Attention: the format of the exam will change a little bit in January 2015. This page describes the current exam (for all exam dates in 2014). If you want to read about the new exam, please click here.
The FCE consists of five parts (called “papers”) and is held over two non-consecutive days. The written part of the exam takes about four hours (but you will have breaks between the different parts of the test). The speaking test takes around 15 minutes, and is held on a different day.
Download a practice test
Look at the practice test I have linked and also check my tips for each paper for specific advice about each section.
The 5 parts of the exam
Here is a brief overview of the exam:
Paper 1: Reading 1 hour
Paper 2: Writing 1 hour 20 minutes
Paper 3: Use of English 45 minutes
Paper 4: Listening 40 minutes
Paper 5: Speaking 15 minutes
NB: it is more accurate to say that the reading test is 4 hours because you are responsible for understanding every word that is written in any part of the test. Following instructions is crucial in the writing paper, and part 3 of the listening paper (in particular) has a lot of text to read in a short period of time.