Free mock exam

The free TCF Canada mock exam

Q: Is the mock exam really free?

Yes. All four papers, the AI marking on writing and speaking, and the score — free. You need an account so the exam can keep your answers and give you your result.

Q: Are these real TCF questions?

No, and nobody who says otherwise is telling you the truth. These are items we author in the format, the level range and the timing of the real paper. The question bank on this site is separate: it is what candidates report having seen, in our own wording.

Q: Will my real score be the same?

It will be close, not identical. The real TCF calibrates every question on thousands of candidates; we cannot. Treat the result as a level estimate and, above all, as a map of which paper to work on.

Q: Which declension should I sit?

TCF Canada for federal immigration (Express Entry and the programmes that read NCLC). TCF Québec if your file goes to Québec. TCF IRN for a French resident card or naturalisation.

Q: Can I sit it more than once?

Yes. There are enough authored tests to sit several without meeting the same item twice, and you can also sit a single paper at a time.

Four papers, timed exactly like the real sitting: listening, reading, written expression and oral expression. An AI examiner reads what you write and listens to what you say, and the score comes back with the NCLC level it corresponds to. It costs nothing.

Start the mock exam

See the question bank All TCF Canada pages

Free. You sign in first, then the exam starts.

What is in the exam right now

These numbers are read from the exam content itself, not written into this page. They change as we author more.

10complete tests
1,170comprehension questions
120writing and speaking prompts

390 of the 390 listening items have their own recording.

A sitting fills every slot of every paper, so the number of complete tests is set by the thinnest paper — never by the largest.

The four papers

Section order, clocks and item counts are the ones the exam itself runs on.

About 167 minutes in total

How it runs

1
You pick the whole exam, or one paper
A full sitting runs the four papers in the official order. You can also sit a single paper when that is all you have time for.
2
The clock is the real one
Each paper runs on the exam's own time limit, and in listening every recording plays once — the question appears when it ends.
3
An AI examiner reads and listens
Your writing is read against the TCF criteria, and your speaking is transcribed and scored the same way. You get a mark per task with the reasoning behind it.
4
The score comes back at once
Listening and reading are graded the moment you submit. Writing and speaking follow as the examiner finishes each task.

Real items from the exam

These come out of the exam content itself, not from a page written about it. The answer key stays in the exam.

Compréhension orale

Item 20B2interview a la radio

Des quotas de chansons francophones, vraiment efficaces ?

Une animatrice interroge un chroniqueur culturel sur les quotas de chansons francophones imposés aux radios commerciales.

In the exam this plays once, and the question appears when it ends.

Quelle nuance Marc apporte-t-il sur les quotas de chansons francophones à la radio ?

a.Il pense que les quotas devraient être complètement supprimés car ils nuisent selon lui à la qualité musicale des stations.
b.Il croit que les quotas garantissent automatiquement et durablement le succès des artistes francophones.
c.Il estime que les stations ne respectent presque jamais les quotas de diffusion qui leur sont imposés.
d.Il estime que le quota ne suffit pas si les chansons passent à des heures peu écoutées.

The answer key is not on this page.

Compréhension écrite

Item 20B2texte d'information sur un sujet de société avec des chiffres

Les titres qui se ressemblent tous

Dans une étude menée auprès de 1 200 internautes québécois, 62 % des personnes interrogées reconnaissent avoir déjà partagé un article sans l'avoir lu en entier. Pour Hélène Gagnon, chercheuse en communication, ce chiffre ne traduit pas un désintérêt pour l'information. « Les gens lisent le titre, jugent que le sujet leur plaît et transmettent le lien en quelques secondes. Ce qui est en jeu, c'est la vitesse du fil d'actualité, pas la paresse. » Les rédactions, selon elle, y ont même contribué. Pour attirer l'attention, beaucoup de titres promettent plus que l'article ne livre : « Ce que le gouvernement cache sur vos impôts » mène parfois à un simple rappel de dates limites. Les lecteurs finissent par se méfier, mais ils continuent de partager, car le geste est devenu un réflexe. Mme Gagnon ne demande pas que l'on blâme les internautes. Elle propose plutôt que les plateformes affichent, avant le partage, un court message invitant à ouvrir l'article. Lors d'un test mené sur trois mois, cette mesure a réduit de 20 % les partages de textes non consultés. « Ce n'est pas une solution miracle, précise-t-elle, mais elle rappelle aux gens qu'un partage engage leur crédibilité auprès de leurs proches. »

Selon Hélène Gagnon, pourquoi tant d'internautes partagent-ils des articles qu'ils n'ont pas lus ?

a.Parce que le rythme rapide des fils d'actualité pousse à réagir par réflexe.
b.Parce que les internautes se désintéressent de l'actualité sérieuse.
c.Parce que les plateformes interdisent d'ouvrir les liens avant de les partager.
d.Parce que les articles sont trop longs pour être lus en entier.

The answer key is not on this page.

Expression écrite

Item 1

Annoncer un nouvel emploi à une amie

Vous venez de décrocher un nouvel emploi. Écrivez un message à votre amie francophone pour lui annoncer cette bonne nouvelle. Décrivez votre poste, vos collègues et votre lieu de travail.

60–120 words

Expression orale

Item 1

Entretien dirigé : les saisons et le climat chez vous

Entretien dirigé. L'examinateur vous interroge sur le climat de l'endroit où vous vivez : les saisons, ce qu'elles changent à votre quotidien et ce que vous préférez. Répondez de façon détaillée. Durée : deux minutes, sans préparation.

Speak 2:00

Quelle saison préférez-vous là où vous vivez ?
Qu'est-ce que l'hiver change à votre quotidien ?
Que faites-vous quand il fait beau ?
Avez-vous déjà vécu dans un climat très différent ?
Le climat compte-t-il quand vous choisissez où habiter ?

How the score works

Listening and reading: 100–699

Each comprehension paper is reported on a 100–699 scale, the same range the official attestation uses. The items climb from A1 to C2, so the score reflects how far up the paper you got, not only how many you answered.

Writing and speaking: out of 20

Each production paper is marked out of 20, task by task, against the criteria the real examiners apply. The paper's mark is what those tasks add up to.

The NCLC equivalence

IRCC publishes the score each NCLC level starts at. This is that table, read from the exam engine itself — the mock exam converts your score with exactly these thresholds.

NCLC	Compréhension orale	Compréhension écrite	Expression écrite	Expression orale
10	from 549	from 549	16/20	16/20
9	from 523	from 524	14/20	14/20
8	from 503	from 499	12/20	12/20
7	from 458	from 453	10/20	10/20
6	from 398	from 406	7/20	7/20
5	from 369	from 375	6/20	6/20
4	from 331	from 342	4/20	4/20

Score bands and the NCLC table are read from the exam configuration, which follows the TCF Manuel du candidat and IRCC's published equivalence.

Your overall level is your lowest skill

One weak paper sets the result, in the mock exam as in the real one. That is the paper worth working on.

This is an estimate

Listening and reading scores are an estimate: the real TCF calibrates every question. An NCLC below 4 is shown as “< 4”, and your overall level is your lowest skill.

Canada, Québec, IRN — what differs

Three declensions of the same test. What changes is which paper you sit and how the result is reported.

TCF Canada
Test de connaissance du français, the French test for Canadian immigration
The paper
39 + 39 comprehension items, three writing tasks, three speaking tasks.
Reported as
100–699 per comprehension paper and a mark out of 20 per production paper, converted to NCLC 4–10.
Start this one
TCF Québec
The French test accepted for Quebec immigration (CSQ, PEQ, Arrima) — same paper as TCF Canada, reported as a CEFR level.
The paper
Exactly the same paper as TCF Canada — the same items, the same clocks.
Reported as
A CEFR level (A1–C2) instead of NCLC, plus the Québec immigration points scale for the level each skill reached.
Start this one
TCF IRN
The French test for a French resident card or naturalisation (Intégration, Résidence et Nationalité): 25 + 25 questions, levels up to B2. Practice coming soon.
The paper
A shorter paper: 25 + 25 comprehension items and three shorter production tasks of its own.
Reported as
A CEFR level on a 100–499 comprehension scale, which tops out at B2.
Coming Soon

Questions

Is the mock exam really free?

Yes. All four papers, the AI marking on writing and speaking, and the score — free. You need an account so the exam can keep your answers and give you your result.

Are these real TCF questions?

No, and nobody who says otherwise is telling you the truth. These are items we author in the format, the level range and the timing of the real paper. The question bank on this site is separate: it is what candidates report having seen, in our own wording.

Will my real score be the same?

It will be close, not identical. The real TCF calibrates every question on thousands of candidates; we cannot. Treat the result as a level estimate and, above all, as a map of which paper to work on.

Which declension should I sit?

TCF Canada for federal immigration (Express Entry and the programmes that read NCLC). TCF Québec if your file goes to Québec. TCF IRN for a French resident card or naturalisation.

Can I sit it more than once?

Yes. There are enough authored tests to sit several without meeting the same item twice, and you can also sit a single paper at a time.

Where to go next