LATEST UPDATE ▪️ COMPETITION INFORMATION
2026 National Latin Exam Dates Announced!
Note: Aralia will assist with contest registration for students enrolled in our NLE preparation class.
National Latin Exam
The National Latin Exam is a prestigious and short standardized test to assess students’ understanding of the Latin language.
Interested in the competition?
Competition Overview
Students who are enrolled in Latin or have completed a Latin course
Eligibility
$8 per exam (schools in US or Canada) OR $10 per exam (schools outside the US and Canada)
Exam cost
January 23, 2026
Registration deadline for paper exams
February 13, 2026
Registration deadline for online exams
February 23 - March 13, 2026
Examination Window
Late April
A packet including awards, certificate of school participation, printout of student scores, national norms, and answer key for all exams
📌 Note: Aralia is not the organizer of this competition. For official rules, deadlines, and updates, please refer directly to the competition organizer. Aralia provides listings and information about competitions for student reference. Aralia is an online education platform offering competition preparation classes to students worldwide.
Competition Details
1. Introduction
The National Latin Exam is a prestigious and short standardized test to assess students’ understanding of the Latin language. Students with expertise can participate in any of the 8 levels. There are 8 exam levels, which can confuse students who are unsure which exam is appropriate for them. The National Latin Exam has released a guide to help students better navigate through the exam levels.
2. Eligibility
Students enrolled in Latin or have completed a Latin course in the current academic year.
3.Levels
Students can participate in any of the 8 levels:
- Introduction to Latin Exam
- Beginning Latin Exam
- Beginning Latin Reading Comprehension Exam (new 2025)
- Intermediate Latin Exam
- Intermediate Latin Reading Comprehension Exam
- Advanced Latin Prose Exam
- Advanced Latin Poetry Exam
- Advanced Latin Reading Comprehension Exam
Introduction to Latin, Beginning Latin, Intermediate Latin, Advanced Latin Prose, and Advanced Latin Poetry exams: 40 questions on grammar, comprehension, mythology, derivatives, literature, Roman life, history, geography, oral Latin, and Latin in use in the modern world.
The Beginning Latin Reading Comprehension Exam, Intermediate Latin Reading Comprehension and Advanced Latin Reading Comprehension exams contain two Latin passages (two prose for intermediate and one prose and one poetry for advanced): 36 questions on grammar, comprehension, historical background, classical literature, and literary devices.
4. Prizes
- Perfect paper: a special, colored certificate printed with the name of the winner
- Gold medal and a summa cum laude certificate are awarded to top scorers
- Silver medal and maxima cum laude certificate to second-place winners
- Magna cum laude certificate to third-place winners
- Cum laude certificate to fourth-place winners
