Baccalaureate (Haiti)Bac haïtien

Overview

The Baccalauréat haïtien (the "Bac") is Haiti's national secondary-school-leaving exam, organised by the Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de la Formation Professionnelle (MENFP) through its Bureau National des Examens d'État (BUNEXE). It is sat at the end of NS4 (Nouveau Secondaire 4), the final year of Haiti's four-year reformed secondary cycle, and is one of several "examens d'État" the ministry runs alongside the 9e Année Fondamentale exam and teacher-training exams. Like other Baccalauréats across the Francophone world, candidates choose a series in secondary school and sit written papers across several subjects before results decide outright admission, a subject-specific catch-up route, or non-admission for that session.

Who can apply

• School-enrolled candidates: registered by their own secondary school as part of their final NS4 year, after completing the earlier years of the Nouveau Secondaire cycle.

• Repeat candidates (recalés): students who did not pass in an earlier ordinary session can register directly with their Direction Départementale de l'Éducation (DDE) for a later "bac permanent" catch-up session, without re-enrolling in school.

For the 2024-2025 session, around 94,500 candidates sat the ordinary bac unique nationwide, with roughly 42,500 admitted.

Exam pattern

Candidates choose one of four series for NS4:

Across the series, candidates sit written papers over several days, commonly including philosophy, history-geography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, life-and-earth sciences (SVT), Creole, and a foreign-language paper (English or Spanish); SES candidates also sit an economics paper, and LLA candidates sit an arts/music paper. Papers run through the day in morning and afternoon sittings, with most candidates taking two papers per day. Exact subject lists and coefficients differ by series and are set by MENFP for each session, so this file does not reproduce a full coefficient table — check the official programme for your series and session.

Marking and results

BUNEXE publishes results as an average marked out of 10 for each candidate. The exact overall pass mark was not confirmed from available sources, but the ministry has described reaching a 50% national pass rate as a notable achievement, suggesting that recent sessions have generally fallen short of that. BUNEXE also tracks, subject by subject, whether a candidate has reached the required passing mark; this record is kept for two consecutive years and determines eligibility for the catch-up route described below.

For the 2024-2025 ordinary session (bac unique), the national pass rate was about 44.96%, out of roughly 94,500 candidates. Department-level rates varied widely, from about 31% in Nord-Ouest to about 67% in Sud.

Candidates who do not pass overall can register for a "bac permanent" session and sit only the subjects they have not yet passed, provided their BUNEXE record is within the two-year window; otherwise they must retake the full set of papers. Bac permanent pass rates have generally run lower than the ordinary session — in the low-to-mid 40% range in recent reporting.

Important dates

Historically, the ordinary bac unique session has run in July, with results published department by department over the following weeks. Haiti's recent instability has shifted this calendar more than once (see the note below) — for example, the 2023-2024 session was pushed back and sat in early August 2024 instead of its usual July slot.

A separate "bac permanent" catch-up session runs roughly twice a year for repeat candidates:

• A session around December, with registration about three to four weeks earlier (for the December 2025 sitting, registration ran 3-28 November 2025).

• A session around May-July, with registration about three to four weeks earlier (for the July 2026 sitting, registration ran 4-22 May 2026).

Because dates have moved from year to year, confirm the current session's calendar through MENFP, BUNEXE or your DDE rather than assuming a previous year's dates.

How to apply

School-enrolled candidates finishing NS4 are registered for the ordinary bac unique session by their own school as part of normal end-of-year enrolment; no separate action is needed from the student beyond what the school asks for.

Repeat candidates (recalés) register directly for a bac permanent session at their Direction Départementale de l'Éducation (DDE) during the announced registration window, providing proof of an earlier attempt (a participation slip or MENFP attestation) and two identity photos, and paying a participation fee (2,000 Haitian gourdes for the 2025-2026 sessions).

After the exam

Passing the bac is the general entry requirement for Haiti's public universities. Public institutions such as the Université d'État d'Haïti (UEH) run their own competitive entrance exam ("concours d'entrée") after bac results are published; it is open to bac holders, who may apply to a limited number of institutions at once (UEH's guidance caps this at three). Subjects tested vary by faculty and can include philosophy, natural sciences or chemistry, mathematics, physics and social sciences, with places awarded by rank rather than by the bac result alone, since available seats are limited.

Preparation tips

• Focus revision on your series' core subjects — for example SMP candidates should prioritise mathematics and physics, while SES candidates should prioritise economics and mathematics.

• Because the exam calendar has shifted in recent sessions due to insecurity, confirm the current year's dates and your assigned centre through MENFP, BUNEXE or your DDE close to the session rather than assuming a previous year's schedule.

• If you fall short of the overall passing average but have already passed some subjects, ask your DDE about bac permanent eligibility before assuming you must repeat everything.

• Repeat candidates should keep their original participation slip or MENFP attestation, since it is required to register for a later bac permanent session.

FAQs