TCF Canada Results: When They Arrive and How to Read Them

TCF Canada results arrive within 15 working days of France Éducation international (FEI) receiving your session material from the test centre, so plan on at least three weeks after your test. You'll get four results: listening and reading scored out of 699, writing and speaking out of 20, and each one converts to an NCLC level that decides what you can apply for.

This guide shows you when to expect your results, how to read every part of the attestation, how to turn it into NCLC levels, and exactly what to do next, whether you hit NCLC 7 or missed by a point.

When do TCF Canada results come out?

FEI marks every TCF centrally in France. Its official TCF Canada page says your results will be available in your TCF-Candidat online space, and sent to your test centre, "within 15 working days" of FEI receiving the session material.

That last part matters. The clock doesn't start on your test day. It starts when your centre's answers, writing scripts and speaking recordings reach FEI, so the real wait depends on how quickly your centre sends the session. And "working days" means weekends and French public holidays don't count, so a test just before a holiday period can take longer.

Ask your centre when you book: "When do you send the session to FEI, and when do candidates usually see results?" They answer this question every week.

Plan your dates

Enter your test date to see when results should arrive, your earliest retake date and when the results stop being valid for IRCC:

The planner counts 15 working days from the test date. Treat that as the earliest realistic date, not a promise. If you haven't booked yet, check upcoming TCF Canada exam dates and our guide to what happens on TCF Canada exam day.

How to read your TCF Canada attestation

FEI's guide to understanding TCF results describes the attestation as four blocks, plus two QR codes:

1. Block 1: Who you are

   Your name and your candidate code. Check the spelling against your passport now. A mismatch with your Express Entry profile is a problem you want to fix early, through your centre.

2. Block 2: Where, when and until when

   The test centre, the test date, the expiry date and the attestation number. Note the attestation number: IRCC's profile may ask for it.

3. Block 3: Your results

   A score from 0 to 699 for listening (compréhension orale) and reading (compréhension écrite), and a mark out of 20 for writing (expression écrite) and speaking (expression orale). Each result also shows a CEFR level, from "A1 non atteint" up to C2.

4. Block 4: Your signature

   A space for you to sign the attestation.

The large QR code in the middle on the right lets an official check that the attestation is genuine. The small QR code at the bottom left links to FEI's page explaining the results.

Convert your TCF Canada results to NCLC

Type in the four numbers from block 3. The converter uses IRCC's official TCF Canada table and shows your level per skill and your overall level, which is always your lowest skill.

A few things to check while you're here:

• Listening and reading use different cut-offs. The same score can be NCLC 7 in one and NCLC 6 in the other. The full TCF Canada score chart shows every band.
• Writing and speaking move in single points. One point out of 20 can change your band, and with it your whole application.
• There is no average. NCLC 9 in three skills and NCLC 6 in one counts as NCLC 6 for anything that requires "NCLC 7 in all four".

For a deeper look at any score, use the full NCLC score converter. It can also send your levels straight into the CRS calculator.

What your results unlock

Once you know your four NCLC levels, here's what they mean for the most common goals. Our page on Canada immigration language requirements covers every program in one place.

Using your TCF Canada results in Express Entry

IRCC's Express Entry language page sets out the rules:

1. Enter the scores exactly as printed. Type in your listening and reading scores out of 699 and your writing and speaking marks out of 20. IRCC works out the NCLC level. You may also be asked for the "certificate number", which is your attestation number.
2. Use one attestation. All four results come from the same TCF Canada session. You can't combine your best listening from one sitting with your best speaking from another.
3. Mind the two-year rule. Your results must be less than 2 years old when you create your profile and when you submit your permanent residence application.

The third rule catches people out. IRCC's advice is direct: if your results will expire before you can apply, you should test again, apply before they expire, or decline the invitation and go back into the pool. If you apply with expired results, IRCC will refuse the application. Once you are invited, the free Express Entry ITA checklist explains what to do next.

What NCLC 7 is worth

If all four skills reach NCLC 7, French adds 25 CRS points, or 50 if you also have CLB 5 or higher in all four English skills. If English is your first official language, French also earns up to 24 second-language points. Our guide to how many CRS points French is worth walks through the maths, and the French category's recent cut-offs look like this:

Worked examples

These people are illustrations, not real candidates.

Aïcha, 30, Express Entry. Listening 470, reading 461, writing 11, speaking 10. That's NCLC 7 in every skill. She updates her Express Entry profile with the four scores the day the attestation arrives, and becomes eligible for French-category draws. Her speaking sits at the very bottom of the NCLC 7 band, so she notes her expiry date and plans her PR application well within it.

Tomás, 34, one point short. Listening 515, reading 540, writing 12, speaking 9. That's NCLC 8, 9, 8 and 6. Speaking keeps him out of the French category and the bonus. His next test is a retake of all four skills, but his study time goes almost entirely into speaking, where one point changes everything.

Grace, 52, citizenship. Listening 380 (B1) and speaking 7 (B1). For citizenship, IRCC asks for B1 or higher in listening and speaking, so her attestation works. Reading and writing don't matter for this goal.

Missed your target? What to do next

Missing NCLC 7 by a point is common, and it's fixable. Here's a calm way through it.

1. Find the real gap

Look at block 3 again. Is it one skill or two? Is it one point out of 20, or 50 points on the 699 scale? Writing and speaking gaps of one or two points usually come from format problems: an unfinished task 3, a role-play that ran out of questions, a text outside the word range. Those are quick to fix. Listening and reading gaps of 40+ points usually need more weeks.

2. Decide on a retake date

You can take the TCF Canada as often as you like, but FEI asks for 20 days between two sittings. Some older FEI documents and centre pages still mention the previous 30-day rule, so confirm with your centre. Twenty days is the minimum, not a recommendation: retaking without changing your preparation rarely changes the result. With re-marking suspended, aim for a margin of one band above your target in writing and speaking.

Use the French study plan to turn the gap into a realistic week-by-week schedule, then book the date that fits it.

3. Re-marking is suspended for now

Re-marking was only ever possible for writing and speaking. FEI has now suspended re-correction requests for tests taken from 1 September 2026, for about a year, and plans to restart the service in autumn 2027. So for a recent test, a retake is your only way to change the result. If something goes wrong during the test itself (noise, a technical problem), FEI says to report it to the centre on the day, right after the session. Our news item on the TCF Canada re-correction suspension has the details.

4. Check what you already qualify for

Even without NCLC 7, your results still count. NCLC 5 or 6 in French can earn second-official-language CRS points, meet the Mobilité francophone requirement or count for some provincial streams. Our French PNP streams page shows where lower levels still help.

TCF Canada results FAQ, in short

• Results not showing after 15 working days? Contact your test centre first. It knows when it sent the session to FEI.
• Lost the attestation? Download it again from your TCF-Candidat space.
• Name or date of birth wrong? Ask your centre to correct it before you use the attestation anywhere.
• Taking the TEF Canada instead? Its results come differently: see the TEF Canada score chart and the "Équivalence ancien score" column you must use.

Your next step

1. Know where you stand before the next test

   If you're preparing for a first attempt or a retake, start with our free 10-question French level check. It takes about five minutes.

2. Take a full timed mock test

   Sit a free TCF Canada mock test in the official format, then convert each section with the NCLC converter. Compare it with your attestation to see which skill moved.

3. Train the weakest skill

   Put most of your time into the skill that's holding you back, with the TCF Canada practice tests. For detailed feedback on every writing and speaking attempt, see our plans.