Overview
Exames Nacionais are Portugal's national final exams for secondary school, set by IAVE (Instituto de Avaliação Educativa) under the Ministry of Education and run through each school's Júri Nacional de Exames (JNE). They are taken mainly at the end of 12º ano, with a smaller set of final exams also sitting at the end of 9º ano (lower secondary, ensino básico). The 12º ano exams serve two purposes at once: they are needed to complete secondary school, and their results (or separately sat provas de ingresso) feed into candidatura ao ensino superior, Portugal's national university-admission process with fixed places per course (numerus clausus).
Who can apply
Exames Nacionais at 12º ano are sat by students enrolled in a curso científico-humanístico (the academic secondary track) who are finishing or have already finished the subjects being examined, including students repeating a subject or sitting an exam again to improve a grade. Students who are no longer enrolled in school (autopropostos) can also register directly for the exams, for example adults completing secondary school later or former students improving a grade for university entrance. Provas Finais at 9º ano are sat by students completing the final year of ensino básico.
Exam pattern
Secondary school in Portugal (10º–12º ano) is organised into cursos científico-humanísticos, each built around one compulsory, three-year "structuring" subject that is examined nationally at the end of 12º ano:
| Curso científico-humanístico | Compulsory structuring-subject exam |
|---|---|
| Ciências e Tecnologias | Matemática A |
| Ciências Socioeconómicas | Matemática A |
| Línguas e Humanidades | História A |
| Artes Visuais | Desenho A |
Every student also sits a national exam in Português, and a further national exam in a second subject from their specific course component, chosen according to the entry requirements of the higher-education course the student is aiming for. Taken together, most students complete secondary school having sat three national exams at 12º ano: Português and two subject-specific exams, spread across 11º and 12º ano depending on when each subject's syllabus ends. For most higher-education courses, universities and polytechnics require two provas de ingresso (entrance tests) from a list set per course; these are usually the same national exams a student already sat to finish secondary school, so a separate sitting is not normally needed.
At 9º ano, the Provas Finais cover Português and Matemática only.
Marking and results
National exams are marked on a 0–200 point scale by external examiners. For a student's final subject grade, the exam mark is converted to the normal 0–20 scale (dividing by 10) and combined with the internal school assessment for that subject. When a secondary-school average (itself on a 0–20 scale) is combined with exam results for university candidatura, the 0–20 figures are converted the other way, multiplying by 10, so that averages and exam marks sit on the same 0–200 scale for the admission formula. At 9º ano, the Prova Final counts for 30% of the final mark in that subject, alongside the school's internal assessment.
Students who disagree with a result can request a reapreciação (re-marking) within the deadline set by IAVE for that exam session.
Important dates
For 2026, IAVE's calendar sets:
12º ano (ensino secundário) exams: 1ª fase from 16 to 26 June 2026, with results published 14 July; 2ª fase from 16 to 22 July 2026, with results published 5 August.
9º ano (ensino básico) Provas Finais: 1ª fase on 17 June (Português) and 22 June (Matemática) 2026; 2ª fase on 21 July (Português) and 23 July (Matemática) 2026.
Registration windows for 2026: 1ª fase from 6 to 19 March; 2ª fase from 14 to 15 July.
Note
These dates and fees are for the 2026 session as set out in IAVE's and DGES's published calendars and guides. Exact dates, registration windows and fees are reissued every year, and this page was compiled from search results and official PDFs rather than a direct, verified fetch of iave.pt and dges.gov.pt from this environment — check the current IAVE and DGES calendars before relying on a specific date.
Fees
Students enrolled in a school and sitting exams as part of compulsory schooling pay no exam fee. For 2026, autopropostos (candidates registering outside a school, including adults past compulsory-schooling age) pay €3 per subject, per phase; the same €3 per subject applies to a student registering only to improve a grade for university candidatura. Registering after the normal deadline adds a €25 late-registration surcharge on top of any applicable fee.
How to apply
Students currently enrolled in a school register for their exams through that school, inside the registration windows IAVE publishes each year. Autopropostos register directly, following the process and documents set out in DGES's annual Guia Geral de Exames and IAVE's instructions for external candidates, within the same registration windows.
After the exam
A pass in the required national exams, together with passing every subject, is needed for the secondary-school diploma. To apply for a place at a public university or polytechnic, candidates go through candidatura ao ensino superior, run nationally by DGES (Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior). The candidatura score for each course combines, by law, a secondary-school average weighted at no less than 40%, provas de ingresso weighted at no less than 45% in total (each individual test weighted between 15% and 30%), and, where a course requires them, pré-requisitos (minimum grades in specific subjects) weighted at no more than 15%. Each higher-education course publishes its own exact weightings and which provas de ingresso it accepts.
Preparation tips
Pick a curso científico-humanístico, and inside it the optional subjects, with the degree you eventually want in mind: the subject pairings accepted as provas de ingresso vary a lot by course, so check a target course's entry requirements well before 12º ano.
Because the structuring-subject exam (Matemática A, História A or Desenho A, depending on the track) is compulsory for everyone on that track, prioritise it early rather than leaving it to the final year.
Since exam marks are reused directly as provas de ingresso for most courses, treat exam preparation and university-entrance preparation as the same task, not two separate ones.
Past exams and their official answer keys, published by IAVE, are the most reliable practice material because they are set by the same body that writes the live exam.
Do I have to sit a national exam to finish secondary school in Portugal?
Yes, for the curso científico-humanístico track. Students must pass a national exam in Português plus two further subject-specific national exams tied to their course, on top of passing every subject through internal school assessment.
How many provas de ingresso do I need for university?
Most higher-education courses require two provas de ingresso, set per course by the university or polytechnic. These are usually the same national exams already sat to finish secondary school, so most students do not need to sit extra exams purely for university entrance.
Can I retake an Exame Nacional to improve my grade?
Yes. A student can register again for a subject's exam, in a later phase or a later year, purely to try to improve the classification used for university candidatura; this is one of the cases where autopropostos registration applies even to currently enrolled students.
Do 9º ano students sit the same kind of exam as 12º ano students?
No. 9º ano students sit Provas Finais in Português and Matemática only, at the end of ensino básico; these count for 30% of the final subject grade and are separate from the 12º ano Exames Nacionais used for secondary-school completion and university entrance.