Score charts used
The lowest score for each level, copied from IRCC’s “Check your language level” charts (Federal Skilled Trades Program tables, which go down to level 4). A score that falls between two rows earns the lower level.
CELPIP-General (English): Lowest score for each level
| Level (CLB) | Speaking | Listening | Reading | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 or above | 10+ | 10+ | 10+ | 10+ |
| 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
IELTS General Training (English): Lowest score for each level
| Level (CLB) | Speaking | Listening | Reading | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 or above | 7.5 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 7.5 |
| 9 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| 8 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| 7 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| 6 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 5.5 |
| 5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| 4 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
PTE Core (English): Lowest score for each level
| Level (CLB) | Speaking | Listening | Reading | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 or above | 89 | 89 | 88 | 90 |
| 9 | 84 | 82 | 78 | 88 |
| 8 | 76 | 71 | 69 | 79 |
| 7 | 68 | 60 | 60 | 69 |
| 6 | 59 | 50 | 51 | 60 |
| 5 | 51 | 39 | 42 | 51 |
| 4 | 42 | 28 | 33 | 41 |
TEF Canada (French): Lowest score for each level
| Level (NCLC) | Speaking | Listening | Reading | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 or above | 393 | 316 | 263 | 393 |
| 9 | 371 | 298 | 248 | 371 |
| 8 | 349 | 280 | 233 | 349 |
| 7 | 310 | 249 | 207 | 310 |
| 6 | 271 | 217 | 181 | 271 |
| 5 | 226 | 181 | 151 | 226 |
| 4 | 181 | 145 | 121 | 181 |
TCF Canada (French): Lowest score for each level
| Level (NCLC) | Speaking | Listening | Reading | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 or above | 16 | 549 | 549 | 16 |
| 9 | 14 | 523 | 524 | 14 |
| 8 | 12 | 503 | 499 | 12 |
| 7 | 10 | 458 | 453 | 10 |
| 6 | 7 | 398 | 406 | 7 |
| 5 | 6 | 369 | 375 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | 331 | 342 | 4 |
Program minimums
IRCC’s language requirements page lists these minimum levels for Express Entry programs.
| Federal Skilled Worker | CLB or NCLC 7 in all four abilities (first official language); 5 in the second official language |
| Canadian Experience Class, TEER 0 or 1 | CLB or NCLC 7 in all four abilities |
| Canadian Experience Class, TEER 2 or 3 | CLB or NCLC 5 in all four abilities |
| Federal Skilled Trades | CLB or NCLC 5 for speaking and listening, 4 for reading and writing |
What this calculator leaves out
- Test validity. Results must be less than 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you apply.
- Which test version is accepted. IRCC accepts CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training (not One Skill Retake), PTE Core, TEF Canada and TCF Canada only, not the academic or other versions.
- Averaged scores for people who could not complete a section because of a disability. Use IRCC’s language averaging tool.
- The testing organizations’ own conversions. Always enter the level or score your result form shows, as IRCC’s system expects.
- Points. This only gives levels; use the CRS calculator for points.
Frequently asked questions
What is CLB?
The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) is the scale IRCC uses to measure English. For French it uses the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC). Both run on the same levels, and Express Entry looks at each of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Which tests does Express Entry accept?
CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training, and PTE Core for English; TEF Canada and TCF Canada for French. IRCC does not accept IELTS One Skill Retake.
Which TEF score do I enter?
The one in the “Équivalence ancien score” column. IRCC says not to enter the “Score / 699” results; its system does not support them.
What happens if my score is between two rows?
You get the lower level. For example, an IELTS listening band of 7.0 is level 7, because level 8 starts at 7.5.
How long are test results valid?
They must be less than 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you submit your application for permanent residence.
What is the lowest of four abilities for?
Most program minimums apply to all four abilities. The lowest level shows the weakest ability, which decides whether a minimum is met. Points in the CRS are still counted ability by ability.
Last updated
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How we check it
Automated tests (Node’s built-in test runner) check the edges of each chart: the lowest score of a level and one step below it, for every test, using the IRCC chart values. They also check that rows increase with level and that the program minimums are applied per ability.
Limits: we did not compare against the testing organizations’ own tools or against IRCC’s online level checker. Charts were read from IRCC’s page as dated above; IRCC can change them.