Tests for France
TEF and TCF scores as CEFR levels
Type a TEF or TCF score to read it as a level of the Common European Framework. France counts in these levels; Canada counts in NCLC.
Level per skill
B2 · B1 · B2 · B2
| Reading | B2 |
| Writing | B1 |
| Listening | B2 |
| Speaking | B2 |
Bands from the CCI correspondence table (TEF) and the TCF candidate manual. TEF IRN overall level: three tests at the threshold and the weakest one at the lower threshold.
Both French tests can be read on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), the six-level scale from A1 to C2 that France uses for residence cards and naturalisation. On the TEF, the CCI Paris Île-de-France publishes bands of one hundred points: 100 to 199 is A1, 200 to 299 A2, 300 to 399 B1, 400 to 499 B2, 500 to 599 C1 and 600 to 699 C2. The TCF uses the same thresholds for its comprehension scores, while its writing and speaking marks out of 20 have their own: A2 from 2, B1 from 6, B2 from 10, C1 from 14 and C2 from 18. In France since 1 January 2026, a first multi-year card asks A2, a first resident card B1 and naturalisation B2. In Canada, IRCC reads the TEF Canada and TCF Canada in NCLC levels for Express Entry, but expresses its citizenship requirement for those two tests as B1 or higher. No official table in our sources converts NCLC directly into CEFR.
One TEF or TCF score to a CEFR level
Level
B2
| B2 (naturalisation) | reached on this test |
Charts, converters and questions by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How charts and questions are built
The TEF scale in CEFR levels
The CCI Paris Île-de-France publishes a correspondence table between TEF scores and CEFR levels. Each level covers a band of the 0 to 699 scale:
| CEFR level | TEF score |
|---|---|
| C2 | 600–699 |
| C1 | 500–599 |
| B2 | 400–499 |
| B1 | 300–399 |
| A2 | 200–299 |
| A1 | 100–199 |
The same table applies to each test separately. A candidate can therefore be B2 in reading and B1 in speaking on the same report.
The TCF scale, with its marks out of 20
The TCF candidate manual gives two scales: one for comprehension scores (100 to 699), one for expression marks (out of 20).
| CEFR level | Comprehension from | Expression (out of 20) from |
|---|---|---|
| C2 | 600 | 18 |
| C1 | 500 | 14 |
| B2 | 400 | 10 |
| B1 | 300 | 6 |
| A2 | 200 | 2 |
| A1 | 100 | 1 |
The expression bands are narrow near the top: C1 needs 14 out of 20 and C2 18.
What the levels mean
The Council of Europe global scale describes six levels in three pairs: A1 and A2 for basic users, B1 and B2 for independent users, C1 and C2 for proficient users. The tool above returns the level of each score; the mini-tool beside this text adds how many points separate a score from B2.
Which level, for what
In France, the order on residence card certifications and the naturalisation order set A2 for a first multi-year card, B1 for a first resident card and B2 for naturalisation, the last one in four distinct tests on the same day. The pages on the residence card level and on naturalisation go through the conditions. On the TEF IRN, the overall level follows a specific rule explained on the TEF IRN page.
In Canada, the IRCC citizenship page states its requirement for the TEF Canada and the TCF Canada as B1 or higher in listening and speaking; see the citizenship page. For Express Entry, IRCC works in NCLC levels only, on the TEF Canada score page.
NCLC and CEFR: where a score falls on each
None of our official sources gives a direct NCLC to CEFR table, so we do not publish one. What we can show is where the NCLC floors of the TEF Canada (reading, tests since 11 December 2023) fall on the CCI's CEFR table:
| NCLC (TEF Canada reading) | Lowest score | CEFR band of that score |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 546 | C1 |
| 9 | 503 | C1 |
| 8 | 462 | B2 |
| 7 | 434 | B2 |
| 6 | 393 | B1 |
| 5 | 352 | B1 |
| 4 | 306 | B1 |
Read this as a rough orientation for someone who holds one scale and needs the other, never as proof for a procedure.