Exam Preparation · TCF
TCF Preparation Online, Reach the Band Your File Needs
The TCF has no pass mark. It places you on the CEFR scale with a score up to 699, and your whole file rests on landing in the right band. Camille prepares you for the exact version you are sitting, whether that is the TCF IRN for French nationality, the TCF Canada, the tout public or the DAP, with the effort concentrated on the two papers a person marks: expression écrite and expression orale.
Start with the right test
Which TCF Are You Sitting?
There is no single TCF. Each version has its own papers and its own thresholds, and preparing for the wrong one is the most expensive mistake candidates make.
TCF tout public
The general version, and the one most universities, employers and embassies mean when they simply ask for a TCF. Three compulsory multiple-choice papers, with writing and speaking added when your file requires a level in them.
TCF IRN
Intégration, résidence et nationalité: the version used for residency permits and French nationality. Since 1 January 2026 naturalisation asks for B2 rather than B1, assessed in writing as well as orally.
TCF Canada
For Canadian permanent residence and citizenship files. All four papers are compulsory, and IRCC reads your result as an NCLC level rather than as a raw TCF score.
TCF Québec
The version built for Québec immigration programmes, where the papers you sit depend on which skills your specific programme asks you to certify.
TCF DAP
Demande d'admission préalable, for a first year of undergraduate study or a school of architecture in France. It adds a compulsory written paper on top of the multiple-choice ones.
Administrative requirements change, and a university, a préfecture or IRCC can each ask for a specific version at a specific level. Always confirm the exact requirement with the body asking for it before you register for a test date.
Where the points go
Your Band Is Decided by Two Papers
The multiple-choice papers measure what you already know, so revision moves them slowly. The expression papers are marked by a person against precise criteria, which is exactly why targeted work on them moves your level fastest.
TCF expression orale
Three tasks, no preparation time, twelve minutes in front of an examiner. We run them live and timed, then go back over the recording against the criteria, so you know what is being judged rather than guessing at it.
TCF expression écrite
Three tasks in sixty minutes, each with its own register and its own length. Every answer comes back annotated, showing the pattern of mistakes that is holding your band down rather than a bare score.
Compréhension orale and écrite
The multiple-choice papers reward reading the question properly and managing the clock. We work on the technique, then leave the heavy lifting to targeted vocabulary rather than endless mock questions.
Maîtrise des structures de la langue
The grammar paper, and the one where a handful of recurring traps decide several points. We identify which ones actually catch you, and drill those instead of the whole syllabus.
The scale
What the TCF Score Means
Six bands, awarded by France Éducation international, and every result valid for two years from the test date.
| Level | Score | What it is usually asked for |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 100 – 199 | Beginner. Rarely the band a file asks for, but a useful honest starting point. |
| A2 | 200 – 299 | Elementary. The level some first residence procedures refer to. |
| B1 | 300 – 399 | Independent user. The usual language bar for the multi-year carte de résident. |
| B2 | 400 – 499 | The band that now matters most: French naturalisation since 1 January 2026, and the standard entry level for French universities. |
| C1 | 500 – 599 | Advanced. Asked for by selective programmes and some professional roles. |
| C2 | 600 – 699 | Near-native mastery. |
What you get
What the Preparation Includes
Your target band, established first
Before anything else, we confirm which version your file requires and which band it has to reach. Everything after that is measured against a number instead of a vague sense of getting better.
Timed mock papers
Full papers under real conditions, clock running, no second attempts. The pacing of the TCF is what unsettles most candidates, and it stops being a surprise once you have sat it a few times.
Written answers corrected
Every expression écrite task comes back annotated, with the recurring mistakes named. Knowing the pattern is what lets you fix three answers at once instead of one.
Speaking practice with a real examiner rhythm
The three oral tasks, timed and run through as they happen on the day, with the follow-up questions an examiner actually asks rather than a script you can memorise.
Materials and vocabulary provided
Past papers, themed vocabulary and the connectors that hold a TCF answer together, all included, with no separate workbook to buy.
A plan that ends on your test date
Your date is fixed, so the preparation works backwards from it: what has to be solid in the final fortnight, and what is worth dropping to get there.
Is this for you?
Who This Is For
French nationality applicants
Naturalisation has asked for B2 rather than B1 since 1 January 2026, and the level is now assessed in writing too. If you started preparing under the old bar, this is the gap to close, and the TCF IRN is the version that certifies it.
Residence permit applicants
The multi-year carte de résident has its own language bar, lower than the nationality one. Sitting the right version at the right level saves you preparing for a threshold your file never asked for.
Canada and Québec files
Economic immigration, permanent residence and citizenship applications where your French is converted into an NCLC level, and where every band gained can change what your file scores.
University and DAP candidates
Applying to a French university or a first undergraduate year through the DAP, where a documented level is required before your place is confirmed and deadlines leave no room for a retake.
Self-study option
Want to start on your own first?
Réussir le TCF is a self-study guide dedicated to the speaking and writing papers: method, connectors, 9 themed vocabulary sheets, and 3 full timed mock exams with corrected, annotated answers. $25, instant download.
FAQ
Your questions, answered
Which TCF do I need for French nationality?
Nationality files use a dedicated version, the TCF Intégration, résidence et nationalité (TCF IRN), not the tout public. Since 1 January 2026 the level required for naturalisation is B2 rather than B1, and it is assessed in writing as well as orally. The B1 bar still applies to the multi-year carte de résident. Confirm which test and which level your préfecture accepts before you book a date.
Can you prepare me for the TCF Canada?
Yes. The TCF Canada has its own four-paper format, all compulsory, and your result is read as an NCLC level by IRCC rather than as a raw score. Preparation works the same way as for any other version: we start from the paper you will actually sit, then work on the two papers a person marks.
Is there a pass mark on the TCF?
No. The TCF is a positioning test, so there is no pass or fail: you receive a score up to 699 and the CEFR level it corresponds to. What matters is reaching the band your file asks for, which is why preparation starts by establishing which band that is.
How long should I prepare before the test?
If you are already inside the band you need, four to six weeks of format work and timed practice is usually enough. If you need to move up a full band, count on several months: a band is roughly a level of the CEFR scale, and those are not crossed in a few weeks. The trial lesson is where that timeline gets set honestly.
Do you correct the expression écrite and expression orale?
Yes, and that is most of what the lessons are for. Written tasks come back annotated, showing the pattern of mistakes rather than a score, and speaking tasks are done live, timed, then replayed against the marking criteria so you can hear where the level is being judged.
How long is a TCF result valid?
Two years from the test date. That deadline matters more than it first appears: a file that spends months in processing can outlive its own attestation, and the test then has to be sat and paid for again. If your procedure is likely to run long, the DELF is a diploma and never expires.
Should I take the TCF or the DELF?
It depends on what is asking for the proof. The TCF is a test, fast to sit and valid two years, and it is what most immigration and administrative files specify. The DELF is a diploma you keep for life and the usual academic reference. Camille can help you confirm which one your situation actually requires before you commit to a date.
What happens in the trial lesson?
Camille assesses your current level across speaking and writing, checks which TCF version and which band your file actually requires, and sets out a realistic plan up to your test date, so you know what the weeks ahead look like before you commit to anything.
Before you book a test date
TCF Checklist: Every Paper, Level and Skill on the Test
The full format, paper by paper, as a free page and a printable PDF.
TCF vs DELF vs TEF: Which French Exam Should You Take?
If you are still deciding which certificate your file actually needs.
French Citizenship in 2026: The New B2 Requirement
What changed on 1 January 2026, and how the language bar, the civic exam and the interview fit together.
DELF and DALF Preparation Lessons
If a diploma that never expires suits your timeline better than a two-year attestation.
Start today
Ready to reach your band?
Book a $15 trial lesson. Camille will confirm which TCF your file needs and build your plan up to the test date.
Book a trial lesson · $15