CAPLE (Centro de Avaliação de Português Língua Estrangeira or Centre for Evaluation of Portuguese as a Foreign Language) is a certificate of proficiency in Standard European Portuguese as a second language offered in Portugal and 45 other countries and territories.^[1] The official CAPLE examinations and certificates/diplomas are developed, delivered, and accredited by a tri-partite collaboration in Portugal between the School of Arts and Humanities^[2] at the University of Lisbon and the Instituto Camões, which administers the examination procedures on behalf of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[3]

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To take the test, applicants must be at least 14 years of age, be a national of a country where Portuguese is not an official language, or, if they are from a country whose official language is Portuguese, they must meet two of the following conditions:

• Their parents' first language is not Portuguese.
• Their first language acquired was not Portuguese.
• Their main language of communication is not Portuguese.
• All or part of their basic or secondary education was not in Portuguese.^[4]

CAPLE exams take place in May, July, and November in all testing centres, in addition to February, March, August, September, and October in Lisbon only.^[4] CAPLE exams are offered at six levels; however, there are a few places that may not offer the ACESSO level.^[1][5][6]

There are four parts of evaluation in every level that tests all four major language abilities - reading, writing, listening, and speaking. There is also an additional part called "Competência Estrutural" that appears on only the DIPLE, DAPLE, and DUPLE tests.^[14][15][16] The weight and amount of time allocated for each section varies by level.

The minimum passing mark to receive the certificate or diploma for any test is 55%. Four categories of results dictate how well a candidate does.^{[14][15][16][17][18][19]}

CAPLE certificates/diplomas do not expire over time and are recognized across Portugal by various national and international institutions^[20] for the benefit of foreigners looking to:

• study and gain admission to Portuguese universities^[20]
• find work and pursue a professional or academic career in Portugal^[20]
• obtain Portuguese nationality or permanent residency status^[20] (the A2/CIPLE level can be used to satisfy the requirement of having "basic Portuguese" skills^[21])

• CELPE-Bras - Exam of Brazilian Portuguese for Foreigners developed by the Brazilian Ministry of Education

• TELC - The European Language Certificates (Portuguese available at Level B1 only)

• CAPLE Official Website (Portuguese only)
• CAPLE - Portuguese Language Proficiency Test