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Comparison

TCF or DELF: which one do you actually need?

These two get compared constantly and they are not the same kind of thing. One is a test that places you on the CEFR scale and expires. The other is a diploma you pass at a level you chose, and keep for the rest of your life.

Checked August 8, 2026

Side by side

What is being comparedTCFDELF
What it isA test. You sit it once and it reports where you landed, paper by paper.A diploma. You choose the level, sit that exam, and either pass it or do not.
Who is behind itFrance Éducation international, the French Ministry of Education's language-test operator.An official diploma awarded by the French Ministry of Education, with France Éducation international running the exams.
LevelsOne sitting covers six levels of French, and the result says which one you reached.Four separate diplomas for the first four levels: DELF A1, A2, B1 and B2. C1 and C2 are the DALF.
PassingThere is no pass mark. The result is a level, not a verdict.50 out of 100 across four papers of 25 points each, with a minimum of 5 out of 25 on every paper.
How long it lastsThe attestation is valid for two years from the date results are issued.The diploma is valid for life.
What you sitThree compulsory multiple-choice papers, plus optional writing and speaking papers.At B2: listening, 30 minutes; reading, one hour; writing, one hour; speaking, 20 minutes after 30 minutes of preparation.
What people use it forProcedures that ask for a current level: Canadian immigration, French university pre-admission through the DAP, and integration, residence and nationality files.Proof of a level that never expires. France Éducation international states that the DELF B2 gives access to French nationality, and that the DELF B2, and increasingly the DALF C1, give access to French, European and francophone universities.

Both run under the French Ministry of Education, which is why most of this table is about how they differ in kind rather than in quality. The DELF column describes the DELF tout public, and the exam-shape row uses the B2 exam as its example.

So which one

They are not rivals

Nobody has to choose between a thermometer and a driving licence. The TCF tells you and an administration where your French is right now; the DELF says you passed a defined level once and forever. People who sit both are usually doing two different things, not hedging.

If it is for nationality or residence

Both routes exist and the procedure decides which one it wants. France Éducation international states the DELF B2 gives access to French nationality, and the TCF also has versions built for integration, residence and nationality files. Read the wording of your procedure and sit what it names.

If it is for studying in France

The TCF tout public is the test recognized in the DAP pre-admission procedure, with the writing paper attached. The DELF B2 and the DALF C1 are the diplomas that open university doors on their own. Which one you need depends on the establishment and the year, so check its own requirements before you book anything.

Sources

Every line in the table is what the awarding body publishes about its own exam. Where a figure is not published anywhere we could check, the line says that instead of guessing one.

If you cannot get a seat

Sessions are organized by approved centers, on their own calendars, at their own prices. That is why the next date near you can be weeks or months out, and why two cities can have very different waits for the same exam. It is a real constraint and no website can fix it for you.

What we can do is smaller, and worth saying plainly: our free exam gives you a CEFR level today, so you find out whether you are ready before you pay for a session and wait for it. It is not accepted by immigration authorities, universities or employers who ask for one of the exams on this page, and nothing we issue changes that.

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

Which one is harder?

The wrong question, because they are graded differently. The DELF has a pass mark you can miss; the TCF has no pass mark at all and simply reports the level you reached. A DELF B2 and a TCF result of B2 are not the same claim about you.

I have a TCF. Do I still need a DELF?

Only if something you are applying to asks for a diploma rather than a current level, or if you want proof that does not expire. Your TCF attestation stops counting two years after the results were issued; a DELF diploma does not.

Can I use a TCF for French nationality?

There are TCF versions built for integration, residence and nationality procedures, and the interior ministry's directorate for integration and nationality recognizes the TCF. Which paper and which level a specific procedure wants is set by that procedure, so read it rather than a comparison page.

Does a DELF really never expire?

France Éducation international states the diploma is valid for life. An institution can still ask for recent evidence of your level, which is a different requirement from the diploma expiring.

Where does the free Fennec360 exam fit in?

It gives you a CEFR level in French in about 50 minutes, free, so you can see which DELF level would be realistic before you register for one. It is neither a TCF result nor a diploma.

Not sure which level you are at yet?

Before you book a session you may wait months for, find out whether you are near the level your file needs.

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.