--- title: "TCF Canada 2026: NCLC 7 needs 453 reading, 458 listening" description: "Four tests in 2 h 47: listening 39 questions in 35 min, reading 39 in 60, writing 3 tasks in 60, speaking 3 in 12. Scored to 699 and out of 20." canonical: https://francaisprep.com/tcf-canada last-updated: 2026-10-25 --- Exam guide # TCF Canada: format, scoring and the NCLC level you need The TCF Canada is the French test Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada accepts as proof of French ability. It has four compulsory sections and no pass mark: each section returns a level of its own, those levels convert to NCLC, and your application is read at the weakest of the four. Listening and reading are machine-marked on a points scale; writing and speaking are judged out of 20 by two independent markers who are never allowed to tell you why. [Book a placement call](/book)[See the preparation tiers](#tiers) - Four compulsory sections: listening, reading, writing, speaking - Results valid for two years in an IRCC application - NCLC 7 opens the Express Entry French-language category ![Adèle, the native French teacher who runs Français Prep](/_next/image?url=%2Fadele.png&w=3840&q=75) AdèleNative French teacher - every class, every correction By [Adèle Sason](/about), Français Prep · Updated 25 October 2026 ## What is the TCF Canada? The TCF Canada is a French-language test administered by France Éducation International and designated by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as proof of French ability. It has four compulsory sections, listening, reading, writing and speaking, and each is reported as a level, not a pass or fail. Those levels convert to NCLC, and the NCLC level, not the raw score, decides what your French is worth in Express Entry. You need it if you are claiming French in a Canadian permanent-residence application and you are not taking the TEF Canada instead. Read it as a measurement, not an exam you can fail: the only question that matters is whether each of your four levels reaches the NCLC your programme requires. Run by France Éducation International What it proves Your French to IRCC when you claim French in a Canadian permanent-residence application. Sections Four, all compulsory: compréhension orale, compréhension écrite, expression écrite, expression orale. Pass mark None. Each section returns a level, and IRCC reads the four levels separately. Result validity Two years from the date the attestation is issued for an IRCC application. Total test time 2 hours 47 minutes in all: 35 minutes of listening, 60 of reading, 60 of writing and 12 of speaking. Exam format ## What are the four sections of the TCF Canada? All four sections are compulsory. Unlike the general TCF, the Canada version has no separate grammar and vocabulary module, so nothing is scored except the four abilities IRCC converts to NCLC levels. | Section | What you are asked to do | Questions and timing | | --- | --- | --- | | Compréhension oraleListening | Recorded dialogues, public announcements, radio extracts and short reports, each answered as a multiple-choice question. The recording plays once. | 39 questions in 35 minutes, four options each, one correct answer. | | Compréhension écriteReading | Signs, messages, emails, press articles and longer documents you have to compare, again as multiple choice. | 39 questions in 60 minutes, four options each, one correct answer. | | Expression écriteWriting | Three written tasks that get progressively more demanding, from a short practical message to a text where you weigh two positions and argue your own. | 3 tasks in 60 minutes: task 1 is 60 to 120 words, task 2 is 120 to 150 words, task 3 is 120 to 180 words. | | Expression oraleSpeaking | Three spoken tasks with an examiner: a guided interview about you, an interactive task where you ask the questions, and a monologue where you defend a point of view. | 3 tasks in 12 minutes. Task 2 is 5 minutes 30, of which 2 minutes are preparation and 3 minutes 30 are dialogue. Tasks 1 and 3 have no preparation time. | Source: the TCF Canada information sheet from France Éducation International, as published by approved test centres in 2026. The operator has revised these figures before, so check the sheet for your session before you sit the test. How it is marked ## How the TCF Canada is scored The two comprehension sections and the two production sections are marked on different scales, which is why candidates so often misread their own result. - **Compréhension orale and compréhension écrite** are machine-marked and reported as a points score, which is then mapped to a level from A1 to C2. Check the maximum points value of that scale, usually cited as 699. - **Expression écrite and expression orale** are marked by trained examiners out of 20, against published criteria in three orders: linguistic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic. - **There is no overall mark.** You are not given a single TCF Canada score, and there is no pass threshold. IRCC reads the four sections independently, and your weakest section is the one that limits your file. That last point is the one worth planning around. A candidate at NCLC 9 in reading and NCLC 6 in speaking is treated as an NCLC 6 candidate wherever a programme requires a level in all four abilities. Preparation time is almost always better spent on the weakest section than on the one that already clears the bar. Who reads your paper ## Who marks the TCF Canada, and how? The two production sections are judged by people, twice over, under rules France Éducation International publishes in its candidate manual and nowhere else on its site. Knowing the process changes what you should be practising. Two markers, blind to each other Expression écrite and expression orale are each marked twice, independently and double-blind, by markers France Éducation International selects on French-as-a-foreign-language and assessment experience, puts through a selection test, and then trains itself. A third marking when they disagree Where the two markers diverge significantly, a third marking is carried out automatically. You are never told that this happened. The speaking test is marked twice from two positions The accredited examiner who conducts and records your interview gives the first marking on the day. The recording then goes to a separate trained corrector who was never in the room. Anything you rescued with a gesture or a look reaches only one of your two markers; on the recording it is a silence. A level per task, not a score per criterion Each marker awards one level per task, from A1 non atteint up to C2. Three tasks and two markers make six levels, and a calculation rule France Éducation International does not publish turns those six into your final mark and level. Some written papers get a machine first The manual notes that certain computer-delivered written papers may receive their first marking from FIDELIA, France Éducation International's automated marking aid, with the second marking still human. A candidate who does not want this can ask to sit on paper instead. No annotation, no feedback, ever Written papers are not annotated and speaking recordings are not commented on, so no material and in particular no suggested improvements can be passed to candidates. The manual also states that the levels awarded assess a competence rather than correct errors, which is why eliminating a handful of mistakes does not by itself buy a level back. Source: France Éducation International, Manuel du candidat au TCF, Version L (April 2025), pages 22 to 23. Confirm the current version before relying on any of it: the public evaluation page on the France Éducation International site is a summary and does not reproduce these rules. Score conversion ## What TCF Canada score do you need for each NCLC level? Listening and reading are shown as points bands; speaking and writing are shown out of 20. NCLC 7 in all four abilities is the level the Express Entry French-language category asks for. | NCLC | TCF Canada | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing | | | NCLC 10 | 549-699 | 549-699 | 16-20 | 16-20 | | NCLC 9 | 523-548 | 524-548 | 14-15 | 14-15 | | NCLC 8 | 503-522 | 499-523 | 12-13 | 12-13 | | NCLC 7 Level highlighted on this pageThe level the Express Entry French-language category asks for in all four abilities. | 458-502 | 453-498 | 10-11 | 10-11 | | NCLC 6 | 398-457 | 406-452 | 7-9 | 7-9 | | NCLC 5 | 369-397 | 375-405 | 6 | 6 | | NCLC 4 | 331-368 | 342-374 | 4-5 | 4-5 | **Checked band by band against IRCC.** Every range in this table matched IRCC's test-equivalency chart for the TCF Canada when we last compared them on 30 September 2026. These boundaries decide eligibility and CRS points, and IRCC has revised them in the past, so if its chart and this table ever disagree, the official chart is right. Registration ## How do you register for the TCF Canada? Registration runs through an approved test centre. That is the only route, and it is worth understanding before you plan a test date. 1. 1Find a test centre approved for the TCF Canada. France Éducation International publishes the list of approved centres; there is no central booking desk and no way to sit the exam outside an approved centre. 2. 2Check that the centre runs the Canada version. France Éducation International administers several versions of the TCF, and only the Canada version is the one IRCC accepts for economic immigration. 3. 3Pick a session from that centre's own calendar and pay that centre's fee directly to it. Français Prep never handles registration or exam fees. 4. 4Turn up with the identity document you registered under. Check which documents each centre accepts, since the accepted list is set locally and a mismatched name is the most common reason a candidate is turned away. Dates and fees ## What does the TCF Canada cost, and how long is the result valid? Nothing about the TCF Canada calendar is centralised, and the fee is not a single published number. This is what is fixed, and what still has to be checked locally. Session calendar Each centre publishes its own sessions. There is no single national or global TCF Canada calendar, so availability at your nearest centre is what actually sets your test date. Fee The fee is set by the test centre in local currency, not by France Éducation International. No figure is printed here until the current amount has been checked at the centres our candidates use. Results turnaround Check the current interval between the session and the downloadable attestation. Retake interval Check the minimum waiting period between two TCF Canada sessions, and whether a single-section retake is currently allowed. Validity Two years from the date the attestation is issued. IRCC needs a result that is still inside that window on the day it receives your application, not on the day you started the profile. Who you pay Always the test centre. Preparation and registration are separate purchases, and no preparation provider can register you. ![Overhead view of a pair of hands writing on a blank notebook page](/_next/image?url=%2Fphotos%2Fwriting-blank-page.jpg&w=3840&q=75) Two of the four papers start from a blank page. What the exam asks for ## Four papers, two of which you produce from nothing Listening and reading are recognition tasks: the answer exists somewhere in front of you and your job is to find it. Speaking and writing are production tasks, and a blank page is where preparation quietly fails, because you can revise vocabulary for months without ever once producing a timed piece under exam conditions. That asymmetry is why the two production papers usually need the larger share of your preparation time. They are also where feedback pays back fastest: a structural habit corrected once applies to every task you write after it. Most marks lost here have nothing to do with your French. Ten questions on how the exam actually works, twenty-five seconds each. Candidates at every level drop marks on these, and they are the cheapest ones to win back. [Play the ten-question quiz](/tools/exam-game) Free, with a free account. Nothing to pay. Questions candidates actually ask ## TCF Canada: frequently asked questions ### Is the TCF Canada accepted by IRCC? Yes. IRCC designates the TCF Canada as proof of French for permanent-residence applications, alongside the TEF Canada. The result has to be less than two years old when IRCC receives your application. ### Is there a pass mark on the TCF Canada? No. The TCF Canada has no pass or fail. Each of the four sections returns a level, and what matters is whether those levels reach the NCLC your programme asks for. The Express Entry French-language category asks for NCLC 7 in all four abilities. ### What TCF Canada score gives NCLC 7? 10 or 11 out of 20 in expression écrite and in expression orale, plus a points score inside the NCLC 7 band in compréhension orale and compréhension écrite. The full table is on the [TCF Canada score chart](/tcf-canada/score-chart). Check every band against the current IRCC equivalency chart before you rely on it. ### How long are TCF Canada results valid? Two years from the date you sat the exam, for IRCC purposes. If your result expires mid-application you have to sit the exam again. ### How much does the TCF Canada cost? The fee is set by each test centre in local currency, so it varies by country. No fee figure appears on this page until the current amount has been checked at the centres our candidates actually use. ### Can I retake only one section? Whether France Éducation International currently allows a single-section retake of the TCF Canada, and the minimum interval between two sessions, are both rules set by the exam board and are not stated here until confirmed. ### Should I take the TCF Canada or the TEF Canada? Both are accepted by IRCC and both convert to the same NCLC scale, so the decision usually comes down to which exam your nearest centre runs, what it charges, and which format suits how you work. We compare them section by section in [TEF vs TCF Canada](/tef-vs-tcf). ### How long do I actually speak in the TCF Canada expression orale? Less time than the headline figure suggests. The candidate manual gives three tasks inside about 12 minutes: a 2-minute guided interview with no preparation, an interactive task given as 5 minutes 30, and a 4-minute-30 monologue with no preparation. The 5 minutes 30 is the part candidates misread, because 2 of those minutes are preparation and only 3 minutes 30 is dialogue. Rehearsing a five-minute conversation puts your best questions near the end, where the exam will never reach them. Check every one of these figures against the current manual before planning around them. ### Will I be told why I got the level I got? No. France Éducation International states in its candidate manual that expression écrite papers are not annotated and expression orale recordings are not commented on, and that consequently no material, and in particular no suggested improvements, can be passed to candidates. A re-mark can be requested within a month of the attestations reaching centres, may be charged for, and can lower your level as well as raise it. That is why the diagnosis of what is costing you marks has to be done before test day, not after the result arrives. ### Is the speaking section face to face? The expression orale section is conducted with an examiner rather than scored by a machine. Check whether your own centre runs it in person or by videoconference, because that is decided centre by centre. ### Do I need French if my English is already strong? French is optional, but it is where the points are. Reaching NCLC 7 in all four French abilities is what makes you eligible for the Express Entry French-language category draws, and French also adds points on top of your English. Check the current additional-points values with IRCC before relying on any number. Thresholds are only useful once they become a plan: [how to pass the TCF Canada](/how-to-pass-tcf-canada) turns them into a week-by-week method, and [what CLB 7 in French means](/nclc-7) explains the level most routes ask for. When you are ready for a date, follow [how to book the TCF Canada exam](/how-to-book-tcf-tef-canada); if you are still choosing, [which is easier, TCF or TEF](/tef-vs-tcf) answers that first. The [TCF Canada preparation course](/tcf-canada-course) includes marked writing and speaking in the live tiers, and you can [book a placement call with Adèle](/book) to see where you stand. Preparation tiers ## Choose how much live teaching you want. Every tier covers listening, reading, speaking and writing, and every tier tracks you against a target NCLC level. Exam registration is paid to your test centre and is never included. - ### Weekly plan The whole practice platform: every TCF and TEF Canada series, unlimited AI corrections, timed mock tests and the course lessons. CA$9.99per week Canadian dollars (CAD) Billed weekly, cancel any time. Access runs to the end of the week you paid for. [Start the weekly plan](/dashboard/premium) - Every practice series in all four exam sections - Unlimited AI writing and speaking corrections - Timed mock tests in the real exam format - Course lessons and a weekly study plan - ### Small-group live Weekly live classes with Adèle, in groups small enough that everyone speaks, plus marked writing and speaking. CA$449per 8-week block Canadian dollars (CAD) Eight weekly classes of 60 minutes: 8 hours of live teaching, CA$56 an hour, with your writing and speaking marked every week. [Join a small group](https://buy.stripe.com/fZu4gyfXZ9uK5Aj1P46Vq01) Full refund within 14 days of purchase if you have not taken a session. - Everything in the weekly plan - One 60-minute live class with Adèle every week - Marked writing submissions every week - Marked speaking recordings every week - Most popular ### One-to-one tutoring Private sessions scheduled around your test date, with a study plan built from your diagnostic results. CA$800per 10 sessions Canadian dollars (CAD) CA$80 an hour, booked around your test date: ten 60-minute sessions. [Book one-to-one](https://buy.stripe.com/dRm8wOfXZdL07IralA6Vq0a) Full refund within 14 days of purchase if you have not taken a session. - Everything in small-group live - Private 60-minute sessions scheduled around your test date - Study plan built from your diagnostic test - Unlimited marked writing and speaking during your block Not ready to commit to a block? Try a trial class. One 40-minute class with Adèle, one to one. The CA$30 comes off any block you book within 30 days. [Try one class for CA$30](https://buy.stripe.com/6oU4gy3bd9uK4wf0L06Vq0c) Not sure which tier fits? [Book a free 15-minute video call.](/book) Prices are in Canadian dollars and include any tax that applies. Exam registration fees are paid directly to your test centre and are not included in any tier. WHY PREPARE HERE ## Preparation built around the exam you are actually sitting Four things every tier includes, whether you study on your own or work with Adèle every week. - ### Marked against the real criteria Every writing and speaking task comes with a model answer and the marking grid, so you can see exactly what an examiner rewards. On the live tiers, Adèle marks your own work by hand and tells you which mistakes are costing you the most points. - ### Timed practice in the real exam format You practise each section under the clock, in the order and the length you will meet on test day, so the paper itself is never the surprise. - ### The NCLC threshold always in view Every section is worked against the NCLC thresholds IRCC publishes. A practice result is not an NCLC level; only your attestation gives one. Practice shows you where you lose marks. - ### Study from anywhere, in your timezone Everything is online, for candidates in Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, India, France and Canada. The free plan and the weekly plan run entirely on your own clock. On the live tiers, if you miss a class the recording and the correction still reach you. OUR COMMITMENT ## What we promise, and what we will never claim ![](/lander/seal-badge.svg) Your result is decided by official examiners we have no contact with, so no honest preparation service can promise you a score. What we can commit to is the work: the corrections, the practice papers and the teaching hours you paid for. ### What we do not claim - We do not guarantee a TCF Canada or TEF Canada score, an NCLC level, or a number of CRS points. - We do not register you for the exam, and we have no influence over marking, exam dates or seat availability. - We are an independent preparation service, not an examiner and not an official test centre. ### Our commitment, in writing - On the live tiers, every writing and speaking task you submit is marked by Adèle herself, never by software. The weekly plan gives unlimited AI corrections instead, and the free plan includes three. - Prices are in Canadian dollars and include any tax that applies. Exam registration is never included: that fee goes to your test centre. - We will never invent a testimonial, a statistic or a pass rate. Where these facts come from The format, the timings and the marking process are France Education International's, published in the candidate manual. The conversion from a TCF score to an NCLC level is IRCC's, in a separate table. Only the second one decides an Express Entry file, and either can change without this page changing. - [France Éducation International: TCF Canada](https://www.france-education-international.fr/test/tcf-canada) - [France Éducation International: TCF reference site](https://www.france-education-international.fr/sites-ressources/tcf) - [IRCC: Express Entry language test results and NCLC equivalencies](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/language-test.html) Exam boards reissue formats, fees and conversion tables without announcing it. Where a number here matters to a decision that costs money, check it against the source above rather than trusting any preparation site, including this one. Keep reading ## Go deeper on one section at a time - [TCF Canada score chart 2026: NCLC 7 = 453 CE, 458 CONCLC 7 is 453 to 498 reading, 458 to 502 listening and 10 to 11 out of 20 in writing and speaking. Full conversion table from NCLC 4 to NCLC 10.](/tcf-canada/score-chart) - [TCF Canada expression écrite 2026: 3 tasks, 60 minutesThree tasks in 60 minutes: 60 to 120 words, then 120 to 150, then 120 to 180. What each asks for, how it is marked out of 20, and where marks are lost.](/tcf-canada/expression-ecrite) - [TCF Canada expression orale 2026: 12 min, NCLC 7 at 10/20Three tasks in twelve minutes, marked out of 20, where 10 to 11 is NCLC 7. What the examiner listens for, and the per-task split FEI never published.](/tcf-canada/expression-orale) - [How to pass the TCF Canada in 2026: there is no pass markNo pass mark exists. You need your programme's NCLC level in every section, usually NCLC 7: 453 reading, 458 listening, 10 out of 20 in production.](/how-to-pass-tcf-canada) - [TEF vs TCF Canada: which is easier, and how they differNeither is officially easier: both convert to the same NCLC levels and IRCC treats them as equal. What differs is format, timing and section counts.](/tef-vs-tcf) NEXT STEP ## Find out which section is holding your NCLC level down Book a short assessment with Adèle: one writing task, one speaking task, and an honest read on how far you are from the level your application needs. [Book an assessment](/book)[See the course tiers](#tiers) Assessment and preparation only. Français Prep does not register candidates for the TCF Canada. From the blog ## TCF Canada guides from the blog - [GuideIs the TCF Canada hard? An honest, section-by-section answerHow hard the TCF Canada feels depends on the answering formats and the clock, not your French. Where anglophones drop marks, section by section.](/blog/is-tcf-canada-hard) - [GuideHow long does it take to prepare for the TCF or TEF Canada?How long you need is really how far you are from B2. The distance in weeks by starting level, and why the same target takes one person a year.](/blog/how-long-to-prepare-tcf-tef) - [Exam dayIs the TCF Canada on computer or paper? (and the TEF)It depends on the centre, not on the exam. Which TCF and TEF Canada sections tend to run on screen, which on paper, and how to check yours before the day.](/blog/is-tcf-canada-computer-or-paper) - [GuideHow much does the TCF Canada cost?There is no single TCF Canada fee: each approved centre sets its own. What moves the price, the costs nobody quotes, and how to avoid paying twice.](/blog/how-much-does-tcf-canada-cost) - [GuideTCF Canada exam structure: sections, timing, question countAn at-a-glance table of the whole TCF Canada: the four sections, what each asks, how long each runs, how it is marked, and what it is scored out of.](/blog/tcf-canada-exam-structure-reference) --- For agents: site index https://francaisprep.com/llms.txt, developer access https://francaisprep.com/developers, and TCF or TEF to NCLC conversion over a plain GET at https://api.francaisprep.com/v1/score/convert?exam=tcf_canada&listening=512&reading=470&writing=12&speaking=11 (exam is tcf_canada or tef_canada).