TCF Canada score chart for all four skills in NCLC
Checked November 1, 2026
IRCC sets a table that turns your TCF Canada score into an NCLC level, and each skill has its own score bands. You convert listening, reading, writing and speaking one at a time. Listening and reading are scored from 100 to 699. Writing and speaking are marked out of 20. NCLC is the French scale and CLB the English one. If you only need the NCLC 7 thresholds, see what score you need for NCLC 7.
TCF Canada to NCLC conversion table
The table below comes from IRCC’s language test page. The CEFR levels in brackets are the ones France Éducation international (FEI) prints in its own table.
| NCLC | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 and above | 549–699 (C1–C2) | 549–699 (C1–C2) | 16–20 (C1–C2) | 16–20 (C1–C2) |
| 9 | 523–548 (C1) | 524–548 (C1) | 14–15 (C1) | 14–15 (C1) |
| 8 | 503–522 (C1) | 499–523 (B2–C1) | 12–13 (B2) | 12–13 (B2) |
| 7 | 458–502 (B2–C1) | 453–498 (B2) | 10–11 (B2) | 10–11 (B2) |
| 6 | 398–457 (B1–B2) | 406–452 (B2) | 7–9 (B1) | 7–9 (B1) |
| 5 | 369–397 (B1) | 375–405 (B1–B2) | 6 (B1) | 6 (B1) |
| 4 | 331–368 (B1) | 342–374 (B1) | 4–5 (A2) | 4–5 (A2) |
Below NCLC 4 the table gives nothing, so a lower score has no NCLC equivalent.
Reading the table
- Take your score for one skill, for example 470 in listening.
- Find the row in that skill’s column whose band contains it. 470 falls between 458 and 502, so it is NCLC 7.
- Do the same for the other three skills. The columns don’t match each other. 500 in listening is NCLC 7, but 500 in reading is NCLC 8.
Band edges matter. In reading, 452 is NCLC 6 and 453 is NCLC 7, a difference of one point. In writing and speaking, 10/20 is NCLC 7 and 9/20 is NCLC 6.
Example with four scores
Say your results are listening 470, reading 450, writing 10 and speaking 12.
| Skill | Score | Band | NCLC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | 470 | 458–502 | 7 |
| Reading | 450 | 406–452 | 6 |
| Writing | 10/20 | 10–11 | 7 |
| Speaking | 12/20 | 12–13 | 8 |
The lowest level is NCLC 6, in reading, three points short of NCLC 7. Programs that require NCLC 7 in all four abilities (the Federal Skilled Worker program, or the Canadian Experience Class for TEER 0 or 1 jobs) check each skill, so reading decides this case and the other three skills don’t make up for it. See NCLC 7 at TCF Canada.
Not every rule looks only at your lowest score. CRS points are counted skill by skill, as explained in TCF Canada for Express Entry.
Why you can’t calculate the 699 score yourself
In the multiple-choice tests, only right answers count. A wrong or blank answer is 0 points, with no penalty. FEI then applies a scale that takes each question’s difficulty into account, turning the number of right answers into a score from 100 to 699. FEI doesn’t publish that scale or tell you how many answers you got right, so the conversion can’t be reproduced. A score “calculated” from a practice test is an estimate.
Writing and speaking marks out of 20
Writing is marked twice, independently and without either corrector seeing the other’s mark, by correctors trained by FEI. On some computer-based sessions the first correction can be done by FIDELIA, FEI’s automated marking aid, and the second always stays human. Each one gives each of the 3 tasks a level from “A1 not reached” to C2. A rule that combines the six levels produces the final mark, and if the two markings differ widely, there is a third. Speaking works the same way. The examiner at the centre marks it, and a second corrector marks the recording.
For NCLC 7 in writing you need at least 10/20. A 9/20 is NCLC 6. To see where a practice text lands, NCLC Prep gives it a mark out of 20 with the matching NCLC range. That is a practice estimate, not the official score.
NCLC 10 and above
IRCC puts the whole top of the scale on one row, 549 to 699 in listening and reading and 16 to 20 in writing and speaking. A 549 and a 699 therefore give the same NCLC level. For CRS points, NCLC 10 and above is worth 34 points per ability (32 with a spouse), nothing more.
Other points
- TCF Canada has no pass or fail. The result is a level, and the body asking for the test sets the level it needs.
- This is IRCC’s table for TCF Canada. Québec uses its own scale, covered in TCF Canada or TCF Québec. TEF Canada has different bands, covered in TCF Canada or TEF Canada.
- Check the table on IRCC’s page before you file, since IRCC can change it.