English practice
French practiceIELTS to CEFR: what is actually official
There is no official IELTS band to CEFR conversion table. IELTS publishes a figure showing its 9-band scale running across the CEFR levels as a continuum, with the boundaries deliberately blurred, plus a handful of specific statements about individual bands. Those statements are the table below.
Checked August 8, 2026
| Overall band | Where IELTS places it |
|---|---|
| 8.5-9 | C2 |
| 8 | C1 / C2 |
| 7 | C1 |
| 6.5 | B2 / C1 |
| 5 | B1 / B2 |
Two bands are named as borderline on purpose. IELTS says 8 is borderline, that a C1 threshold falls between 6.5 and 7, and that it is not clear whether band 5 is B1 or B2. Anything more precise than this is somebody's interpretation, not IELTS's position.
| IELTS | TOEFL total | Reading | Listening | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 8.5 | 6 | 5.5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | 6 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6 |
| 7.5 | 5.5 | 5 | 5 | 5.5 | 5 |
| 7 | 5 | 4.5 | 5 | 5 | 4.5 |
| 6.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 |
| 6 | 4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 3.5 |
| 5.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | 2.5 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 2.5 |
| 4.5 | 2 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2 |
| 4 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
This is ETS's table, not IELTS's, and it maps to TOEFL scores rather than to CEFR levels. Read it with our TOEFL page for the second half. ETS cautions that comparison tables cannot predict the score an individual would get on another exam.
Where these numbers come from
IELTS is explicit about this. Its own page says the figure should not be read as a strong claim about exact equivalence, and that because IELTS predates the CEFR, its bands have never lined up with the CEFR transition points.
The concrete statements are worth having verbatim. Bands of 8.5 and higher are recognized as C2, and band 8 is borderline. Many test takers at 6.5 are at C1 but some fall marginally below, so an institution wanting confidence in C1 may set 7 instead. The figure covers overall band scores, not the individual Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking bands.
If you need a number to put in front of an admissions office, the usable route is not a CEFR conversion at all. It is ETS's IELTS comparison combined with the CEFR levels ETS publishes for its own scale, which is why the second table is here and why the TOEFL page is linked below.
Sources
- IELTS and the CEFRIELTS, checked August 8, 2026
- TOEFL iBT Score Scale 1 to 6: CEFR & IELTS ComparisonETS, 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
Why will nobody just publish an IELTS to CEFR table?
Because IELTS was designed before the CEFR existed and is not a level-based exam. It spans a proficiency continuum on a 9-band scale, so its bands cut across CEFR boundaries rather than sitting inside them. A clean table would have to invent boundaries that the exam does not have.
Is a 6.5 a C1?
Sometimes. IELTS says many 6.5 test takers are at C1 but a number are marginally below, which is exactly why some institutions ask for 7 when they want to be sure. If a requirement says C1, look at the band the institution asks for, not at a conversion.
Does Academic or General Training change the CEFR level?
No. Both report on the same 9-band scale and the IELTS position on the CEFR is about the band, not the version. Which version you need is decided by the organization asking, not by the level.
What about CLB for Canada?
IRCC publishes an IELTS to CLB chart, and that one is a real, official, per-skill table. It is a different framework from the CEFR, and no authority converts between the two.
Where does the free Fennec360 exam fit in?
It reports a CEFR level directly, which is the thing this whole page is trying to work backwards to. It is free and takes about 50 minutes. It is not an IELTS band and no institution will read it as one.
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.