Scores and levels
TCF Canada score to NCLC, with the marks out of 20
Type the four results printed on your TCF Canada report. Two are scores out of 699, two are marks out of 20; each one gets its own NCLC.
Express Entry language points
93
| First official language | 68 |
| Second official language | 0 |
| French bonus | 25 |
Level per skill
| TCF Canada | Reading: NCLC 7Writing: NCLC 7Listening: NCLC 7Speaking: NCLC 7 |
Language minimum met?
- Federal Skilled Worker (CLB 7 all four)Met
- Canadian Experience Class, TEER 0 or 1 job (CLB 7)Met
- Canadian Experience Class, TEER 2 or 3 job (CLB 5)Met
- Federal Skilled Trades (5 speaking/listening, 4 reading/writing)Met
- Express Entry French-language category (NCLC 7 all four)Met
- Citizenship, ages 18 to 54 (CLB 4 listening and speaking)Met
Points from language only: age, education, work experience and the rest of the CRS are not counted here. Charts and points read on canada.ca.
IRCC converts a TCF Canada result to an NCLC level skill by skill, and the chart mixes two scales. Reading and listening are reported as scores between 100 and 699: NCLC 7 starts at 453 in reading and at 458 in listening, NCLC 9 at 524 and 523. Writing and speaking are marked out of 20, with the same bands for both: 4 to 5 is NCLC 4, 10 to 11 is NCLC 7, and 16 or more is NCLC 10, the top of the IRCC chart. Below 342 in reading, 331 in listening or 4 out of 20, a skill is under NCLC 4 and brings nothing. For Express Entry, the lowest of the four levels decides whether you meet a program minimum such as NCLC 7 for skilled workers, while points in the Comprehensive Ranking System are counted for each skill separately, so every band you climb in any test adds to your score.
One TCF Canada score to NCLC
NCLC level
NCLC 7
| Scale of this skill | 0–699 |
| First-language points (single) | 17 |
| NCLC 7 (Express Entry) | reached |
Charts, converters and questions by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How charts and questions are built
The IRCC chart for the TCF Canada
IRCC publishes one equivalency chart for the TCF Canada, identical on its language testing pages. It stops at "10 and above": there is no NCLC 11 or 12 for this test in the federal chart.
| CLB / NCLC | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 549–699 | 16–20 | 549–699 | 16–20 |
| 9 | 524–548 | 14–15 | 523–548 | 14–15 |
| 8 | 499–523 | 12–13 | 503–522 | 12–13 |
| 7 | 453–498 | 10–11 | 458–502 | 10–11 |
| 6 | 406–452 | 7–9 | 398–457 | 7–9 |
| 5 | 375–405 | 6 | 369–397 | 6 |
| 4 | 342–374 | 4–5 | 331–368 | 4–5 |
Reading the two scales on one report
The France Éducation international manual explains that the comprehension tests produce a score from 100 to 699 and the expression tests a mark out of 20. Nothing needs to be rescaled: IRCC's chart already uses those units. What trips people up is comparing across the two. A 12 out of 20 in speaking sounds modest, yet it is NCLC 8, the same level as 499 in reading.
The bands for writing and speaking are short: NCLC 6 covers 7–9, NCLC 7 covers 10–11. A single point out of 20 can move you across a threshold that matters for a program, which is why the writing practice and speaking practice pages focus on task completion and length, the parts you control.
Where each skill stands for Express Entry
Program minimums look at your weakest skill. The Federal Skilled Worker program asks NCLC 7 in all four, which on the TCF Canada means at least 453 in reading, 458 in listening and 10 out of 20 in both writing and speaking. The Canadian Experience Class asks NCLC 7 for TEER 0 or 1 jobs and NCLC 5 for TEER 2 or 3. The Federal Skilled Trades program asks 5 in speaking and listening and 4 in reading and writing. The level by program page lists them all.
Points work differently: each skill earns its own amount. As a first official language, a single candidate receives 17 points per skill at NCLC 7, 23 at NCLC 8, 31 at NCLC 9 and 34 at NCLC 10 or more. The language points page adds the second language and the spouse.
What the TCF Canada scale says about CEFR
The same report can also be read on the Common European Framework scale, which France uses for residence cards and naturalisation. A score of 400 or more in a comprehension test is B2, and 10 out of 20 is B2 in an expression test. The CEFR page gives both scales level by level.
Before you rely on the conversion
Check the report date: IRCC wants results less than 2 years old when you create the Express Entry profile and again when you submit the permanent residence application. Then check that each number was typed exactly as printed. If you are still preparing, the TCF Canada mock sections follow the official number of questions and timing and give a rough indication, never an official score.