TEF and TCF Canada Test Centres by Province: Fees and Booking

TEF and TCF test centres in Canada set their own prices, and in 2026 the Alliance Française centres in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Winnipeg all charge $390 for the full TEF Canada. The TCF Canada costs $390 to $400 at the same centres. You book and pay the centre directly, seats are few and fees are rarely refunded, so the goal is to book the right test once.

The full TEF Canada costs $390 at the Alliance Française centres in Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba in 2026, and CanLanguage in Calgary charges $399 with GST included. IRCC doesn't set these prices: its Express Entry rules say you book with an approved agency and pay the costs yourself, so each centre lists its own fee.

So $390 to $400 is the normal price for the full exam in these provinces. Those cheaper fees you see, from $195 to $249, cover only two sections of the exam, which will not work for Express Entry.

If you live in another province, check the official centre directory run by Le français des affaires to see local dates. They do not always post fees, so visit the centre's own website to confirm pricing before you sign up.

IRCC accepts two French tests for Express Entry, the TEF Canada and the TCF Canada, and you must book either one with an IRCC-approved agency. Your result needs a score in each of the four skills, and it must be less than 2 years old both when you create your profile and when you submit your PR application.

• You need all four skills on one certificate: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
• Approved centres only: free newcomer courses like LINC are wonderful for practice, but IRCC will not accept their certificates. You still have to sit the official test at an accredited centre.
• Two dates to check: count 2 years from your test date to the day you plan to submit your PR application, not only to the day you build your profile.
• Canadian Experience Class minimums: NCLC 7 in all four abilities for TEER 0 or 1 jobs, and NCLC 5 for TEER 2 or 3 jobs.

French at NCLC 7 or higher in all four skills adds up to 50 CRS points in Express Entry: 25 or 50, depending on your English result. IRCC's language test page sets the NCLC 7 minimums for each French test, shown below from its 2026 table.

On a TEF Canada result, IRCC asks you to enter only the scores in the "Équivalence ancien score" column, never the "Score / 699" column. The two sit side by side on the same sheet, so check twice before you type.

Say your TEF Canada comes back with these scores:

Three skills pass easily, but writing missed by just 10 points. For Express Entry, that means no French bonus yet. When this happens, put most of your weekly study hours into writing tasks, and do just enough listening and reading to keep those skills sharp.

Both exams test the same four skills, but they feel quite different on test day. Our guide to the TEF Canada exam explained walks through each section and its timing. You'll find the same detail in the TCF Canada exam explained, so you can see which format fits your strengths before you spend your money.

Calgary has two TEF Canada centres: the Alliance Française de Calgary, which also runs the TCF Canada, and CanLanguage in Brentwood. In 2026 the Alliance Française de Calgary charges $390 for the TEF Canada and $400 for the TCF Canada, at its testing centre in the Kahanoff Centre, #315, 105 12 Avenue SE.

Read its exam rules before you pay, because a few of them catch people out:

• Each session has only 14 seats, first come, first served, and dates open online only.
• Once you've paid, there's no refund and no change of date.
• Results can take up to 6 weeks, much longer than the roughly 2 weeks the TEF owner mentions.
• You'll wait at least 20 days between two attempts.
• Bring two pieces of photo ID on test day.

Keep that 6-week wait in mind. If your work permit is expiring or you have an immigration deadline coming up, book your test date at least two months earlier than you think you need it.

CanLanguage, at 4039 Brentwood Road NW, a short walk from Brentwood CTrain station, charges $399 for the four TEF modules and $249 for two, GST included. It appears on the TEF owner's official centre finder, so it's a real second option when the Alliance Française sessions fill up. If you live in the city, our French classes in Calgary run Levels 1 to 3 in person at Workhaus, 324 8 Ave SW, with every other level and the exam preparation online.

Edmonton's centre for both exams is the Alliance Française d'Edmonton, which holds them in its new annex at 100, 11812 121 St NW. In 2026 it charges $390 for the TEF Canada, $400 for the TCF Canada and $195 for the listening-and-speaking-only TEF.

Booking opens online only, in short windows a few weeks before each date, and seats are limited. Sessions often sell out soon after a window opens, so note the opening day in your calendar and register that morning. Your confirmation email tells you which room to go to.

Alberta's French route

Alberta's nominee program, the AAIP, has no French-speaking stream. In 2026 the Alberta government says it can still nominate French speakers with NCLC 5 in all four skills through its existing streams, on extra federal spaces that don't count against Alberta's 6,603 nominations.

That makes a full TEF or TCF result useful in Alberta even below NCLC 7. Edmonton learners join our live classes from home: see learning French online from Edmonton for how it works.

The Toronto area has the widest choice of centres, led by the Alliance Française de Toronto, which charges $390 for either the TEF Canada or the TCF Canada in 2026 at four sites:

• Downtown: 24 Spadina Road
• North York: 47 Sheppard Avenue East, Unit 502, steps from Sheppard-Yonge station
• Mississauga: 4261 Sherwoodtowne Blvd, beside Square One
• Oakville: 247 North Service Road West, #303

The Alliance Française de Toronto runs sessions every quarter and opens registration online one month before. There's no waiting list and no refund, and moving to another date costs $100, so be sure of your date before you click pay.

Other official TEF Canada centres in the area include Collège Boréal at 60 Distillery Lane, Collège Canada at 989 Derry Road East in Mississauga, GB Language Centre and the Montreal Language Institute in North York, and a downtown Brampton centre at 60 Queen Street East, Suite 206, with weekend sessions. These centres don't post their prices online. Use the official Le français des affaires centre finder to check their upcoming dates, then contact the centre to confirm the fee.

Ontario's French route

Ontario closed its French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream in June 2026. Its new Ontario Workforce Priority stream needs a job offer and, according to Ontario's 2026 program updates, gives 10 points to candidates with CLB 6 or higher in both English and French, against 5 for one language.

Toronto candidates study with us live online, in the evening after work. Our page on TEF preparation in Toronto shows the options.

Winnipeg's centre for both exams is the Alliance Française du Manitoba at 934 Corydon Ave, which charges $390 for the TEF Canada and $400 for the TCF Canada in 2026. Be careful when you register there: sending the online form doesn't reserve your seat.

1. Fill in the exam form on the centre's website.
2. Pay the fee straight away. Your seat counts only once the payment is in.
3. Watch for your confirmation, since a date runs only when enough candidates register.

Fees aren't refunded and dates can't be changed. TCF dates in Winnipeg often fill weeks ahead, so pay as soon as you've chosen your date. Manitoba learners study with us online through our Winnipeg French classes.

The safest booking plan puts a mock exam before your payment, because test centres almost never refund a fee if your plans change. You want to feel confident your French is ready before you put $390 down.

1. Choose the TEF Canada or the TCF Canada. Both count for Express Entry, so pick the format that suits you.
2. Make sure you're booking the full exam, with all four skills.
3. Sit a timed mock exam first and compare your scores with the NCLC 7 minimums.
4. Find out when booking opens: one month before each quarter in Toronto, short windows a few weeks ahead in Edmonton.
5. Register and pay the same day, and set aside two pieces of photo ID.
6. Leave up to 6 weeks for results before any deadline on your file.
7. When results arrive, type the TEF scores from the right column into your profile.

Learn French Canada prepares students across Canada for both the TEF Canada and the TCF Canada, live online, with Levels 1 to 3 also in person in Calgary. Founded in Vancouver in 2017 by Lea, the school has taught 4,500+ students and holds 350+ Google reviews at 5.0 stars.

If you already have B1 French and a test date in mind, our TEF Intermediate program for B1+ learners targets CLB 5 in 3 months and CLB 7 in 6 months, with mock exams and practice for every section. Starting from zero, plan on 12 months to CLB 7.

In our classes:

• Groups meet twice a week for 90 minutes, live, with at most 14 students, so everyone speaks in every class.
• Your teacher corrects your homework and shares it in the class WhatsApp group.
• Live classes aren't recorded, but every plan includes a year of our online platform, with a self-study lesson for any class you miss.