The TCF is a standardised and graded test designed using an extremely rigorous method that makes it a genuine measuring instrument. It took almost 3 years to create this quality tool, whose results are consistent - i.e. reliable and comparable - regardless of the examination session for which the candidate registers. The TCF is a standardised, graded and calibrated test. Every question asked during an examination session has been pre-tested and subjected to precise psychometric analyses, guaranteeing that results are comparable, session after session, on the Council of Europe's reference scale, which has six levels of competency.
The whole test creation process was monitored and approved by a high-level scientific committee composed of 25 linguists, grammarians and lexicologists and chaired by Mr Bernard Cerquiglini, delegate general for the French language.
The results reliably position candidates at one of the six levels of the Council of Europe's scale. The TCF was developed on behalf of the French Ministry of Education, in order to give France an assessment tool corresponding to the American TOEFL.

The TCF, created at the request of the French Ministry of Education by the CIEP, a public institution with responsibilities at international level, is recognised by the French Department for Higher Education, university authorities and university language centres in France and abroad as well as by the administrative authorities and the various institutions responsible for the teaching of French abroad.
The levels grid for interpreting marks, translated into 11 languages, allows users (in the world of education or work) to know exactly what a person who has taken the TCF is capable of doing.

The compulsory examinations last 1 hour 30 minutes.
The supplementary examinations (written expression and spoken expression) last 2 hours.

As many times as you want, as long as you leave a gap of 60 days between examination sessions.

In the compulsory examinations, listening comprehension, use of language structures and reading comprehension.
In the supplementary examinations, spoken expression and written expression.

In order to take the optional examinations, you must have taken the compulsory examinations.
You can take:

• the compulsory examinations only;
• the compulsory examinations and just one optional examination;
• the compulsory examinations and both optional examinations.

The optional examinations can be taken on different dates to the compulsory examinations, as long as they are taken within the validity period of the test.

In the compulsory examinations, most of the questions are multiple choice questions. Some of them involve pairing up different types of information (matching exercises).
In the "use of language structures" section, the structures are always connected with communicative situations and contexts going from familiar to abstract, depending on the level.

The compulsory examinations are marked by computer (using a scanner), which does not involve evaluation by the scorer. Marking is objective, reliable and quick. The supplementary examinations are marked by a team of approved teachers, trained at the CIEP.
All written expression examination papers and recordings for the spoken expression examination are double-marked. The interview is recorded on a tape, which is sent to the CIEP.

The test currently takes the form of a booklet (paper) and an answer sheet. It is taken in a group (for the compulsory examinations and the written expression examination) and on a one-to-one basis (for the spoken expression examination) in approved centres, on the dates set by these centres.

The marks are valid for 2 years from the date on which you took the test. The end date of the validity period is shown on the certificate issued to the candidate.
The end date of the validity period of the supplementary examination marks is identical to that of the main test (compulsory examinations), regardless of the date on which these examinations were taken.

The results are sent to the test centre, or to the candidate if the person is no longer registered with the centre, within 3 weeks of receipt of the examination papers by the CIEP.

Anybody who has special requirements for taking the test should inform the test centre of them in sufficient time to allow the test centre to make the necessary arrangements. Centres will do their best to meet candidates' needs.

All candidates are asked to show an official identity document when they sign the attendance sheet.
For higher education institutions, candidates can show their student card.

No documents, dictionaries, grammar books or other reference materials can be consulted during the test. Candidates will be provided with all of the necessary materials.

These two assessment tools recognised by the French Ministry of Education must not be mixed up. The DELF (Diplôme d'Etudes en Langue Française, or diploma in French language studies) and DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française, or advanced diploma in French language) lead to Diplômes d'Etat, or government-certified diplomas. Currently, some 300,000 candidates per year register to take these diplomas in 130 countries.
The TCF is very different from the DELF and DALF. It is not a diploma, but a certificate of recognition of your level. It is a simple and quick way to have your level certified. The test is like a snapshot of a person's linguistic abilities at a given point in their life. It is therefore only valid for 2 years, while the DELF and DALF are valid for life.

Institutions wishing to open a TCF test centre should complete an application for approval and send it to the director of the CIEP. (You can obtain an application form by writing to: CIEP, Bureau de l'évaluation et des certifications, 1, avenue Léon Journault, 92318 Sèvres Cedex, France, or by sending an email to: ).
Institutions that are already approved DELF and DALF test centres wishing to become TCF test centres are given priority, but must still submit an application for approval from the CIEP. Applications for approval must reach the CIEP, Bureau de l'évaluation et des certifications, at least 1 month before the start of a TCF examination session.

For further information, you can contact:
Ms Christine Tagliante or Mr Bruno Mègre, CIEP, Bureau de l'évaluation et des certifications:
Telephone: +33 (0)1 4507 6060; fax: +33 (0)1 4507 6024; email: