Created in 1998 by the Paris Ile-de-France CCI, the Test d’Evaluation de Français (TEF) is an international benchmark test that measures your level of knowledge and skills in French.
Results are valid for two years.
The TEF is officially recognized by :
– the French Ministry of Education
– the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation
– the French Ministry of the Interior
– the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada
– the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration
– the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration
The TEF consists of 5 modular tests:
The TEF is a modular test. Depending on your objective and the steps you take, you should register for the TEF version that includes the tests you need.
Please note that for some versions of the TEF, the tests must be taken during the same session.
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Canada |
Québec |
Intégration, Résidence et Nationalité |
Other purposes |
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Mandatory examinations for immigration Oral comprehension Written comprehension Oral expression Written expression Mandatory examinations for a citizenship application Oral comprehension Oral expression |
Elective examinations Oral comprehension Oral expression Additional examinations (primary applicant) Written comprehension Written expression |
Mandatory examinations Oral comprehension Written comprehension Oral expression Written expression
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Between 1 and 5 tests depending on the objectives: – selecting students – recruting new staff members – certifying your French skills |
You can take the TEF to certify your level of French. It is also recognized to :
Find out more about the tests content and how the exam is conducted
The TEF is officially recognized since 2004 by the French Ministry of National Education and assesses the written and oral French language skills of all foreign students applying for undergraduate university enrollment in France.
🔗 Useful link : Recognition of the TEF by the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research (FR)
The TEF consists of 4 compulsory tests:
See an example of a certificate
To go further
You need to obtain at least 400/699 in the written parts of the TEF (written comprehension and written expression).
For more information, contact the Campus France of the country in which you are located or directly the institution you wish to join.
Indeed, you are exempt from the TCF for the DAP if you obtained at least 400/699 in the written parts of the TEF (written comprehension and written expression).
You are exempt from a French test if you already hold a TCF for the DAP, a DELF B2, a DALF C1/C2, a French baccalaureate (issued by the French Ministry of Education), or if you are a student from one of the French bilingual sections that appears on the list established by the French Ministries of National Education and Foreign Affairs.
You are also exempt from the French test if you come from a French-speaking country or a country where French is an official language (provided that you have completed all of your secondary education in French-language institutions).
Please find a list of officially French-speaking countries: Benin, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Congo – Brazzaville, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea – Conakry, Mali, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Togo.
The list of countries where French is an official language: Burundi, Canada, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Haiti, Madagascar, Mauritania (except Arabic-speaking countries), Rwanda, Seychelles, Switzerland and Vanuatu.
Please note that some institutions require you to have the test/diploma (TEF/TCF/DALF/DELF) even if you are exempt from it.
The TEF is recognized by many universities and schools, especially in Canada, to certify your level of French as part of the admission procedure. Contact the institution you wish to attend directly: they will tell you the number and type of TEF tests you will have to take.
More information on the “Useful information” page
Le français des affaires is committed to serving test takers with disabilities, health-related needs or in a computer-illiteracy situation. Candidates with special needs have to contact the exam center before registering to submit their request.
To obtain special arrangements, the candidat must provide a certificate to the exam centre: the certificate has to be filled out by a medical doctor (MD) and has to indicate the type of disability. If the disability allows the candidate to sit for the test, the MD has to indicate which accommodations should be provided to the candidate (Braille version, Extended Test Time, Assistance, etc).
In case of computer-illiteracy, acknowledged by the exam center, support solutions or test accomodations should also be provided to the candidate, such as the option of taking the written expression test on paper.
When your register for a TEF examination, Le français des affaires will collect a certain amount of information to reply to your request and in accordance with the French / Canadian laws on immigration or citizenship applications.
If you obtain the required level, your data will be made available to the French or the Canadian authorities (depending of the test). If you object to the transmission of this information or if you delete or modify this data, the authorities will be unable to process your immigration or citizenship application.
Le français des affaires will keep your data on file for 10 years. The data transmitted to the French / Canadian authorities will be kept on file in accordance with French / Canadian laws. They are not transferred to another party.
The data collected may also be processed for the purpose of carrying out studies and surveys, in order to improve our services. In this case, the data collected during surveys will be kept for a period of one year and will not be passed on to third parties.
According to the Data Protection Act of January 6th, 1978, as amended by Law 2018-493 of June 20th, 2018, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as adopted by the European Parliament on April 14th, 2016, you have at any time, a right of access to and rectification or deletion of all of your personal data.