TEF Canada score chart: what your result is in NCLC
Four sections, four different maximums, and only the NCLC level counts. This page converts every TEF Canada band to NCLC for listening, reading, writing and speaking, and shows the lowest raw score that still reaches NCLC 7 in each one.
- One row per NCLC level, all four abilities
- Minimum scores for NCLC 7 derived from the same table
- Unverified figures flagged, never quietly published
A TEF Canada score chart converts each section result into an NCLC level, the scale English speakers know as CLB. Read the column heading on your attestation before you read the number: results are printed twice, once as a Score / 699 figure and once under Equivalence ancien score, and Express Entry reads the second of those. The chart below is on that ancien score scale, where the four abilities are marked on four different maximums, so a raw number only means something once you place it in its band. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada records the level for each ability separately, which means your weakest section, not your average, decides what you can claim.
Your attestation has two score columns, and Express Entry reads one of them
A TEF Canada attestation reports every ability twice. Two numbers, one exam, one skill, and they are not on the same scale. Which one you copy into an application decides whether the level that comes back is yours or nonsense, so it is worth thirty seconds before you read any conversion chart, including this one.
The headline figure
Score / 699
The scale the TEF Canada has reported on since 11 December 2023. All four abilities run to 699, so it produces the biggest numbers on the page and it is usually the first thing a candidate reads off the attestation. It is a real result and it is not wrong. It is simply not the column an Express Entry profile asks for.
The equivalence column
Equivalence ancien score
The same performance expressed on the scale the TEF Canada used before, where each ability keeps its own maximum: listening out of 360, reading out of 300, writing out of 450 and speaking out of 450. Every band in the chart on this page sits on this scale, which is why the numbers here look smaller than the ones you may have seen elsewhere.
What IRCC tells Express Entry candidates to do
Guidance on the Express Entry language test page tells TEF Canada candidates to base their language level on the Equivalence ancien score column, and to enter only the figures from that column for each ability. It states that an application may be refused if the correct scores are not entered.
It goes on to say that the attestation de résultats also carries results in a column marked Score / 699, and that those results should not go into an Express Entry profile, because they are not compatible with the system.
Read it in full on the IRCC page for language testing for Express Entry, which is the page that governs, and check it on the day you build your profile rather than trusting this summary.
Which column applies depends on the programme
That instruction belongs to Express Entry. It is not a ruling that the Score / 699 scale is wrong, and nothing on your attestation needs correcting. IRCC's own guidance for the post-graduation work permit publishes conversion tables built on the Score / 699 scale, with no equivalent instruction to use the older column.
Both tables are published by IRCC and both are correct for what they cover. Which one applies to you is decided by the programme you are applying under, not by the date you sat the exam. That is the part almost nobody says out loud: a TEF Canada to NCLC table that does not name a programme is incomplete, wherever you found it and however confident it looks.
Why this catches people out
The two numbers are far apart, and the wrong one still looks plausible. A listening result of 550 is a perfectly real Score / 699 figure, but listening on the ancien score scale stops at 360, so 550 entered against this chart returns either nothing or a level that means nothing.
If your own numbers are larger than the top of the columns below, you are almost certainly reading the wrong column rather than sitting above the chart. Go back to the attestation, find the ancien score heading, and use the figure underneath it.
Verify: whether both columns appear on every current attestation, or only on attestations issued from certain dates, has not been confirmed against the attestation template itself. If yours shows only one column, ask your test centre for the equivalence rather than guessing at it.
The whole scale in four bars
Each bar is one ability, drawn to scale across the range the chart covers, with the NCLC 7 band picked out. The four sections use different maximums, so compare the shape of the bars rather than the numbers across them.
- Listening249 to 279
- Reading207 to 232
- Speaking310 to 348
- Writing310 to 348
- Below NCLC 7
- NCLC 7 on the TEF Canada
- Above NCLC 7
NCLC 6 and NCLC 7 are almost exactly the same width in every ability, while NCLC 8 and NCLC 9 are each about 40 percent narrower. Past 7 the levels arrive faster: 7 to 9 in speaking is 61 points, where 5 to 7 is 84.
TEF Canada score to NCLC level, ability by ability
Read across the row for the level you want, then check each ability against its own column. These are Equivalence ancien score figures, the ones Express Entry asks for: listening is marked out of 360 and reading out of 300, while writing and speaking are marked out of 450 each.
| NCLC | CLB | TEF Canada score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing | ||
| 10Highest band the chart publishes for the TEF Canada | 10 | 316-360 | 263-300 | 393-450 | 393-450 |
| 9Where human-capital language points step up again | 9 | 298-315 | 248-262 | 371-392 | 371-392 |
| 8 | 8 | 280-297 | 233-247 | 349-370 | 349-370 |
| 7 Level highlighted on this pageThe level most Express Entry candidates are aiming at | 7 | 249-279 | 207-232 | 310-348 | 310-348 |
| 6 | 6 | 217-248 | 181-206 | 271-309 | 271-309 |
| 5 | 5 | 181-216 | 151-180 | 226-270 | 226-270 |
| 4 | 4 | 145-180 | 121-150 | 181-225 | 181-225 |
Scroll the table sideways to see all four abilities.
The lowest TEF Canada score that still reaches NCLC 7
These four numbers are the floor of the NCLC 7 band in the chart above. Land one point below any of them and that ability is recorded as NCLC 6, however well the other three went.
Listening
249
minimum, on a scale that runs to 360
Reading
207
minimum, on a scale that runs to 300
Speaking
310
minimum, on a scale that runs to 450
Writing
310
minimum, on a scale that runs to 450
Verify: these minimums are derived from the chart above, so they are only as reliable as the chart. They change automatically if the chart is corrected.
Four rules that decide what your result is worth
- Each ability is converted on its own scale. There is no single TEF Canada total, and nothing is averaged across the four sections.
- Your level for an ability is the band the raw score lands in. One point under a boundary is the level below, with no rounding and no discretion.
- Express Entry asks for a level in every ability. Four abilities at NCLC 7 is a different thing from four abilities averaging 7.
- Language results have to be recent on the day your application is assessed, so plan the sitting around your submission date rather than the end of your studying.
Where each of the four scores comes from
The chart only makes sense next to the sections that produce it. Two sections are machine-marked multiple choice; two are marked by an examiner against published criteria.
| Section | What the section contains | Length and marking |
|---|---|---|
| Compréhension oraleListening | Multiple-choice questions on recorded French, running from short public announcements and voicemail messages up to conversations and longer radio-style extracts. The recordings get denser and faster as the section goes on. | About 60 questions in about 40 minutes, marked out of 360 |
| Compréhension écriteReading | Multiple-choice questions on written French: classified ads and notices at the start, then letters, articles and argumentative texts where you have to track an opinion across several paragraphs. | About 50 questions in about 60 minutes, marked out of 300 |
| Expression écriteWriting | Two written tasks. The first asks you to continue a factual text in a neutral register; the second asks you to take a position and defend it with structured examples. | 2 tasks in about 60 minutes, marked out of 450 |
| Expression oraleSpeaking | Two spoken tasks with an examiner. In the first you ask the questions to obtain information; in the second you have to persuade the examiner and keep the exchange going when they push back. | 2 tasks in about 15 minutes, marked out of 450 |
Scroll the table sideways to see both columns.
Why candidates stop at NCLC 7 and why some should not
NCLC 7 in all four abilities is the usual entry point for the additional French-language points in Express Entry, which is why it is the level almost every candidate names when they first write in. It is not automatically the level you should stop at: human-capital language points rise again at NCLC 9, so a candidate sitting at 7 with time still on the clock is often leaving points on the table.
Verify: the point values themselves are deliberately not printed on this page. The additional-points figures for French, and the human-capital values at each level, must be read off the current official criteria on the day a candidate plans their profile. Adèle confirms the wording of this section before launch.
Registration, centres, dates and fees
You register directly with an approved test centre, never through this site. Centres publish their own calendars and set their own prices, which is why the honest answer to most of these questions is a link to your centre rather than a number.
Where you book
With a centre approved to run the TEF Canada. The exam owner, CCI Paris Île-de-France, runs the centre network and publishes a centre finder you search by exam, city and date. Coverage changes, and not every approved centre runs the Canada version or offers it on computer, so search your own city and confirm both with the centre before you pay.
Which sections you sit
A permanent-residence application needs all four abilities. Other immigration routes ask for fewer sections. Verify: confirm the required sections for each route against current official guidance before advising a candidate.
Dates and availability
Sitting frequency is set per centre, and popular centres fill weeks ahead. Verify: no sitting frequency is published here because it varies by centre; check your centre's calendar.
Fees and results turnaround
Verify: this page prints no fee and no turnaround time. Both are set per centre and per country, and a stale figure here would be worse than no figure. Ask your centre for its current price list and its stated results delay.
Questions candidates ask about the chart
The questions that come up most often once someone has their four numbers in front of them.
What TEF Canada score do I need for NCLC 7?
My attestation says 550 in listening but this chart stops at 360. Which number do I use?
Does the /699 conversion table ever apply?
Is there a total TEF Canada score out of 900?
Why are the four TEF Canada scales different sizes?
What is the difference between NCLC and CLB?
Does one weak section cost me the whole result?
Can I combine sections from two different TEF Canada sittings?
How long are TEF Canada results valid?
Does the TEF Canada score chart ever change?
Turn a target band into a study plan
Knowing you need 249 in listening is not the same as getting there. Every tier works the four abilities separately and tracks each one against the NCLC level you are aiming at.
Self-paced
The full lesson library plus timed practice tests for all four sections, worked on your own schedule.
Start self-pacedCA$149one-timeOne payment, no subscription. Lifetime access to the library.
- Lesson library for all four exam sections
- Timed full-length practice tests
- Model answers for every writing and speaking task
- NCLC score tracker
- Most popular
Small-group live
Weekly live classes with Adèle, in groups small enough that everyone speaks, plus marked writing and speaking.
Join a small groupCA$449per 8-week blockCovers all eight weeks, about CA$56 a class.
- Everything in self-paced
- Weekly live class with Adèle
- Marked writing submissions every week
- Marked speaking recordings every week
One-to-one tutoring
Private sessions scheduled around your test date, with a study plan built from your diagnostic results.
Book one-to-oneCA$950per 10 sessionsCA$95 a session, booked around your test date.
- Everything in small-group live
- Private sessions scheduled around your test date
- Study plan built from your diagnostic test
- Unlimited marked writing and speaking during your block
Not sure which tier fits? Book a free 15-minute video call.
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.
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.
A native French teacher marks your work
Adèle reads every writing task and listens to every recording, then tells you which specific 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.
Every result mapped to an NCLC level
Practice results are converted to NCLC levels using the published conversion tables, so you always know how far you are from the level your profile needs.
Study from anywhere, in your timezone
Lessons run online for candidates in Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, Senegal, France and Canada. If you cannot attend live, the recording and the correction still reach you.
What we promise, and what we will never claim
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
- Every writing and speaking task you submit is marked by Adèle herself.
- 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.
Find out which ability is holding your level down
Book a short assessment with Adèle: one writing task, one speaking task, and an honest read on which of the four abilities is costing you the most points.
Français Prep prepares candidates for the TEF Canada. It does not register you, mark your exam, or influence your result.