NCLC Calculator

Enter your TCF Canada score to instantly find your NCLC level

What is NCLC?

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NCLC (Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens) is the official Canadian French proficiency scale used by IRCC. Your TCF Canada score report shows CECR levels and raw scores; you must convert them using the official IRCC NCLC chart (covering NCLC 4–10+) to check eligibility for Express Entry, PNPs, or citizenship. The Express Entry French-targeted draws usually require NCLC 7 in all four skills.

CLB vs NCLC: what's the difference?

CLB (Canadian Language Benchmarks) is Canada's English scale, used for IELTS and CELPIP; NCLC is the French scale, used for TCF Canada and TEF Canada. Both run 1-12 and are numerically parallel (NCLC 7 = CLB 7 = CEFR B2), but scores never convert between them: TCF Canada results convert to NCLC only, and English test results convert to CLB only. Express Entry scores English on CLB and French on NCLC separately, with up to +50 CRS for stacking both. Searching for a 'CLB calculator' but took the TCF Canada? This NCLC calculator is the tool you need.

TCF Canada Score Chart & NCLC Calculator 2026

· Updated:

NCLC (Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens) is Canada's official French proficiency scale; IRCC's equivalency chart covers NCLC 4 to 10+, used by Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Programs, and citizenship applications. This free calculator instantly converts TCF Canada reading and listening scores into NCLC levels with CEFR (A1-C2) equivalence.

TCF Canada → NCLC conversion (key bands)

Full NCLC 4-10+ conversion table (all four skills)

NCLC levelReading (score)Listening (score)Speaking (/20)Writing (/20)
10+549–699 (C1-C2)549–699 (C1-C2)16–20 (C1-C2)16–20 (C1-C2)
9524–548 (C1)523–548 (C1)14–15 (C1)14–15 (C1)
8499–523 (B2-C1)503–522 (C1)12–13 (B2)12–13 (B2)
7453–498 (B2)458–502 (B2-C1)10–11 (B2)10–11 (B2)
6406–452 (B2)398–457 (B1-B2)7–9 (B1)7–9 (B1)
5375–405 (B1-B2)369–397 (B1)6 (B1)6 (B1)
4342–374 (B1)331–368 (B1)4–5 (A2)4–5 (A2)
Below NCLC 4≤341≤330≤3≤3

Source: IRCC official equivalency chart · TCF Canada → NCLC (canada.ca, Express Entry)

Writing and speaking are scored directly against NCLC 6/7/8 rubrics — no conversion needed. As a second official language, Express Entry candidates with NCLC 7+ in French earn an extra 25 points (English CLB 4+) or 50 points (English CLB 5+) on the CRS comprehensive ranking.

CLB vs NCLC: what's the difference?

They are two different scales and are not interchangeable. CLB (Canadian Language Benchmarks) is Canada's English proficiency scale, used for IELTS General and CELPIP; NCLC (Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens) is the French scale, used for TCF Canada and TEF Canada. Both are numerically parallel (NCLC 7 and CLB 7 both equal CEFR B2), and IRCC's equivalency chart covers NCLC 4 to 10+, but scores never convert between them: TCF Canada results convert to NCLC only, and English test results convert to CLB only. Express Entry scores English on the CLB scale and French on the NCLC scale separately, with up to +50 CRS for stacking both. So if you searched for a "CLB calculator" but took the TCF Canada — the NCLC calculator on this page is the tool you need.

Source: IRCC official language equivalency tables and France Éducation International "Grilles de niveaux", last verified .

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