English practice
French practiceWhat the CEFR levels actually mean
A1 to C2 turns up on every exam result and every job posting, usually with no explanation attached. Here is the framework in the words of the body that publishes it, followed by what our own exam does with it.
Checked August 8, 2026
CEFR, in one paragraph
The CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, is the Council of Europe's scale for describing what someone can do in a language. It organizes proficiency into six levels, A1 to C2, defined by can-do descriptors that were written without reference to any specific language.
The short version
- Published by
- The Council of Europe.
- Levels
- Six: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.
- Groupings
- Three broad bands: Basic User (A1, A2), Independent User (B1, B2) and Proficient User (C1, C2).
- Launched
- 2001. The Council calls it a turning point because it can be adapted to many contexts and applied to any language.
- Also published
- A Companion Volume (2020) and a searchable bank of descriptors, alongside the original framework.
The six levels, in the Council of Europe's own words
These are the global-scale descriptors from the Council of Europe's own published table. We reproduce them rather than paraphrase them, because with this framework the wording is the definition.
Proficient user
- C2
- Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.
- C1
- Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
Independent user
- B2
- Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
- B1
- Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
Basic user
- A2
- Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.
- A1
- Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
Reproduced from the Council of Europe's published global scale. The French version of this page carries the Council's own official translation, not ours.
Where the framework came from
It grew out of work the Council of Europe began decades before it was published: a threshold level specified for English in 1975, then for French in 1976, then extended above and below that threshold. The CEFR itself was launched in 2001 and gathers those levels into one six-level scale whose descriptors were written without reference to any particular language, which is why the same A1 to C2 labels are used for English, French, Spanish and everything else.
How the levels work
The six levels group into three: Basic User, Independent User and Proficient User. Each level is defined by what a person can do, not by how many words they know or how many mistakes they make. That is why the descriptors above are all sentences starting with can: the framework describes behavior, and every exam that claims a CEFR level is claiming its scores predict that behavior.
What the CEFR is not
It is not an exam, and nobody is awarded a CEFR certificate by the Council of Europe. It is a common language for describing ability, which exam boards then map their own scores onto, each in its own way and with its own cut-offs. Two exams can both report B2 without their B2 boundaries sitting in the same place, which is exactly why our conversion pages quote each publisher separately instead of merging them into one table.
How exams use it
Some publish a table from their scores to CEFR levels, some publish a continuum and refuse to draw lines, and some do not map to the CEFR at all. When you are told to reach B2, what is actually being asked is that a specific exam's score reaches that exam's B2 threshold. Start from the exam the requirement names, then read that exam's own mapping.
Sources
Everything above is what the organization behind the term publishes about it, read on the date shown. None of it is our interpretation.
- The CEFR LevelsCouncil of Europe, checked August 8, 2026
- Global scale - Table 1 (CEFR 3.3): Common Reference levelsCouncil of Europe, checked August 8, 2026
How our own exam reports a level
Fennec360 Certified runs its own free CEFR exam, scored out of 100. These are the bands it uses. They are a separate thing from the tables above: our exam has its own questions, its own scoring, and its own scale.
| Level | In plain words | Our score |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | Beginner | 0-34 |
| A2 | Elementary | 35-49 |
| B1 | Intermediate | 50-64 |
| B2 | Upper Intermediate | 65-79 |
| C1 | Advanced | 80-89 |
| C2 | Proficiency | 90-100 |
This is not a conversion. A score on our exam does not become a score on any exam named on this page, and no exam board recognizes it as one. What it gives you is your own CEFR level, from a full exam you can sit today.
Questions people actually ask
Which level do I need?
Whatever the institution or procedure asking for it says, expressed in the exam it names. B2 is the most commonly requested level for university entry and for several administrative procedures, but the requirement belongs to the organization asking, not to the framework.
Who decides what level I am?
An assessment does, whichever one you sit. The Council of Europe publishes the scale and the descriptors; it does not assess anyone and issues no certificates.
Is B2 a good level?
B2 is the upper of the two Independent User levels. In the Council's own words it means understanding the main ideas of complex text, including technical discussion in your field, and interacting with native speakers without strain on either side. Whether that is enough depends entirely on what you need it for.
Can I convert my exam score into a CEFR level?
Sometimes, and only using the mapping published by the organization that runs your exam. We have a page per exam that reproduces those mappings, and two of them exist mainly to say that no official conversion is published at all.
How does the Fennec360 exam use these levels?
It scores you out of 100 and reports the CEFR level that score falls into, using the bands published on this page. That level comes from our exam and our scoring, and is not a result on any exam mentioned elsewhere on this site.
Not sure which level you are at yet?
Take a free CEFR exam and find out. About 50 minutes, four languages, no appointment and no card.
Our exam gives you a CEFR level and a certificate anyone can verify. It does not replace any official exam.