordance with the new Administrative Instruction on Language Proficiency and Language Allowance ST/AI/2021/1 and will be in line with the new United Nations Language Framework (UNLF). See the "LPE EXAM FORMAT" Section below for more details about the new exam format.
• *Please note that it was decided by the General Assembly in A/RES/70/244 para. 22 to discontinue the practice of granting accelerated step increments for staff members in the professional category, including accelerated increments granted after staff members have established proficiency in a second language. Please note that UNLPE or local LPE Administrators are not in a position to answer any queries on this topic.

The LPE eligibility criteria document is accessible through the link below.

Eligibility criteria 2024 - FINAL.pdf

Applicants who are eligible based on "the use of language on a regular basis for work" criteria must attach the verification letter form signed* by their Supervisor and Head of Office to their application in Inspira

• Certification of Language Use at Work

Applicants with appointments that expire prior to the date of the LPE examination are asked to attach a letter* from the Executive Officer or the head of administration at offices away from Headquarters and field duty stations expressing the intent to extend the contract beyond the written exam date to their application in Inspira.

• Letter for Extension of Contract

Note: * We accept electronic signatures for forms and letters. To sign a form/letter electronically, the concerned officials must save the Word form in a PDF file and use the "Fill and Sign" feature of Adobe Acrobat Reader to add their electronic signature. When uploading the signed form/letter in their application in Inspira, the candidate must include the copy of email from the concerned official forwarding the signed form/letter.

Applicants should determine their eligibility and prepare required supporting documents ahead of the registration period. Any questions applicants might have should be addressed to the corresponding LPESC‘s Local Administrator.

3. Applicant registration period

It is the applicant's responsibility to submit a completed and accurate application in Inspira by the specified deadline, while ensuring to selecting their duty station as the LPESC. If the specific duty station is not listed, applicants should choose the nearest option. Once an application is successfully submitted in Inspira, the applicant will receive an email confirming their LPE registration. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure their email contact information in Inspira is correct, in order to ensure proper communication. For further information regarding UNV and WHO Staff please read the FAQs (Item Nos. 12 and 13) at the bottom of the page.

PDF guides for applicants

• How to register for the LPE (Internal applicants) ►Video tutorial for internal applicants
• How to register for the LPE (External applicants) ►Video tutorial for external applicants
• How to register for LPE as WHO Staff ►Video tutorial for WHO applicants
• How to register for LPE as UN Volunteers ►Video tutorial for UN Volunteers applicants
• How to create an account in Inspira (External applicants)
• How to register for learning (External applicants)
• How to retrieve a saved application (All applicants)
• Application status information(All applicants)
• How to check for updates on status of your application (All applicants)
• How to cancel your enrollment (All applicants)

Special Needs Procedure
Individual cases of candidates in need of a special accommodation will be reviewed by the Board. The candidate must follow the accommodation request procedure (click here for details) and submit the request to unlpeny@un.org by the enrollment registration deadline.

4. Screening of applications by Local Administrators (applicants should monitor their email messages)

The Local Administrator at each LPESC will screen the applications according to the eligibility criteria. Local Administrators might contact applicants anytime during this period to request further information or documentation. If so, it is the applicant's responsibility to upload the requested supporting documents within this screening period and resubmit their application in Inspira. Applicants should check their Inspira status and email regularly for communication regarding the status of their application.

5. Final chance for applicants to respond to pushed-back applications, if applicable

During this period, no new applications can be accepted. This is the final opportunity for applicants with existing applications (that have been pushed back by the Local Administrator) to upload the requested additional supporting documents and resubmit their applications, so screening can be finalized by the Local Administrator. If an applicant fails to provide the additional documents within this period, their applications will be rejected.

7. Endorsement of registration fee by fee-paying entities

Staff members belonging to paying-entities whose applications met the non-financial eligibility criteria will be reviewed by their respective Financial Focal Points for endorsement consideration. Only applicants whose applications are endorsed (i.e., their parent Organization agrees to pay the LPE registration fee), will be convoked to take the exam. Financial focal points might contact applicants during this period to request for further information. Applicants should check their Inspira status and email regularly.

8. Checking final convocation/rejection status in Inspira

• How to check your application status
• Application status information

The final application status will be available by this date. Only convoked candidates will be allowed to take the examination.

Convocation letters will be sent out to applicants by email through Inspira.

9. Exam Preparation

Please note that all parts of the 2024 exam - 1) Receptive activities: Listening; 2) Receptive activities: Reading; 3) Written production and interaction; and 4) Spoken production and interaction, will be administered ONLINE. As candidates will be required to type their response in the composition part of the examination using a computer keyboard, it is highly recommended that candidates who are not used to typing in the target language start practicing typing in that language as early as possible. (To change your computer's keyboard layout to type your answers in the relevant language in the written production section of the exam, follow this link for Windows 10, and follow this link for Mac)

LPE Practice Exams in all official six languages of the United Nations are available year-round on our Supporting Multilingualism

You can also try the same practice exams in the online testing environment here, by creating a new account and enrolling yourself in them.

ONLINE LPE PREPARATION COURSES OFFERED BY THE CDOTS - LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATIONS TRAINING UNIT

• For those convoked for the exam, six online LPE Preparation Courses (exam scope and structure, test-taking strategies) will be made available on our online training platform, CDOTS Campus. These courses are self-paced and designed to orient candidates. They become available several months before the exam dates.
  • Video: Course Presentation (En)
  • Vidéo: Présentation du cours (Fr)

• Go to Language and Communications Training Unit / Groupe de la formation Langues et Communication for detailed instructions on how to self-enroll.

• Candidates will be enrolled in the actual exam site approximately two weeks before the exam date.

10. Administration of online exam

Wednesday, 2 October 2024

• English

Wednesday, 9 October 2024

• Chinese
• Spanish

Wednesday, 16 October 2024

• French

Wednesday, 23 October 2024

• Arabic
• Russian

Times:

• English: 6 am - 3 pm NY time (one group)
• Chinese: 6 am – 3 pm NY time
• Spanish: 6 am – 3 pm NY time
• French: 6 am – 2 pm NY time
• Russian: 6 am – 3 pm NY time
• Arabic: 6 am – 3 pm NY time