--- title: "TEF Canada 2026: 4 tests for PR, 2 for citizenship" description: "Permanent residence needs four TEF Canada tests, citizenship only two. Reading 40 questions in 60 min, listening 40 in 40, writing and speaking 2 each." canonical: https://francaisprep.com/tef-canada last-updated: 2026-10-25 --- TEF Canada exam guide # TEF Canada: format, scoring and the NCLC level you need The TEF Canada is the French exam Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada accepts for economic immigration. Four sections, four separate scores on four different scales, one NCLC level per ability, and no overall pass mark. Your attestation already prints the NCLC level next to each section, so the number that decides your file is not one you calculate: it is which column you copy into the Express Entry portal, and IRCC reads the Equivalence ancien score column rather than the headline Score / 699. [Book a placement call](/book)[See preparation tiers](#tiers) - Four sections, each scored separately - Scores converted to NCLC for Express Entry - Independent preparation, taught by Adèle ![Adèle, the native French teacher who runs Français Prep](/_next/image?url=%2Fadele.png&w=3840&q=75) Adèle SasonNative French teacher - every class, every correction By [Adèle Sason](/about), Français Prep · Updated 25 October 2026 ## What the TEF Canada is The TEF Canada (Test d’évaluation de français) is a French-language exam produced by CCI Paris Île-de-France and accepted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as evidence of French ability. It tests four abilities separately, listening, reading, speaking and writing, and reports each one as its own score, which is then converted to a level on the Canadian Language Benchmarks scale. That scale is called NCLC in French. There is no overall pass mark and no single total. What counts is the level each of your four scores converts to, because that is what an Express Entry profile or a provincial stream reads. Most candidates aim for NCLC 7 in all four abilities, and any result you submit has to be less than two years old on the day IRCC receives your application. Who runs it CCI Paris Île-de-France. Dates, prices and registration belong to its approved test centres. Français Prep has no part in any of them. What it is used for Proof of French for Canadian economic immigration, including Express Entry. Check the current list of IRCC and provincial programs that accept TEF Canada results. The four sections Compréhension orale, compréhension écrite, expression orale and expression écrite. An economic immigration application needs all four. How it is delivered On computer or on paper depending on the centre, with the speaking section conducted by a human examiner. Check which delivery formats each region currently offers. What a result looks like One score per section, on a scale that differs from section to section, plus the NCLC level each score converts to under the IRCC table. How long it lasts IRCC requires a language result less than two years old when it receives your application, so the clock starts on test day, not on the day you apply. Exam format ## What does each TEF Canada section ask of you? The order of the sections and whether they all fall on one day is set by your test centre. What does not change is what each section asks of you. | What to expect | TEF Canada sections | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing | | | French name | Compréhension orale | Compréhension écrite | Expression orale | Expression écrite | | What you do | Answer multiple choice | Answer multiple choice | Talk to an examiner | Produce two texts | | Time allowed | 40 minutes | 60 minutes | 15 minutes | 60 minutes | | Questions or tasks | 40 questions | 40 questions | 2 tasks | 2 tasks | | Equivalence ancien score, out ofYour attestation also prints a headline Score / 699 for every section. The maxima in this row belong to the column Express Entry asks for. Check each one. | 360 points | 300 points | 450 points | 450 points | | Marked by | An answer key | An answer key | A trained examiner | A trained examiner | Durations and question counts match the TEF Canada presentation published by CCI Paris Île-de-France, checked on 30 September 2026. Score maxima are printed on your own attestation; read them there, since the exam board revises its format from time to time. Scoring ## How the TEF Canada is scored Each section has its own point scale, and the scales are not the same size. That trips up candidates who read about the TCF Canada first, where listening and reading share one scale. On the TEF Canada you walk away with four numbers, and each number is read against its own conversion band. Listening and reading are multiple choice, marked against an answer key. Writing and speaking are marked by trained examiners against published criteria, which is why those two take longer to come back, and why having someone read your writing and listen to your recordings before test day changes your result more there than anywhere else. IRCC then converts each score to an NCLC level. That conversion is a table lookup rather than a calculation you can estimate: one point can be the difference between NCLC 6 and NCLC 7, and NCLC 7 is where the French points in Express Entry start to matter. One step comes before any of that. Your attestation reports each ability twice, as a Score / 699 figure and as an equivalence under Equivalence ancien score, and Express Entry reads the second of the two. [Which column to enter, and why it depends on the programme](/tef-canada/score-chart#two-score-columns). Score conversion ## TEF Canada scores and the NCLC level they convert to Read each ability against its own column. A score is only meaningful next to the section it came from. | NCLC level | TEF Canada score ranges | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing | | | NCLC 10 | 316-360 | 263-300 | 393-450 | 393-450 | | NCLC 9 | 298-315 | 248-262 | 371-392 | 371-392 | | NCLC 8 | 280-297 | 233-247 | 349-370 | 349-370 | | NCLC 7 Level highlighted on this pageThe level most Express Entry candidates target, in all four abilities | 249-279 | 207-232 | 310-348 | 310-348 | | NCLC 6 | 217-248 | 181-206 | 271-309 | 271-309 | | NCLC 5 | 181-216 | 151-180 | 226-270 | 226-270 | | NCLC 4 | 145-180 | 121-150 | 181-225 | 181-225 | These ranges reproduce the IRCC TEF Canada to NCLC conversion table as understood at the time of writing. Confirm every boundary against the current IRCC table before you rely on it, because the bands have been revised before and a single point decides a level. [The score chart page holds the full breakdown](/tef-canada/score-chart). ### What NCLC 7 is worth NCLC 7 in all four abilities is the level to plan for. It is the entry point for the French-language stream of category-based Express Entry selection, and the threshold at which French starts adding points to a Comprehensive Ranking System score. The number of additional CRS points French earns, and the category-based selection rules, have both been revised more than once. Confirm the current figures on IRCC's Express Entry pages before you plan around either. [What NCLC 7 means and how to reach it](/nclc-7) Inside the two production tests ## What is the TEF Canada examiner actually doing? Both expression sections are role plays, and CCI Paris Île-de-France publishes guidance on how they are built that almost no preparation material repeats. Four things in it change how you should rehearse. Section A scores you for driving the exchange The first speaking role play asks you to obtain information, and the published instruction asks you to put around ten questions to the examiner, who plays the person on the other end. A polite candidate who waits to be asked things is being marked down by the design of the task, not by their French. In section B the examiner never agrees with you The second role play asks you to convince someone. The awarding body's own preparation guidance says in terms that, for this exercise, your interlocutor will never agree with you. The resistance is scripted. Read it as the task working rather than as a verdict on your argument, and keep making the case. The speaking test is always recorded, and marked twice The awarding body states that the session is systematically recorded so that it can be evaluated twice: once by the examiner who ran it in the centre, and again by a second evaluator working from the recording, who was never in the room with you. The writing sections publish a floor, not a ceiling Section A asks for at least 80 words in 25 minutes and section B for at least 200 words in 35 minutes. No official maximum was found for either, so an upper limit quoted on a preparation site is not something the awarding body has published. The same guidance says a formal letter layout is not required, and that generic introductions and conclusions earn no credit. Source: CCI Paris Île-de-France, through Le français des affaires: its TEF Canada presentation page and its own preparation articles on the expression orale test and on sections A and B of the expression écrite. Re-check the current wording before relying on any of it. Side by side ## How the TEF Canada differs from the TCF Canada Both exams are accepted by IRCC and both convert to NCLC levels, so the choice is not about credibility. It is about the shape of the paper, and you pay a test centre before you find out how that shape suits you. | What differs | TEF Canada | TCF Canada | | --- | --- | --- | | Awarding body | CCI Paris Île-de-France | France Éducation International | | Listening and readingCheck the current item counts for both exams | Multiple choice, marked automatically, with a separate point scale for each of the two sections. | Multiple choice, marked automatically, with both sections reported on one scale that maps to a CEFR level. | | WritingCheck task counts and word requirements for both exams | Two written tasks in one sitting. | Three written tasks in one sitting. | | SpeakingCheck the length of each interview | Two tasks inside a single interview with an examiner. | Three tasks inside a single interview with an examiner. | | How a result reads | Four scores on four different scales. The scale alone tells you nothing until you look up the band. | A score plus a stated level per section, which is easier to read at a glance. | | How IRCC reads it | Converted to NCLC with the IRCC TEF Canada table. | Converted to NCLC with the IRCC TCF Canada table. | | Finding a seatSeat availability varies by country and through the year | Approved centres are listed by CCI Paris Île-de-France. | Approved centres are listed by France Éducation International. | Task counts, item counts and scale details for both exams should be re-checked against each awarding body’s current handbook. [The full comparison, including fees and availability](/tef-vs-tcf). Registration ## How do you register for the TEF Canada, and where can you sit it? You register with an approved test centre, never through a preparation service. The centre owns the calendar, the fee, the payment method and the room you sit in. CCI Paris Île-de-France approves those centres and publishes the list; we prepare you for what happens once you are in the room. 1. 1 ### Start from the official centre list CCI Paris Île-de-France publishes the centres approved to run the TEF Canada, country by country. Only a centre on that list produces a result IRCC will accept, so check the list before you pay anyone. 2. 2 ### Check which sessions are open Sessions are scheduled per centre rather than nationally. In high-demand cities they fill well ahead of the date, which is the part candidates underestimate when they plan an application timeline. Check typical booking lead times by region. 3. 3 ### Confirm the delivery format Ask whether the centre runs the exam on computer or on paper, and whether all four sections happen on one day or across two. Both patterns exist and they change how you should rehearse. Check which formats are currently offered where. 4. 4 ### Register and pay the centre directly Payment goes to the centre, in its currency, under its terms. Keep the confirmation: it carries the candidate details and the identification you must bring with you. 5. 5 ### Match your identification exactly The name and document you present on test day must match your registration and, later, your immigration file. A mismatch is the most avoidable way to end up with a result you cannot use. 6. 6 ### Wait for the official attestation Your result arrives as an attestation issued by the awarding body, and that document is what you upload. Check the current turnaround time and how the attestation is delivered. Dates and fees ## When can you sit it, what does it cost, and when do results arrive? Everything in this section is set by test centres and by IRCC, not by us, and it is the part of the exam that moves most often. Where a figure would have to be exact to be useful, it is flagged for verification rather than guessed. Exam dates Published by each centre, not on one national calendar. Large centres run sessions regularly; smaller ones only a few times a year. Check typical session frequency per region. Fees Set by each test centre and quoted in local currency, so there is no single worldwide price and two centres in one city can differ. Check the current fee range and whether sections can be paid for separately. Results Check how long results currently take from test day, and whether an online result is published before the official attestation is issued. Validity A language result must be less than two years old when IRCC receives your application. Sit the exam late enough that the result still has room to spare while the rest of your file is assembled. Retaking You may sit the exam again. Check any waiting period between attempts, and check the rule that all four abilities must come from a single sitting rather than the best of several. Changes and cancellations Rescheduling and refund rules belong to the centre and are agreed when you register. Check the terms that centres typically apply. ![A Canadian flag flying against a clear sky](/_next/image?url=%2Fphotos%2Fcanada-flag-waving.jpg&w=3840&q=75) The Canada-specific version of the TEF, reported for a Canadian file. Why this version exists ## A French exam built for a Canadian file The TEF Canada is the Canada-specific version of the TEF, and that is the whole reason it matters here. Its results are reported in the form the Canadian equivalency chart expects, so they read across to an NCLC level without an extra conversion step in between. Practically, that means the exam is not measuring your French in the abstract. It is producing four numbers that each have to clear a threshold on their own, and preparation that has not identified which of your four abilities is weakest is preparation aimed at the wrong target. 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. FAQ ## TEF Canada questions candidates actually ask Answers are kept to what can be stated honestly. Where a figure changes with the awarding body or with IRCC, it is flagged for verification instead of guessed. ### What is the TEF Canada? The TEF Canada is a French-language exam produced by CCI Paris Île-de-France and accepted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as evidence of French ability. It covers listening, reading, speaking and writing. Each section is scored separately and then converted to an NCLC level. ### Is there a pass mark for the TEF Canada? No. Nobody passes or fails the TEF Canada. You receive a score for each of the four sections, and the level those scores convert to is what an immigration program reads. The level you need comes from the program you are applying to, not from the exam. ### What TEF Canada score do I need for NCLC 7? NCLC 7 sits in the middle of the TEF Canada scales, and you need it in each ability separately: a strong reading score does not compensate for a weak speaking score. The score chart on this site lists the band for every ability. Check each band against the current IRCC conversion table before you rely on it. [See the full TEF Canada score chart](/tef-canada/score-chart). ### Is the TEF Canada harder than the TCF Canada? Neither exam is officially harder. They differ in shape: the TEF Canada gives you two writing tasks and two speaking tasks on scales that differ per section, while the TCF Canada gives you three of each and reports listening and reading on a single scale. Which suits you depends on how you work under time pressure and on which centres near you have seats. [Compare the TEF and the TCF Canada](/tef-vs-tcf). ### How long are TEF Canada results valid for immigration? Your result has to be less than two years old at two moments: when you complete your Express Entry profile, and when you submit your application for permanent residence. It is not measured against the day a decision is made, so a result that is valid on your submission date does not expire while the application is processed. The real risk is sitting the exam so early that the two years run out before you are invited to apply. ### Do I have to take all four sections? For an economic immigration application, yes: all four abilities are required. Other uses of the TEF family need fewer sections. Check which combinations are currently accepted for Canadian citizenship and for Quebec programs, because those use different members of the TEF family. ### How much does the TEF Canada cost? The fee is set by the test centre rather than centrally, and it is quoted in local currency, so it differs between countries and sometimes between centres in one city. Check the current fee range. Preparation fees on this page are separate and are never collected on a test centre's behalf. ### How is the TEF Canada different from the other TEF exams? The TEF family shares one awarding body but its versions serve different purposes, and only the version a program names is accepted for it. TEF Canada is the version used for Canadian economic immigration. Check the current scope of each variant, since the family has been renamed and reorganised over time. ### Why does the TEF Canada examiner disagree with everything I say? Because the task is built that way. CCI Paris Île-de-France states in its own preparation guidance for the expression orale that, for the second role play, your interlocutor will never agree with you. The examiner is playing a character who has to be convinced, so pushback is the exercise running correctly rather than a judgement on your argument. What is being scored is whether you keep making the case, bring a new reason instead of repeating the last one, and stay in a register that fits the person you were told you are speaking to. ### Do I have to convert my TEF Canada score to NCLC myself? No. Your attestation already prints the NCLC level next to each section, alongside a CEFR level, a headline Score / 699 and an Equivalence ancien score figure. The conversion tables are for setting targets while you prepare and for checking the printed level, not for arithmetic on results day. What you do have to get right is which of the two score columns you type into the Express Entry portal. ### Can Français Prep register me for the exam? No. We are an independent preparation service with no role in registration, exam dates, marking or results. You register with an approved test centre yourself, and we prepare you for the paper you will meet there. Preparation ## How do I prepare for the TEF Canada? Start by finding out which of your four abilities is furthest from NCLC 7, because each one has to reach it separately. Then practise every section under exam timing, and have someone mark your expression écrite and expression orale, the two sections an examiner rather than an answer key decides. [The TEF Canada course page sets out the three ways to do that with Adèle](/tef-canada-course). Preparation tiers ## Prepare for the TEF Canada with a teacher who marks your work Every tier covers all four TEF Canada sections and 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 shaped by the TEF Canada, not a general French course The same four things come with every tier, whether you study alone or sit in a live class each 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. NEXT STEP ## Know your TEF Canada level before you pay a test centre Book a short assessment with Adèle: one writing task, one speaking task, and an honest view of where your French stands against NCLC 7 today. [Book an assessment](/book)[See the preparation tiers](#tiers) Prices are in Canadian dollars and include any tax that applies. The exam fee is separate and is always paid to your test centre. Where these facts come from The format, the timings and the score scales are Le francais des affaires', which administers the TEF. The conversion from a TEF score to an NCLC level is IRCC's, read from the Equivalence ancien score column. They are different documents maintained by different bodies. - [Le français des affaires: TEF Canada](https://www.lefrancaisdesaffaires.fr/candidat/test-evaluation-francais/tef-canada/presentation/) - [Le français des affaires: TEF Canada preparation material](https://www.lefrancaisdesaffaires.fr/candidat/test-evaluation-francais/tef-canada/preparation/) - [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. Related pages ## Keep reading The pages below go deeper into the parts of the TEF Canada that decide your score and your points. - [ ### TEF Canada score chart 2026: NCLC 7 = 207 CE, 249 CO NCLC 7 is 207 reading, 249 listening, 310 writing and 310 speaking on the Équivalence ancien score column Express Entry reads. Full table, all levels. ](/tef-canada/score-chart) - [ ### TEF vs TCF Canada: which is easier, and how they differ Neither 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) - [ ### NCLC 7 on the TCF Canada 2026: 458 listening, 453 reading CLB 7 in French is NCLC 7: TCF Canada 453 reading, 458 listening, 10/20 in production; TEF Canada 207, 249, 310, 310 in the Équivalence ancien score column. ](/nclc-7) - [ ### TCF Canada 2026: NCLC 7 needs 453 reading, 458 listening 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. ](/tcf-canada) From the blog ## TEF Canada guides from the blog - [GuideIs the TEF Canada hard? What actually makes it toughThe TEF Canada is easier than you fear on vocabulary and harder on volume and the French keyboard. Where the marks actually go, section by section.](/blog/is-tef-canada-hard) - [GuideTEF Canada compréhension écrite: format, timing and triageTEF Canada reading is forty questions in sixty minutes, decided by the clock more than your French. The format, the scale, and a three-pass triage method.](/blog/tef-canada-reading) - [ComparisonTEF vs IELTS for Express Entry: which earns more CRS pointsTEF vs IELTS is usually not a choice: French adds up to 50 CRS points on top of your English, not instead of it. How the additional-points rule works.](/blog/tef-canada-vs-ielts) - [ScoresHow the TEF Canada is graded: the criteria for each sectionThe TEF Canada is marked against criteria candidates never see. What the examiner rewards in each section, and why the writing floor is not a target.](/blog/how-tef-canada-is-graded) --- 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).