TCF Canada Exam: Format, Scores and NCLC Levels
The TCF Canada test explained: the four parts, how each is scored, the NCLC 7 scores Express Entry needs, retakes, results and how to prepare.
The TCF Canada exam is a French test in four compulsory parts: listening, reading, writing and speaking. It takes 2 hours 47 minutes in total, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) converts each of your four results into an NCLC level. That per-skill conversion is the thing to understand first, because Canada never looks at an overall score. It looks at your weakest part.
This guide covers the whole TCF Canada test: the format, how each part is scored, what Canada requires and how to prepare. Each of the four parts has its own page with the task-by-task detail, and the TCF score chart has the full conversion for every level.
What is the TCF Canada?
The TCF Canada is the version of France Éducation International's Test de connaissance du français built for Canadian immigration. According to France Éducation International, it is for anyone who needs to certify their French for economic immigration to Canada or for Canadian citizenship, and so has to file with IRCC.
It is a test, not a diploma. There is no pass or fail. You get a result for each part, and it is up to IRCC's rules, not the test, to decide whether that result is enough for what you are applying for.
What are the four parts of the TCF Canada?
The four parts are compréhension orale (listening), compréhension écrite (reading), expression écrite (writing) and expression orale (speaking). All four are compulsory. The two comprehension parts are multiple choice; the two expression parts are marked by examiners.
| Part | Format | Duration | Scored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compréhension orale | 39 multiple-choice questions, group session | 35 minutes | Score, converted to a CEFR level |
| Compréhension écrite | 39 multiple-choice questions, group session | 60 minutes | Score, converted to a CEFR level |
| Expression écrite | 3 writing tasks, group session | 60 minutes | Mark out of 20 |
| Expression orale | 3 tasks, face to face with an examiner | 12 minutes, including 2 minutes of preparation | Mark out of 20 |
Each multiple-choice question has four options and one correct answer, and both comprehension parts get harder as they go. That second detail matters more than it looks, and it is covered in the listening and reading guides.
How is the TCF Canada scored?
The two comprehension parts each give you a score, and the two expression parts each give you a mark out of 20. France Éducation International translates all four into a CEFR level, from "A1 non atteint" up to C2. There is no single overall result on a TCF Canada certificate.
For Canada, one detail on the certificate matters. IRCC's language testing page says your level is based on the column marked "Équivalence ancien score", and that the results in the column marked "Score / 699" should not be entered in an Express Entry profile because they are not compatible with its system. The comprehension scores in the NCLC table below are on that "ancien score" scale.
What TCF Canada score do you need for NCLC 7?
NCLC 7 needs at least 458 in listening, 453 in reading, and 10 out of 20 in both writing and speaking. Those are IRCC's published ranges, and every one of the four has to reach the level on its own.
IRCC publishes the full conversion as a chart, one column per skill, from NCLC 4 to NCLC 10 and above. The TCF score chart reproduces it from IRCC's equivalency page, with the CRS points each level is worth.
Look at writing and speaking in particular. NCLC 6 spans three marks, 7 to 9, and NCLC 7 starts at 10. A candidate sitting on 9 out of 20 in speaking is one mark from the threshold and scores exactly the same as one on 7. On the expression parts, the move from 9 to 10 is the most valuable single mark in the test.
Which level does Canada actually require?
It depends on what you are applying for, and it is set per skill:
- Express Entry, French-language proficiency category. IRCC's category-based selection requires a minimum of NCLC 7 in all four abilities.
- Express Entry, extra CRS points for French. IRCC's CRS criteria give 50 additional points for NCLC 7 or higher in all four French skills together with CLB 5 or higher in all four English skills, and 25 points for NCLC 7 or higher in French with CLB 4 or lower in English or no English test.
- Citizenship. Applicants aged 18 to 54 must show speaking and listening at CLB 4 or higher in English or French. Reading and writing do not count here.
"All four" is literal. NCLC 7 in three parts and NCLC 6 in the fourth does not qualify for the French category or for the French bonus points. That is why preparation should be planned around your weakest part, not your average.
How difficult is the TCF Canada, and which part is hardest?
For most English-speaking candidates the two expression parts are harder to push up than the two comprehension parts, and for a structural reason: they are marked against the task, not just against your French. A writing task that is off-topic, incomplete, or outside the required word count can be marked "A1 non atteint" whatever the quality of the French in it, according to France Éducation International.
Listening has its own trap: every recording is played once only. See the compréhension orale guide for how to handle that.
How many times can you take the TCF Canada?
As many times as you like, but you must wait 20 days between two sittings of the TCF Canada, per France Éducation International. Your certificate is valid for 2 years from the date the results are issued, and IRCC also requires results to be less than 2 years old when you use them.
Can you ask for your TCF Canada writing or speaking to be re-marked?
Not for now. From the TCF sessions of 1 September 2026, France Éducation International has suspended re-marking requests for the speaking and writing parts, with the service expected to resume in autumn 2027. In practice, if your writing or speaking mark falls short, the route is to prepare and sit the test again after the 20-day wait.
How do you register, and what does it cost?
You register with an approved TCF centre, not with France Éducation International directly. Each centre sets its own session dates and its own fee, and tells you whether you will sit the test on paper or on a computer. The speaking part is always face to face with an examiner. Your TCF Canada results reach your TCF-Candidat account within 15 working days of France Éducation International receiving the session material.
How should you prepare for the TCF Canada?
Start with a practice run of all four parts under real timing, then spend most of your time on whichever part is furthest below your target NCLC. The test is not built on a course syllabus: France Éducation International describes it as measuring your general ability to use French. Your level in each part is what it is on the day, so preparation has two jobs.
- Raise the weakest skill. This is ordinary French learning, and it takes weeks, not days. If you are some way off your target, how long it takes to learn French does the arithmetic on what a realistic weekly commitment buys you.
- Stop losing marks to the format. Good TCF preparation fixes this first: word counts, timing, one-play audio, the structure of each speaking task. This part is fast to fix and is where the four guides below focus.
The writing and speaking parts are the two where practice with someone who can mark you makes the biggest difference, because you cannot see your own task failures. A qualified teacher can.