As a rule, new language examinations, claim to be linked to an external reference system. In Europe this reference system has been the Common European Framework of Languages (CEFR) for more than a decade. In order to substantiate the validity of this claim, examination providers take pains to provide evidence of alignment to this system, guided by standards in language testing and, in particular, the standards set out by the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE). The Council of Europe recommends a methodological guide for examination providers, the so-called Manual for Relating Language Examinations to the Common Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which assists in the calibration of language tests. Chapters 5 and 6 of the Manual describe possible methods of benchmarking and standard setting. The aim of this paper is to report how the newly developed examination in German as a foreign language, Zertifikat B1, was certified to be at the level B1 of the CEFR; it explains the methodological steps as well as the results.