Skip to content
Score conversion

What your TCF score means on the CEFR scale

The TCF does not report one number. Comprehension papers are scored on a scale that runs up to 699, and each expression paper is marked out of 20, and the two use different cut-offs for the same level. Both columns are in the official grid below.

Checked August 8, 2026

TCF score to CEFR level
CEFRComprehension scoreExpression mark
C2600-69918-20 / 20
C1500-59914-17 / 20
B2400-49910-13 / 20
B1300-3996-9 / 20
A2200-2992-5 / 20
A1101-1991 / 20

A comprehension score of 100 or below is reported as "A1 not reached" rather than as a level.

TCF Canada to NCLC, as published by IRCC
NCLCSpeakingListeningReadingWriting
10+16-20549-699549-69916-20
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

This is a different framework, not a translation of the table above. Speaking and writing are the marks out of 20; listening and reading are the 699-point scores. NCLC is the French name for the Canadian Language Benchmarks scale.

Where these numbers come from

The TCF is run by France Éducation international, a public body under the French education ministry. The level grid is its own document, and it is the only source that decides what a TCF score means.

The two score columns are the part people get wrong. A B2 comprehension score starts at 400 out of 699, while a B2 expression mark starts at 10 out of 20. They are not the same scale and they do not convert into each other.

TCF Canada results are read against the Canadian Language Benchmarks by Canadian immigration, not against the CEFR. The second table is IRCC's, and it is the one that counts for an Express Entry profile.

Sources

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.

LevelIn plain wordsOur score
A1Beginner0-34
A2Elementary35-49
B1Intermediate50-64
B2Upper Intermediate65-79
C1Advanced80-89
C2Proficiency90-100

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

Does this work for every version of the TCF?

The level grid does. What changes per version is the range of levels reported: TCF Canada and TCF Tout public can report up to C2, while the TCF for integration, residence and nationality reports comprehension only up to B1.

What does "A1 not reached" mean on my certificate?

That the paper scored below the A1 threshold, so no level is awarded for it. It is a statement about that one paper, not about the whole exam, and you can resit.

Why is there no overall level on my TCF certificate?

An overall level is only calculated when you sit the multiple-choice papers, the speaking paper and the writing paper in the same session. Sit them apart and you get a level per skill and nothing that combines them.

Can I turn my NCLC level into a CEFR level?

Not officially. No authority publishes a conversion between the two frameworks. There is one research alignment, and we cover what it does and does not let you claim on its own page.

Where does the free Fennec360 exam fit in?

It gives you a CEFR level for French in about 50 minutes, free, so you know roughly where you are before you book a paid TCF session. It is not a TCF score and Canadian immigration does not accept it.

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.

Take the free exam

Our exam gives you a CEFR level and a certificate anyone can verify. It does not replace any official exam.