TEF and TCF Canada Results: How Long They Take and How to Read Them

Each test has one organiser, and each organiser states its own time. These are the figures on their official pages on 2 November 2026:

The two figures do not measure the same thing. The TEF Canada time counts from your test day. The TCF Canada time counts from when France Éducation international receives the session materials, so the time your centre needs to send them comes first. FEI does not say how long that step takes.

Business days and working days leave out weekends and public holidays. Ten business days is two calendar weeks, and fifteen is three, before any holidays.

Your test centre may give its own time. The Canadian centre pages we read in October 2026 said anything from 1 to 2 weeks to within 6 weeks (see our TEF Canada booking guide and TCF Canada booking guide). On forums you will also see "about 3 weeks" or "4 to 6 weeks". Those are personal reports, not rules. If you have a deadline, ask your centre before you book.

1. 1Count the right days. For the TEF Canada, count 10 business days from test day. For the TCF Canada, remember that the 15 working days only start when FEI has received the materials from your centre.
2. 2Check your spam folder. Le français des affaires says the TEF Canada certificate email can end up in junk or spam.
3. 3For the TCF Canada, check your TCF-Candidat account. FEI makes the certificate available there. If you cannot create an account, FEI says to contact your test centre.
4. 4Contact your test centre. Le français des affaires says your centre is your main contact for TEF results and the first to know when they are ready. For the TCF Canada, the results are sent to the centre too.

The certificate has your photo and signature. Le français des affaires says it shows, for each of the four tests:

• your TEF score, out of 699 points (the "Score / 699" figures);
• your CEFR level (CECRL in French), from A1 to C2. A result below A1 is shown as "<A1";
• your NCLC level, from 1 to 12;
• an "Équivalence ancien score" column (old score equivalence), which matches your result to the older TEF score scales.

Page 2 explains what your level means: what you can understand, say, read or write in French.

For Express Entry, use the old-score column. IRCC's language-test page says to enter only the scores from the "Équivalence ancien score" column, and not the "Score / 699" results. Le français des affaires gives the same instruction. Our TEF Canada scores to NCLC chart uses that column.

Certificate number and PIN. IRCC may ask for your test result form or certificate number and your PIN. Le français des affaires says the certificate number is the first part of the attestation number at the bottom left of the certificate, before the hyphen. The PIN (NIP in French) is the part after the hyphen.

Le français des affaires keeps your certificate for 10 years. Save your own copy as soon as you download it.

France Éducation international calls the document an attestation de résultats. It is digital and protected by a QR code. FEI says every TCF attestation has four blocks:

1. 1Your identity and your candidate code.
2. 2The place and date of your test, the expiry date and the attestation number.
3. 3Your results.
4. 4A space for your signature.

There are two QR codes. The large one, in the middle on the right, is used to check that the results are real. The small one, at the bottom left, opens FEI's page that explains the results.

For the TCF Canada, FEI says the results block shows:

• a score for listening (compréhension orale) and a score for reading (compréhension écrite). IRCC's conversion table for these two runs up to 699;
• a mark out of 20 for speaking (expression orale) and a mark out of 20 for writing (expression écrite);
• a CEFR level for each of the four, from "A1 not reached" to C2.

FEI's description of the attestation lists scores and CEFR levels. It does not mention NCLC levels. IRCC converts each of your four results to an NCLC level with its own table, which you can read in our TCF Canada scores to NCLC chart.

Do not compare the two scales. 14 out of 20 in speaking is a strong result. 14 out of 699 in listening would be far below any level IRCC recognises.

For Express Entry, IRCC uses NCLC levels, not CEFR levels. It converts each of your four results to an NCLC level with the tables on its language-test page, and your lowest ability matters for many requirements. French bonus points, for example, need NCLC 7 or higher in all four abilities (IRCC CRS criteria, checked November 2026).

• TEF Canada: use the "Équivalence ancien score" figures with IRCC's TEF table.
• TCF Canada: use the four results on your attestation with IRCC's TCF table.

The NCLC calculator does the conversion for you. Its results are estimates to help you plan. Only your official certificate and IRCC's current tables count.

IRCC also asks anyone who took the TEF Canada between December 11, 2023 and May 6, 2024 to check whether their scores were changed, and to update their Express Entry profile if they were. IRCC's language-test page was last modified on 16 October 2026.

Both tests give results that are valid for two years. Le français des affaires says TEF Canada results are valid for two years. FEI says the TCF Canada attestation is valid for two years from the date the results are issued, and that this date is printed on the attestation.

For Express Entry, IRCC says your results must be less than 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you submit your application for permanent residence. Our guide on how long results are valid shows how to plan around both dates.

The two organisers have different rules, and the TCF Canada rules changed on 1 September 2026.

The practical lesson is the same for both tests: if something goes wrong in the exam room, such as a sound problem in listening or a computer that stops, tell the staff before you leave and ask how to report it.

You can take either test as many times as you like, with a wait in between:

• TEF Canada: a 20-day wait between two tests, according to Le français des affaires.
• TCF Canada: a 20-day wait between two sittings of the TCF Canada, according to FEI.

Add the result time to that wait. If your deadline is close, a retake can take more than a month from your first test to your new certificate. A new result can also be lower than the old one in some skills, so work on your weakest ability first. Our TEF Canada booking guide and TCF Canada booking guide cover choosing a date.