TCF Canada test: what is in it and how it is scored

The TCF Canada is a French test, owned by France Éducation international (FEI), for people who apply to immigrate to Canada or to become Canadian citizens. It has 4 compulsory tests and lasts 2 hours 47 minutes in total. Your certificate is valid for 2 years. IRCC accepts it. IRCC is Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Canadian immigration department (FEI).

Checked on 13 Oct 2026 against the official pages listed at the end. FEI is a French public body.

The 4 tests

All 4 tests are compulsory. Times and numbers below are the official ones (FEI).

Source: France Éducation international, TCF Canada page, read on 13 Oct 2026.

• Listening35 min
• Reading60 min
• Writing60 min
• Speaking12 min

Each bar shows the minutes of one test. A full bar is 60 minutes.

When the writing is marked “A1 not achieved”

FEI says your writing paper may be marked “A1 not achieved” (below the lowest level) in these cases (FEI):

• the writing cannot be read (on a paper test);
• the tasks don’t respect the word limits;
• the text is off the topic;
• one or more tasks are missing.

FEI’s page about how a session runs adds a fifth case: you copy one or more sentences from a subject or a document (FEI, how a session runs, page in French).

Paper or computer

Each centre decides if you sit the test on paper or on a computer. All tests can be done on a computer, except the speaking test. You speak with an examiner, face to face (FEI). No exemption is possible. FEI says so clearly: you sit all 4 tests.

How the results work

• Results time. FEI sends the results to the test centre within 15 working days from the day it receives the papers. In its French page, FEI adds that you can also see them in your online TCF-Candidat account (FEI, FEI, page in French). Each centre also writes its own time. On 13 Oct 2026 the centres we read said anything from 1 to 2 weeks up to 6 weeks (see the centre list, in French). Ask your centre.
• Validity. The certificate is valid for 2 years from the day the results were issued. The end date is on the certificate. FEI issues only one copy, so keep a copy (FEI).
• IRCC rule. For Express Entry, your results must be less than 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you send your application for permanent residence (IRCC: Express Entry, language test results).
• Levels. The TCF Canada measures 6 levels of French, from A1 to C2 (FEI). IRCC’s score tables use NCLC levels. The table is on our score tool, in French.
• Sitting again. You can sit the TCF Canada as many times as you like. FEI’s French page says you must wait 20 days between two sittings (FEI, page in French).

How to register

1. Find an approved TCF centre near you on the FEI map of approved TCF centres. FEI says it is your job to contact the closest approved centre.
2. Ask the centre, or read its page. The centre tells you the session dates and how to register. It also tells you where the test is, whether it is on paper or on a computer, and the price (FEI).
3. Pay and keep your confirmation. Read the refund rule first. Several centres write that registration is final and that they don’t refund fees (see the centre list, in French).
4. On the day, bring the identity document your centre asks for. FEI says the centre must see a valid ID with a photo, and nobody enters after the exam material is handed out (FEI, how a session runs, page in French).

If you need special arrangements, for example because of a disability, ask the centre before you register. FEI has a page for this (FEI).

What “fees and dates are set by the centre” means

FEI sets the test. Each approved centre sets its own price and dates, and chooses the format it offers. So the same test can cost different amounts in two cities. One centre can have free seats while another is full. FEI’s TCF Canada page gives no price. The only reliable price is the one on the centre’s own page, so we give none here.

Next steps

• Know your result? Turn it into an NCLC level and points (in French).
• Not sure between two tests? Read TCF Canada or TEF Canada.
• Need a centre? Open the list of centres read on their own pages (in French).
• Want a study plan? An 8-week plan (in French).
• Preparing the writing test? The 3 writing tasks, the word limits and 9 marked answers (in French).
• Preparing the speaking test? The 3 speaking tasks, their timing and 6 model dialogues (in French).

Sources, read on 13 Oct 2026

Every figure above comes from the pages below. We read each page on 13 Oct 2026.

• France Éducation international: TCF Canada
• France Éducation international: TCF Canada (page in French)
• IRCC: Express Entry, language test results
• France Éducation international: how a TCF session runs (page in French)
• FEI map of approved TCF centres