How many credits do you need to pass NCEA Level 1?

The 80 credits at Level 1

NZQA's levels page sets out the sum. It is the only certificate whose 60 credits have no minimum level:

That means a Year 11 student with a few Level 2 standards in hand is not penalised for them. NZQA says you can build the credits over more than one year, and that a standard is worth the same credits at Achieved, Merit or Excellence. A Merit changes your grade, not your total.

The literacy and numeracy windows

Most Level 1 students meet the co-requisite with the national assessments rather than with ordinary subject standards. Literacy is unit standard 32403 (reading) plus 32405 (writing). Numeracy is unit standard 32406. Te Reo Matatini uses 32413 and 32415, and Te Pāngarau uses 32412. Specified achievement standards from various subjects can also count, and NZQA's list of them is labelled for 2024 and 2025, so ask your school which it uses.

If you do not achieve at the first attempt you can sit another event. NZQA's 2026 co-requisite results were released on 23 June, 20 July, 14 October and 27 October. In 2027 the Pāngarau and Te Reo Matatini (Te Reo Whakaputa) assessments also have a Term 4 event on 27 October.

What Level 1 exams are worth

Credit values come from NZQA's 2026 specifications. At Level 1 the externals are modest, so internal standards carry much of the 60:

Sit all six and you have 29 credits, about half of the 60. Level 1 Physics and Level 1 Chemistry on their own no longer exist, so these are the standards to plan around.

Two ways to reach 80

A student who passes both Maths externals and both Physics, Earth and Space Science externals has 20 credits, and needs 40 more from internals or other subjects plus the 20 co-requisite credits. A student who passes only 91947 and 92047 has 10 and needs 50 more. The gap is the reason to check your internal results through the year rather than waiting for the exams.

Finding out

NZQA says credits last forever, you can see results per standard in the MyNZQA learners portal, and end-of-year results appear "from late January". There is no exact January 2027 date yet.

Today's paper

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper on the NCEA Level 1 Maths track. It is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full NCEA exam, and it is not written by NZQA. Mark it and check your stats page for a predicted grade. A grade shows how well you are doing, but only credits decide whether you pass the certificate.

Read next

New Zealand · Dates and gradesHow many credits to pass NCEA Level 2: 80 credits explainedNCEA Level 2 needs 80 credits, with 60 at Level 2 or above. See why Level 1 credits stop counting, how Level 3 helps and what the exams add up to.