Where can I learn Catalan, and how much does it cost?

Beginner Catalan is free. At the CPNL (Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística, the public body that teaches Catalan across Catalonia) the Inicial level (A1) and every Bàsic level up to A2 cost nothing at all in the 2026–2027 course year. That is 45 hours for the Inicial course and up to 120 hours at Bàsic, at no charge. The CPNL teaches Catalan, not Spanish — for Spanish, see the question below on free Spanish classes.

Does this apply to me

Yes. CPNL courses are open to adults whatever their nationality, and nothing on the enrolment route asks for a residence authorisation. If you have recently arrived, the beginner levels are part of the CPNL’s reception programme, and the certificate you get counts towards the certificat de primera acollida, the first-reception certificate that supports several immigration applications. Hours of Catalan and Spanish training also count towards the social-integration report used in an arraigo (arrelament in Catalan, a residence permit based on time spent in Spain) application: SAIER (Servei d’Atenció a Immigrants, Emigrants i Refugiats, Barcelona City Council’s free service for migrants and refugees) asks for a minimum of 45 hours in its arrelament guidance. Both of the estrangeria reports used in those applications are free.

What it costs, level by level, in 2026–2027

Read on the CPNL price list on 9 Sep 2026.

Reductions on the paid levels

• To claim the unemployed rate: a certificate from the SOC (Servei Públic d’Ocupació de Catalunya, the Catalan public employment service) or from the SEPE.
• To claim the hardship rate: a report from the council’s social services, or proof that you receive the RMI or the RGC.

What to bring

• An identity document.
• Proof for a reduction, if you are claiming one.
• If you have studied Catalan before, a certificate of your level — otherwise you sit a placement test, which the CPNL calls determinació de nivell.

Where to go, and how to book

Enrolment is online at cpnl.cat, or in person at your nearest district centre. Do not go to the CPNL’s Barcelona head office at Carrer de Quintana 11 — its own page says there is no service for students at that address. Find your district delegation through the course finder on the website. For help by phone, ring 012.

The dates, for the round open as this was written on 9 Sep 2026

The window runs from 09:00 on the first day of a round to 23:55 on the last. Courses begin in Sep 2026. Enrolment opens more than once a year and the CPNL publishes each window on cpnl.cat — check there rather than assuming September is the only chance, because these dates change every term.

How long it takes

Enrolment itself takes minutes online. Getting your level assessed takes a few days, which is why the determination window opens before enrolment does.

What happens next

You get a place on a course and, at the end, a CPNL certificate. Keep it: it counts towards the first-reception certificate, and Catalan levels are worth points in public-sector job competitions.

What goes wrong

• Having your level assessed is compulsory and it does not reserve you a place. Places go on the day enrolment opens, in the order applications arrive, and the free beginner levels fill first. Sit the determination in the first week of September, then be at a phone or a computer at 09:00 on the first day of your own round — and check which day that is, because Bàsic 2 and Bàsic 3 open a day later than Inicial and Bàsic 1.
• The free levels are only free at the CPNL. Private academies charge for A1 and A2 while the public course next door costs nothing.

Practice outside the classroom

• Voluntariat per la llengua pairs you with a Catalan speaker for conversation in your own neighbourhood, and has made more than 175,000 pairs since 2003. Ask at your CPNL centre or see vxl.cat. The scheme’s own pages state no price, so ask what, if anything, it costs.
• Reading clubs in public libraries, in plain Catalan — the CPNL calls this lectura fàcil.

Useful words

Read next

• Where can I learn Spanish for free in Barcelona? The CPNL does not teach Spanish; the council’s adult schools do.
• Where can I get free help finding a job in Barcelona? A SOC registration is what cuts the paid Catalan levels by 70 per cent.
• Where do I get free legal advice on immigration, arraigo or family reunification? Ask there how your course hours count towards a residence application.

Official source

Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística: prices at cpnl.cat/cursos-de-catala/preus, reductions at cpnl.cat/cursos-de-catala/reduccions-matricula, and enrolment windows at cpnl.cat/inscripcions.