TCF Canada score chart: convert your scores to CLB and NCLC levels

This TCF Canada score chart converts each skill’s score to its NCLC level (the same scale as CLB) from 4 to 10, using IRCC’s own table: which TCF Canada score is NCLC 7, which is CLB 5, and why listening and reading take different columns. The TCF score calculator above reads the same table: type your 4 scores and it shows the level for each skill and your lowest one. Taking TEF Canada instead? Use the TEF Canada score chart. For what NCLC 7 unlocks in Express Entry, read CLB 7 in French.

CLB and NCLC are the same scale

CLB stands for Canadian Language Benchmarks. NCLC stands for Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens. IRCC uses CLB for English and NCLC for French [1]. The levels line up one for one, so NCLC 7 is CLB 7. Neither is the A1 to C2 scale on course certificates; French levels explained covers how the two relate.

TCF Canada to CLB conversion table

Every number below is copied from IRCC’s language test page for Express Entry [1]. IRCC’s table shows levels 4 to 10.

IRCC labels the top row “10 and above” and does not list levels 11 or 12 separately. It lists no level below 4 [1].

What TCF Canada score is NCLC 7?

NCLC 7 on TCF Canada is 10 to 11 in speaking, 458 to 502 in listening, 453 to 498 in reading and 10 to 11 in writing [1]. One skill below its range means that skill sits at NCLC 6, whatever the other three score.

What TCF Canada score is CLB 5?

CLB 5 on TCF Canada is a single score of 6 in speaking, 369 to 397 in listening, 375 to 405 in reading and 6 in writing [1]. This is the level the Canadian Experience Class asks for in TEER 2 or 3 jobs, and the speaking and listening level for the Federal Skilled Trades Program [1]. CLB 5 in French covers who needs it and what it earns.

How to read your certificate

Your TCF Canada results give one score for each of the 4 skills. Match each score to its own column in the table.

1. Take your speaking score (expression orale) and your writing score (expression écrite). In IRCC’s table these run from 4 to 20. Look them up in the speaking and writing columns.
2. Take your listening score (compréhension de l’oral) and your reading score (compréhension de l’écrit). In IRCC’s table these run from 331 to 699. Look them up in the listening and reading columns.
3. Write down the level for each skill. Do not combine them.

Listening and reading look alike but their ranges are not identical. NCLC 7 starts at 458 in listening and at 453 in reading. A 455 is NCLC 7 in reading and NCLC 6 in listening [1].

IRCC’s page gives a special instruction about which certificate column to use for TEF Canada. It gives no such instruction for TCF Canada, and it shows a single TCF Canada table with no exception by test date [1]. IRCC’s page does not describe the certificate layout, so match the labels on your own results to the 4 skills above.

How long TCF Canada results are valid

For Express Entry, IRCC says your test results must be less than 2 years old when you complete your Express Entry profile and when you submit your application for permanent residence. IRCC says it will refuse an application made with expired results [1].

What CLB level do I need?

That depends on the program. These are the levels IRCC states.

A note on citizenship. For TCF Canada, IRCC’s citizenship pages describe the result it accepts as B1 or higher, rather than as a score [4]. Whether IRCC applies the Express Entry score ranges above to citizenship applications is not stated on those pages, so for citizenship go by the level they name.

The Express Entry French bonus

IRCC’s Express Entry criteria list 2 cases [2].

• 25 points: NCLC 7 or higher in all 4 French skills, with CLB 4 or lower in English or no English test.
• 50 points: NCLC 7 or higher in all 4 French skills, with CLB 5 or higher in all 4 English skills.

The condition is all 4 skills. With TCF Canada that means at least 10 in speaking, 458 in listening, 453 in reading and 10 in writing.

Common mistakes

• Using a TEF Canada chart. TEF Canada has different score ranges. A TCF Canada score looked up in a TEF Canada table gives a wrong level.
• Treating listening and reading as one column. Their ranges differ at every level below 10. Read each against its own column.
• Averaging the 4 skills. IRCC’s table has no overall level. Each skill is converted on its own, and “all 4 skills” requirements are decided by your lowest one.
• Missing the narrow bands. NCLC 5 in speaking and writing is a single score, 6. A 7 is already NCLC 6, and a 5 is NCLC 4.
• Relying on a chart that has no date. IRCC can change its page. Compare the date under “Page details” at the bottom of the IRCC page with the date at the top of this one.

Sources