--- title: "TEF Canada score chart 2026: NCLC 7 = 207 CE, 249 CO" description: "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." canonical: https://francaisprep.com/tef-canada/score-chart last-updated: 2026-10-25 --- TEF Canada score conversion # 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. [Book a placement call](/book)[Jump to the chart](#nclc-chart) - One row per NCLC level, all four abilities - Minimum scores for NCLC 7 derived from the same table - Unverified figures flagged, never quietly published ![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 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. ![Adèle, the native French teacher who runs Français Prep](/_next/image?url=%2Fadele.png&w=3840&q=75) Not sure which of this you actually need? A 15-minute video call works out which of your four abilities is furthest from the level your application needs. It is free, and some candidates leave with a plan and no purchase. Adèle Sason · Native French teacher - every class, every correction [Book the free call](/book) ## Convert your TEF Canada scores to NCLC Which exam did you sit? French, for the Express Entry French bonus TEF Canada Your attestation has two score columns A TEF Canada attestation reports every skill twice: a headline **Score / 699**, and a figure under the heading **Equivalence ancien score**. Enter the ancien score figures here. That is the column IRCC tells Express Entry candidates to read, whatever date you sat the exam, and it is the scale these bands are built on: listening out of 360, reading out of 300, writing and speaking out of 450 each. IRCC warns that entering the Score / 699 figures instead can get an application refused. Other immigration programmes do publish the conversion for the Score / 699 scale, so check which one yours asks for. [Both columns explained in full](/tef-canada/score-chart#two-score-columns). ListeningCompréhension orale \- out of 360. NCLC 7 starts at 249 (band 249 to 279). ReadingCompréhension écrite \- out of 300. NCLC 7 starts at 207 (band 207 to 232). SpeakingExpression orale \- out of 450. NCLC 7 starts at 310 (band 310 to 348). WritingExpression écrite \- out of 450. NCLC 7 starts at 310 (band 310 to 348). Enter at least one result above and the NCLC level appears next to it. Fill all four to see which ability decides your file. The calculator reads the same IRCC-published table as the chart on this page, one ability at a time. It shows your lowest level because the Express Entry minimums and the French-language bonus need that level in all four abilities; CRS points themselves are awarded ability by ability. Before you read the chart ## 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](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/language-test.html), 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. Not every attestation is laid out the same way, and some show only one of the two columns. If yours does, ask your test centre for the equivalence rather than guessing at it. At a glance ## 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 145360 - Reading207 to 232 121300 - Speaking310 to 348 181450 - Writing310 to 348 181450 - 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. Conversion chart ## 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 | Every band above is read from the official TEF Canada equivalency table. Bands have been republished in the past, and a band that moves by a few points changes who qualifies, so check the source before a submission decision rests on it. The NCLC scale itself runs to 12; this chart stops at NCLC 10, where the published equivalency table stops. The number that matters most ## 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 These minimums are read straight off the chart above, so they are only as reliable as it is, and they move with it whenever the official table is corrected. How to read the chart ## 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. Exam format ## 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. | 40 questions in 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. | 40 questions in 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 | The question counts, section durations and task counts above come from the exam documentation published by Le français des affaires. Durations are deliberately written as approximate, because the board revises the format without announcing it. What the level is worth ## 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. 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, are set by criteria that change, and a stale number here could cost you a submission decision. Read them off the current official criteria on the day you plan your profile. Sitting the exam ## 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](https://www.lefrancaisdesaffaires.fr/en/trouver-un-centre-agree/) 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, so confirm what your own route requires against current official guidance before you book. - ### Dates and availability Sitting frequency is set per centre, and popular centres fill weeks ahead. No frequency is published here because it varies by centre, so check your centre's own calendar. - ### Fees and results turnaround 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 none. Ask your centre for its current price list and its stated results delay. TEF Canada scoring FAQ ## Questions candidates ask about the chart The questions that come up most often once someone has their four numbers in front of them. ### What is a good TEF score? There is no single good TEF score, because the TEF Canada reports four separate results and immigration reads them as NCLC levels rather than as raw numbers. Start from the level your programme needs: for most French-language routes into Express Entry that is NCLC 7, which on the Equivalence ancien score column means at least 249 in listening, 207 in reading, 310 in writing and 310 in speaking. A good score is one that clears that row in all four abilities. ### What TEF Canada score do I need for NCLC 7? NCLC 7 begins at 249 in listening, 207 in reading, 310 in writing and 310 in speaking. All four abilities have to reach their own minimum: a strong reading result does not lift a listening result that stopped at 248. These thresholds come from the official equivalency table, which is worth checking directly before you make a submission decision on them. ### My attestation says 550 in listening but this chart stops at 360. Which number do I use? The one under Equivalence ancien score. A TEF Canada attestation reports each ability twice: a Score / 699 figure, and an equivalence on the older scale where listening runs to 360, reading to 300, and writing and speaking to 450 each. IRCC tells Express Entry candidates to take their language level from the ancien score column whatever date they sat the exam, and warns that an application may be refused if the wrong figures are entered. This chart is built on that column, which is why your 550 has nowhere to land in it. ### Does the /699 conversion table ever apply? Yes, for programmes other than Express Entry. IRCC publishes conversion tables for the Score / 699 scale on its guidance for the post-graduation work permit, with no instruction to use the older column. Neither table is a mistake. The rule to carry away is that a TEF Canada to NCLC table only means something once you know which programme it belongs to, so check the IRCC page for your own route before you plan around a level. ### Is there a total TEF Canada score out of 900? No. The TEF Canada produces four independent results, one per ability, each on its own maximum. There is no total and no average, and any site quoting a single overall TEF Canada score is describing something the exam does not report. What gets recorded for an immigration application is a level per ability. ### Why are the four TEF Canada scales different sizes? Because each section is marked out of a different maximum, the raw numbers are not comparable with each other. A speaking result and a reading result that look far apart can be the same NCLC level. Convert both to a level first, then compare. ### What is the difference between NCLC and CLB? They are the same twelve-level scale published in two languages. NCLC stands for Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens and CLB for Canadian Language Benchmarks. NCLC 7 and CLB 7 describe the same ability, and results from a French exam such as the TEF Canada are read against NCLC. ### Does one weak section cost me the whole result? It costs you the points that depend on that ability, and for some programs it costs you eligibility. You claim a level per ability, so the section that lands lowest is the one that caps what you can claim. In practice that makes the weakest ability, not the favourite one, the right place to spend your remaining study time. ### Can I combine sections from two different TEF Canada sittings? Plan on needing all four abilities from a single sitting. Whether results from separate TEF Canada attempts can ever be combined for a permanent-residence application is not something this page can promise, so confirm it with IRCC and your test centre. The safe assumption is one sitting, four abilities. ### How long are TEF Canada results valid? Less than two years old, measured at two points: when you complete your Express Entry profile, and when you submit your application for permanent residence. It is not measured against the assessment date, so a result that is valid the day you submit does not expire during processing. If you are sitting in the pool without an invitation, watch the expiry date rather than the processing queue. ### Does the TEF Canada score chart ever change? Yes, and that is the reason this page carries a last-checked date. Equivalency tables have been republished before, and a band that shifts by a few points changes who qualifies. Check the chart against the official source on the day you submit rather than trusting a copy, including this one. The chart tells you which row you need; the [TEF Canada preparation course](/tef-canada-course) is how you get each of the four abilities onto it, with the weakest one getting the most time. To find out where you stand today, [book an assessment with Adèle](/book). Preparation tiers ## 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. - ### 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. NEXT STEP ## 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. [Book an assessment](/book)[See the course tiers](#tiers) Français Prep prepares candidates for the TEF Canada. It does not register you, mark your exam, or influence your result. Keep reading ## Pages that answer the next question - [TEF Canada 2026: 4 tests for PR, 2 for citizenshipPermanent residence needs four TEF Canada tests, citizenship only two. Reading 40 questions in 60 min, listening 40 in 40, writing and speaking 2 each.](/tef-canada) - [NCLC 7 on the TCF Canada 2026: 458 listening, 453 readingCLB 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) - [French Express Entry points: turn a TCF/TEF score into CRSHow a TCF or TEF Canada result becomes CRS points: the NCLC 7 thresholds per exam, the 25 versus 50 French bonus, and worked examples.](/french-express-entry-points) - [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) - [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) - [NCLC 5 / CLB 5 on the TCF Canada 2026: 369 CO, 375 CECLB 5 in French is NCLC 5: TCF Canada 369 listening, 375 reading, 6/20 in production; TEF Canada 181 listening, 151 reading, 226 in production.](/nclc-5) Where these facts come from Every band on this page comes from the TEF Canada documentation published by Le français des affaires and IRCC's published NCLC equivalency table. Neither body publishes a weighted marking grid for writing or speaking, so any percentage breakdown of those criteria you find elsewhere is unsourced. - [Le français des affaires: TEF Canada](https://www.lefrancaisdesaffaires.fr/candidat/test-evaluation-francais/tef-canada/presentation/) - [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. --- 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).