TCF and TEF Canada scores: the NCLC equivalences

IRCC's official tables, and the NCLC 7 threshold.

TCF Canada score to NCLC

The number of correct answers is not the score: both tests apply a calibration that takes the difficulty of each question into account. The table below is IRCC's, and it is identical to the one in the candidate handbook (manuel du candidat).

NCLCSpeakingListeningReadingWriting
10 and above16-20549-699549-69916-20
914-15523-548524-54814-15
812-13503-522499-52312-13
710-11458-502453-49810-11
67-9398-457406-4527-9
56369-397375-4056
44-5331-368342-3744-5

TEF Canada score to NCLC

NCLCSpeakingListeningReadingWriting
10 and above393-450316-360263-300393-450
9371-392298-315248-262371-392
8349-370280-297233-247349-370
7310-348249-279207-232310-348
6271-309217-248181-206271-309
5226-270181-216151-180226-270
4181-225145-180121-150181-225

The threshold that matters

NCLC 7 in all four skills unlocks the points of the Express Entry francophone category. That is the threshold to aim for, and it has to be reached in every one of the four papers: a single skill below it is enough to miss it.

Federal or Quebec?

The tables above are for federal immigration (IRCC), which requires all four skills on the same day.

For a Quebec Selection Certificate (Certificat de sélection du Québec — PSTQ through Arrima, or PEQ), Quebec also accepts the TCF Canada and the TEF Canada — so one result can serve both the federal and the Quebec application — as well as the TCF Québec, the TEFAQ, the TCF, the TEF, the DELF and the DALF. The TCF Québec and the TEFAQ are modular: many candidates take only the oral papers. On the Quebec side the result is read on the Quebec scale of competence levels (Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence) and must be no more than two years old when you apply. Check the levels your program requires before you book.

Sources

IRCC, language testing for Express Entry; Manuel du candidat au TCF (France Éducation international, version I, April 2024).