What do the CIPLE grades Suficiente, Bom and Muito Bom mean?
They are bands on your weighted total. Suficiente runs from 55% to 69%, Bom from 70% to 84%, and Muito Bom from 85% to 100%. Below 55% is Insuficiente, which is a fail. For a citizenship application all three passing bands are worth exactly the same thing.
The bands
| Classification | Weighted total |
|---|---|
| Muito Bom | 85% to 100% |
| Bom | 70% to 84% |
| Suficiente | 55% to 69% |
| Insuficiente | Below 55% |
Remember that the band is calculated from your weighted total, and that clearing 55% is necessary but not sufficient: you also need at least 25% in every component.
Suficiente is worth exactly as much as Muito Bom
This trips people up every year, so it is worth saying flatly.
The Conservatória is checking one thing when it looks at your file: do you hold a document proving A2 Portuguese? A certificate at 56% and a certificate at 96% answer that question identically. There is no bonus, no faster processing, and no note on your record.
What follows from that
Do not resit to improve a grade nobody will read. If you passed, you are done. Booking another session to turn a Suficiente into a Bom costs you the fee, the preparation time, the wait for results, and gains you nothing.
Do not over-prepare past the point of a reliable pass. The useful target is clearing both rules comfortably enough that a bad day still lands above the line. Chasing a higher band past that point is effort with no return.
Do take the pass mark seriously as a training target. The grade does not matter, but passing absolutely does, and the gap between "probably fine" and "reliably above the line" is where most failed attempts live.
Reading your result
The results page shows a percentage per language activity and one overall classification. That is the entire feedback you will ever get, so save it. It is also the only guide you have if you do need to resit.