NCLC and CLB levels explained: 1 to 12 and how IRCC uses them

NCLC levels, the French side of the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB), are Canada’s 12-level scale for French [8]. The English CLB groups its 12 levels in 3 stages: basic (1 to 4), intermediate (5 to 8) and advanced (9 to 12) [6]. You get one level for each of listening, speaking, reading and writing, never one overall level, and the line IRCC uses for the Federal Skilled Worker Program in French and for the Express Entry French bonus is NCLC 7 in all 4 skills [1][2][9].

Source: Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (no date shown) and Government of Canada Express Entry points page, dated 16 October 2026.

What are the French CLB levels?

The French CLB levels are NCLC 1 to 12, and this table puts each level beside what the official pages say about it. A dash means none of the IRCC rules in this post uses that level.

The stage column shows the English CLB’s stages. The Government of Canada’s explainer says the English benchmarks are “arranged in 3 stages”, with its grid putting levels 1 to 4 in the first stage, 5 to 8 in the second and 9 to 12 in the third [6]. The CCLB’s English learners page describes the CLB the same way: 3 stages and 12 levels [7]. Neither page gives stages for the NCLC, so read the column as the English scale’s grouping, laid beside the French levels.

This page holds no score tables. For those, use the TEF Canada score chart or the TCF Canada score chart. For the level most Express Entry rules turn on, read CLB 7 in French. For the A1 to C2 letters, see French levels explained. For the CLB 4 level that Canadian citizenship asks for, see French test for Canadian citizenship.

What is CLB in French?

CLB in French is the NCLC: the same set of levels, written in French. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) measures English with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and French with the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) [1]. IRCC’s own language test page links both names to the body that writes them, the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) [1].

The CCLB is a national nonprofit set up in 1998 to support the CLB and NCLC, and it calls itself the “national standard setting body” for them [4]. It developed the benchmarks, but they remain the property of IRCC [3]. The CCLB states that the CLB and NCLC are recognized as the official Canadian standards for describing, measuring and recognizing adult language ability in English and French [3][4].

What does NCLC mean?

NCLC stands for Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens, French for Canadian Language Benchmarks. The CCLB describes the NCLC as a descriptive scale of 12 benchmarks for French as a second language, running from basic to advanced [5]. It covers 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing [5].

The CCLB’s French page names those skills compréhension de l’oral and compréhension de l’écrit (listening and reading comprehension), then expression orale and expression écrite (speaking and writing) [5]. The level is le niveau, and the plural, as in the scale’s name, is niveaux.

So “French CLB”, “CLB in French” and “NCLC” all point to the same thing. IRCC mostly writes CLB for English and NCLC for French, though some pages use CLB for both, as the citizenship page does [1][11].

What is a CLB level, and is it a score?

A CLB level describes what you can do with the language, not a score on a test, and the same holds for an NCLC level. The CCLB calls the scale “a descriptive scale of language ability” and says it is neither a curriculum nor an assessment [3]. The benchmarks list tasks people can do in real life, not grammar or vocabulary [7].

Each skill gets its own level. The CCLB’s overview of the levels says the CLB and NCLC treat each skill separately and that “there is no collective descriptor for an overall CLB or NCLC benchmark” [2]. Its page for learners adds that it is common to have different levels in listening, speaking, reading and writing [7].

Here is how the CCLB’s overview describes speaking at 4 levels, in short [2]:

The full descriptions run to several pages per level, and the CCLB says its complete documents are the reference [2]. The NCLC numbers are not the CEFR letters A1 to C2; French levels explained covers how the two differ.

Is there a CLB exam?

No. The CCLB says the Canadian Language Benchmarks are not a curriculum and not an assessment [3]. You sit one of the tests IRCC approves, and IRCC converts the result into a level [1]. For French, those tests are TEF Canada and TCF Canada [1]; for English, CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training and PTE Core [1]. So a “CLB score” is a test score read through a table, and the table gives a level.

How does a TEF or TCF score become a CLB level?

IRCC turns each test result into a level with a published table, one table per approved test and one column per skill [1]. For French, the approved tests are TEF Canada and TCF Canada [1]. You look up your speaking score in the speaking column, your listening score in the listening column, and so on.

Three things follow from how the tables work:

• One level per skill. Each of your 4 scores gives its own NCLC level [1][2].
• IRCC’s tables do not list every level. The score tables on IRCC’s language test page start at NCLC 4 or higher, and none of them has a row of its own for 11 or 12 [1].
• Your lowest skill often decides. Many IRCC rules ask for a level in all 4 abilities [1][10]. If 3 skills reach NCLC 7 and one sits at NCLC 6, that rule is not met.

For Express Entry points, IRCC scores each skill on its own and adds the 4 together [1][9]. At CLB 7, each skill in your first official language earns 17 points without a spouse or partner, or 16 with one [9].

The score ranges themselves are on the TEF Canada score chart and the TCF Canada score chart. Which test to sit is a separate question, covered in the TEF Canada and TCF Canada guides.

Which NCLC levels does IRCC ask for?

IRCC’s rules here use levels from 4 to 7, with NCLC 7 as the most common line. These are the levels on its official pages.

For what NCLC 5 does and does not earn, see CLB 5 in French.

Common mistakes

• Treating CLB and NCLC as two scales. They are the English and French names IRCC uses for one set of levels [1].
• Expecting one overall level. The CCLB says there is no overall CLB or NCLC benchmark; each skill has its own [2].
• Reading a level as a score. A level describes what you can do. IRCC converts test scores to levels with its own tables [1][3].
• Counting on 3 strong skills. The French bonus and the French category need NCLC 7 in all 4 abilities [9][10].
• Mixing NCLC numbers with CEFR letters. NCLC levels and the A1 to C2 letters are different scales. IRCC writes its Express Entry minimums in NCLC levels [1].
• Relying on a level guide from a blog, including this one. IRCC and the CCLB update their pages. Compare their dates with the date at the top of this one.

See also: the CLB calculator.

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