The préfecture told you to bring proof of your French, and now you're looking at a list of tests with similar names: TCF, TCF IRN, TCF Canada, TEF, DELF. If your file is for a French residence card or for citizenship, there's one version of the TCF you want, and booking the wrong one wastes your money and a few weeks.
Here's what the TCF IRN is, what happens on test day, which score you need, and when a DELF is the better buy.
Which TCF do you need for France?
You need the TCF IRN. It's built for the four French procedures that ask for a language level: the A1 check during the integration programme, the first multi-year residence card, the first 10-year carte de résident and naturalisation. Service-public's page on proving your French for a residence card names only two tests the préfecture will accept, the TCF from France Éducation international and the TEF from the CCI Paris Île-de-France, and both must test all four skills in one session at an exam centre.
The TCF Canada and TCF Québec are for Canadian immigration, and the TCF tout public is a general test. If you book one of them for a French file, you'll be sitting the test again.
What's on the TCF IRN?
There are four compulsory parts, all on the same day, according to France Éducation international:
| Part | What you do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 25 multiple-choice questions | 20 minutes |
| Reading | 25 multiple-choice questions | 35 minutes |
| Writing | 3 short texts | 30 minutes |
| Speaking | 3 tasks, face to face with an examiner | 10 minutes |
The questions get harder as you go, and each listening recording plays once. The test is about language only. It doesn't ask about French history or institutions, which belong to the separate civic exam.
The speaking part
Ten minutes sounds short until you're in the chair. You get no preparation time for any of the three tasks, and the examiner records the conversation so a second marker at France Éducation international can score it too.
- A guided interview (3 minutes). The examiner asks about you: your family, your work, where you live, what you like doing.
- An everyday exchange (3 minutes 30). You play yourself in a situation and ask for what you need. In France Éducation international's sample test, the examiner says, « Je suis un agent immobilier. Vous cherchez un logement. Vous m'expliquez ce que vous cherchez. »
- Your point of view (3 minutes 30). You answer a question with your opinion and your reasons. The sample topic is « Quelle est la ville que vous préférez ? Pourquoi ? »
One rule shapes how you should prepare. France Éducation international's guide for examiners tells them to interrupt politely when a candidate seems to be reciting something learned by heart, and to ask follow-up questions instead. A prepared monologue won't get you far. What gets you through is being able to answer a question you didn't see coming.
The writing part
You write three short texts: a message describing a person, place or thing (30 to 60 words), an account of something you did (40 to 90 words), and your opinion on a place, object or person (40 to 90 words). Stick to the word counts. The candidate manual says a script can be marked "A1 non atteint" if a task is missing, off topic, outside the word count or written from memory.
What score do you need?
Your certificate gives a score for each part, then says whether you reached each overall level. That last table is the line the préfecture reads, so look for A2, B1 or B2 there rather than averaging your scores yourself.
| Level | Listening and reading (out of 499) | Writing and speaking (out of 20) | What it gets you |
|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | 200 to 299 | 2 to 5 | First multi-year residence card |
| B1 | 300 to 399 | 6 to 9 | First 10-year carte de résident |
| B2 | 400 to 499 | 10 to 13 | French citizenship |
There's no pass or fail on the TCF itself, only the level you reached. If you need B1 and come out at a high A2, you can book again. France Éducation international has suspended re-marking requests for the writing and speaking parts for sessions from 1 September 2026, with the service due back in autumn 2027, so plan for a retake rather than an appeal if you're close.
How much does it cost, and how do you book?
Each approved centre sets its own price and its own dates. You book directly with a centre, which you can find with service-public.fr's TCF centre search. As examples, in November 2026, Université Bordeaux Montaigne charged €150, the Alliance Française de Toulouse started at €130, and the Alliance Française Aix-Marseille charged €160 on weekdays and €200 on Saturdays for the paper test, or €200 for the computer test. Some centres close registration a month before the test, so book early if your card expires soon.
Results arrive in your online TCF candidate account. France Éducation international says it sends them within 15 working days of receiving the session's papers, and the certificate is valid for two years from the date it's issued.
TCF IRN, TEF IRN or DELF: which should you take?
All three count, so pick the one that fits your timing and your plans.
| Test | Result | Valid for | Best if |
|---|---|---|---|
| TCF IRN | The level you reached, from A1 to B2 | 2 years | You need proof by a deadline, or you're not sure which level you'll reach |
| TEF IRN | The level you reached | 2 years | A TEF centre near you has a better date |
| DELF B1 or B2 | A pass or fail at the level you chose | For life | You're sure of your level and plan to apply for citizenship later |
The DELF works differently. You choose a level in advance and pass with 50 points out of 100, with at least 5 out of 25 in each part, according to France Éducation international. The DELF B2 speaking test gives you 30 minutes to prepare, then 20 minutes in front of two examiners. Our advice: if you're applying for a 10-year card now and citizenship within a few years, a DELF B2 covers both and never expires, while a TCF result would need retaking. If you just need A2 or B1 by a deadline, the TCF IRN is the safer bet: sessions run all year, and it always gives you a level, so a result just below B1 still shows you how close you are. Our guides to the residence card levels and the citizenship requirement explain which level applies to you.
How should you prepare?
Start with the official material: France Éducation international publishes sample questions for each part, and recommends practising listening with TV5Monde and RFI's Le français facile. Then do a timed run of the writing tasks with a word count in front of you.
For the speaking, you need practice talking, ideally every day. That's what we built our app, Copycat Cafe, for. Each lesson is an everyday French conversation: you hear it at normal or slow speed and rebuild each line by ear, say the lines aloud and get a 0–100 pronunciation score on every word, then use the same French with Copy, your AI conversation partner, who answers whatever you say, so you practise reacting the way the second and third tasks ask you to. The French course has 50 lessons at each level from A1 to B2. Copycat Cafe costs $174 a year ($14.50 a month) or $29 a month in the US, with a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee on your first payment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the TCF and the TCF IRN?
The TCF IRN is the version for French residence cards and citizenship. It always includes all four skills in one session and rates you up to B2. The TCF Canada, TCF Québec and TCF tout public serve other purposes.
How long is a TCF IRN result valid?
Two years from the date the certificate is issued. A DELF or DALF diploma is valid for life.
What score do you need on the TCF IRN for French citizenship?
You need the overall B2 level on your certificate. As a guide, B2 is 400 to 499 points in listening and reading, and 10 to 13 out of 20 in writing and speaking.
Can you fail the TCF IRN?
Not in the usual sense. The certificate shows the level you reached, and the préfecture checks whether it matches the level your application needs.