CLB calculator: turn your test scores into a benchmark level.

The Canadian Language Benchmarks are the national standard IRCC uses to describe English ability, on a scale from 1 to 12. Almost every immigration programme states its language requirement as a CLB level rather than a test score, because several different tests are accepted and they all have to be compared on one scale.

It is the French equivalent. Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens run on the same 1 to 12 scale and are used when you test in French with TEF Canada or TCF Canada. A programme asking for CLB 7 in English is asking for NCLC 7 in French.

No, and there is no conversion table to give you. IRCC designates five tests for permanent residence — CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training and PTE Core in English, TEF Canada and TCF Canada in French — and IELTS Academic is not one of them. The same list governs the post-graduation work permit and the citizenship language requirement, and Ontario’s OINP says in writing that it accepts only the General Training test, not Academic or One Skill Retake.

Two things are worth knowing before you rebook. The Listening and Speaking sections are identical in both versions of IELTS, so those two bands already tell you where you stand and a General Training sitting is really only re-testing the other half. Reading and Writing are different papers written for a different purpose, which is why no equivalency exists for them, and why a strong Academic reading band is not a promise about General Training.

Academic still has its uses: universities and colleges ask for it, and several professional regulators accept it. It is immigration that does not.

CELPIP General and IELTS General Training for English, PTE Core for English, and TEF Canada and TCF Canada for French. These are the tests IRCC lists for post-graduation work permits. TEF Canada has two tables depending on whether you sat the test on or after 11 December 2023, and the calculator lets you switch between them.

IELTS Academic is deliberately not in the list. It is not a designated test and there is no CLB table for it, so putting it in a converter would only invite a number that does not exist.

No, and this is the single most common misunderstanding. Requirements are stated as a minimum in each of the four abilities, so your effective level is the lowest of your reading, writing, listening and speaking results. One weak ability holds back the whole application, which is why targeted practice usually beats general study.

For applications made on or after 1 November 2024: CLB or NCLC 7 in all four abilities if you graduated with a bachelor, master or doctoral degree, or from any other university programme; and CLB or NCLC 5 in all four abilities if you graduated from a college, polytechnic or other non-university programme. Graduates of PGWP-eligible flight schools are the exception.

Language results are generally accepted for two years from the date of the test. If yours are close to expiring and your application is not yet submitted, book a retest early rather than risk the file going stale.

You get the lower one. The tables set a floor for each benchmark, so a score that has not reached the next threshold stays at the level below it. There is no rounding up and no discretion on this point.

No. All four abilities have to come from a single test sitting of a single approved test. You also cannot combine an English test with a French one to make up a level.