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Free TCF Canada practice test: training in real exam conditions
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There are two free TCF practice resources officially recognized by France Éducation international: TV5MONDE and RFI. They are excellent, and enough for the listening and reading tests. What they don’t cover — writing and speaking, and a full timed simulation — is exactly what costs the most points on exam day. And both follow the TCF tout public format, not the TCF Canada one.
- No official past papers exist: TCF topics are strictly confidential.
- TV5MONDE: 17 practice sets, 680 questions, written by the designers of the official tests.
- RFI: 12 listening sessions of 16 questions, signed by France Éducation international.
- FEI’s official sample page has only 14 questions and no audio.
- In the exam, each recording is played only once.
- The score is not a simple proportion of correct answers: a scoring scale weights each question by its difficulty.
- A real TCF Canada mock exam: all four tests, 2 hours 47 minutes, in one sitting, against the clock.
Contents
- Why there are no official past papers
- The two free official resources
- What FEI’s website really offers
- The exact format of your version
- Understanding the score out of 699
- Turning these resources into a real mock exam
- What free resources don’t cover
- What a real mock exam must respect
- How the app’s mock exams work
- Frequently asked questions
Why there are no official past papers
Let’s start by clearing away a costly illusion. TCF topics are strictly confidential, and any reproduction or distribution, partial or total — question, image or sound — is prohibited. So there are no official published past papers, and there won’t be.
Any site that claims to sell you “the real topics from the exam” or “this month’s predictions” is distributing either counterfeits or documents obtained illegally. For a candidate whose immigration or citizenship application is at stake, it is a completely unnecessary risk.
The good news: the TCF is a standardized, calibrated, ISO 9001-certified test. Every question is pretested, analyzed psychometrically, then calibrated. So you don’t need the real topics — you need to master the format, and that is available for free.
The two free official resources
France Éducation international cites two, and only two, across all its TCF pages.
TV5MONDE — the most complete practice
It is the most solid resource, by far. It offers 17 practice sets, or 680 questions, covering listening, language structures and reading.
Its decisive argument: the questions are “written by the designers of the official tests and validated by the TCF office of France Éducation international”. You aren’t practising on imitations, but on material produced by the same people as the exam. About 200,000 candidates a year prepare for it.
TV5MONDE also offers a free timed simulator — a 90-minute test that, in its own words, “brings together the same conditions as an official session”. And downloadable PDF practice booklets, with the 680 questions, their answers and their audio.
→ apprendre.tv5monde.com/fr/tcf
RFI — listening, in the exact format
Le français facile avec RFI offers 12 practice sessions for the listening test, signed “France Éducation international”, of 16 questions each, from A2 to B2.
Two strengths that TV5MONDE doesn’t have. First, RFI explicitly states the single-listening rule — “in real exam conditions, you will hear the document and the question only once” — and provides the transcripts so you can work on them afterwards. Second, a self-assessment scale for its 16 questions:
| Score out of 16 | Estimated level |
|---|---|
| from 2 | A2 |
| from 6 | B1 |
| from 10 | B2 |
| from 14 | C1 |
| 16 | C1 and above |
Two practical warnings about RFI. The exercises rely on a technology (H5P) that doesn’t display if you refuse audience-measurement and advertising cookies — if the page looks empty, that is why. Also, the URL printed in the official candidate handbook doesn’t lead directly to the practice exercises; go through the site’s search.
What FEI’s website really offers
Many candidates look for a mock exam on the official TCF website. Let’s be clear, to spare you the disappointment: the « Exemples d'épreuves du TCF » page contains only 14 questions in total — 7 in listening, 3 in language structures, 4 in reading.
Above all, it has no audio files: the seven listening examples are given as written transcripts (« Vous entendez : … »). For the test where candidates struggle most, that is obviously not enough.
On the other hand, FEI publishes two free documents that are genuinely useful: the « Grilles de niveaux du TCF » (level grids) and a sample results certificate for each version (TCF Canada, TCF IRN, TCF Québec, TCF tout public). Knowing what your future certificate looks like avoids a lot of unpleasant surprises.
As for Le Point du FLE, often cited: its TCF section hosts no content of its own — it consists only of outbound links to the same two official resources.
The exact format of your version
A classic mistake: practising on the TCF tout public format when you are taking the TCF Canada. The tests have neither the same number of questions nor the same duration.
| Test | TCF tout public | TCF Canada | TCF Québec | TCF IRN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | 29 MCQs · 25 min | 39 MCQs · 35 min | 29 MCQs · 25 min | 25 MCQs · 20 min |
| Language structures | 18 MCQs · 15 min | — | — | — |
| Reading | 29 MCQs · 45 min | 39 MCQs · 60 min | 29 MCQs · 45 min | 25 MCQs · 35 min |
| Writing | 3 tasks · 60 min | 3 tasks · 60 min | 3 tasks · 60 min | 3 tasks · 30 min |
| Speaking | 3 tasks · 12 min | 3 tasks · 12 min | 3 tasks · 12 min | 3 tasks · 10 min |
The TCF Canada requires all four tests; the TCF Québec is modular (you choose 1, 2, 3 or 4 tests); the TCF IRN was shortened when it changed on 12 May 2025 and has no preparation time in the speaking test, whereas the other versions allow 2 minutes for the second task.
A detail worth knowing if you take the test on a computer: the multiple-choice part then has 91 items instead of 76 in the TCF tout public. The 15 extra items (5 per skill) don’t count towards your score — they are used for FEI’s validity analyses. Don’t panic when you see the test run longer.
Understanding the score out of 699
| CEFR level | Score /699 (listening, reading) | Score /20 (writing, speaking) |
|---|---|---|
| A1 not reached | 0–99 | — |
| A1 | 100–199 | 1 |
| A2 | 200–299 | 2–5 |
| B1 | 300–399 | 6–9 |
| B2 | 400–499 | 10–13 |
| C1 | 500–599 | 14–17 |
| C2 | 600–699 | 18–20 |
Three things to remember. First, the TCF has no “pass” mark: the lowest result is “A1 not reached”, so you can’t “fail” the TCF in the strict sense — you get a level.
Second, the score is not the number of correct answers. A scoring scale takes the difficulty of each question into account and turns your total into a calibrated score. So you can’t predict your score by counting your points on a practice test.
Finally, gaps between skills are normal and officially expected. FEI also acknowledges variability between sessions: a candidate on the borderline of a level can get 304 points one time and 295 the next. If you are aiming for a precise threshold — for example CLB 7 (NCLC 7 in French) for Express Entry — always leave a margin.
Turning these resources into a real mock exam
Doing random multiple-choice questions doesn’t prepare you for the TCF. Here is how to turn the free material into a useful simulation.
- One listening, no exceptions. This is the format rule that costs the most points. If you practise by replaying, you are preparing for an exam that doesn’t exist. Play the audio once, answer, move on.
- Time yourself to YOUR version’s format, not the simulator’s. The TV5MONDE simulator lasts 90 minutes; the three compulsory tests of the TCF tout public take 85 (25 + 15 + 45).
- Do the tests back to back, without a break, in the real order. The fatigue of the reading test after 35 minutes of listening is part of the exam.
- Write by hand if you are taking the paper-based test. An illegible paper is marked “A1 not reached”, whatever its content.
- Count your words. Not respecting the required word count on a single task is enough to drop the whole writing test to “A1 not reached”.
- Use the RFI transcripts afterwards, never during. That is where you understand why you missed a question.
Five things get a writing paper marked “A1 not reached”, regardless of your real level: illegible handwriting on the paper-based test, not respecting the word count on a task, an off-topic answer, a task not done, and a blank paper. Note too that your draft is never marked — only what is in the answer booklet counts.
What free resources don’t cover
Let’s be honest: the free official resources are good, and you should use them. But they stop where the exam becomes decisive.
- No correction of writing or speaking. Yet these are the two tests scored out of 20, where a single point moves you from one CLB level to the next. Nobody will tell you for free whether your work is worth 9 or 11.
- No full simulation of the four tests. The TV5MONDE simulator only covers the three compulsory tests of the TCF tout public.
- Limited volume. 680 TV5MONDE questions and 12 RFI sessions is substantial — but you get through them in a few weeks of serious preparation.
- No practice in the Canada, Québec or IRN format specifically. The sets follow the TCF tout public format.
For the full specification of a reliable simulation — official durations, scoring, test-taking protocol — see the next section; and for the blind spot of free resources, writing and speaking, see how the app’s AI correction works.
What a real mock exam must respect
A mock exam is the only reliable way to know, before you pay, whether you are ready — provided it really follows the official format. Four criteria, in order of importance:
- The official durations and instructions, test by test, in the 2025–2026 formats. A mock exam built on an old format trains you for an exam that no longer exists.
- The official scoring: for the TCF, the 699 scale with a CEFR level for each test. For the TCF Canada, that means all four tests, 2 hours 47 minutes in total, scored out of 699 in listening and reading and out of 20 in writing and speaking, then converted to CLB.
- Original topics. Practising on “leaked” topics is the best way to overestimate your level — and a real risk for an immigration application.
- A real correction of writing and speaking, not just self-marking multiple-choice questions. It is the criterion most often missing, and the most decisive.
A badly taken mock exam gives a reassuring, false result. Five rules are enough to keep it honest:
- In one sitting. On exam day, the listening, reading and writing tests run back to back. The fatigue of the third hour is part of what you are testing.
- A visible timer — and stick to it. When the time for a test is up, you stop, even mid-sentence. That is exactly what will happen.
- One listening when the format requires it. In the TCF, as in the TEF, listening recordings are not replayed and you can’t go back. Replaying “just once” invalidates the measure.
- No outside tools. No dictionary, spellchecker or translator. You won’t have any on exam day.
- Speaking too. It is the test everyone skips when practising alone, and often the one that caps the result. Record yourself, respect the planned preparation time, and speak out loud even without anyone to talk to.
As for pace: one full mock exam before any revision — it is your diagnostic — then about one a week while you prepare, with targeted exercises on your weakest test in between, and two or three full ones in the last ten days.
How the app’s mock exams work
What the mock exams in the “TCF DELF TEF: Tests 2026” app offer:
- 15 exam variants in the exact official format, the TCF Canada among them, with a real timer.
- Scoring on the official scales, with an immediate CLB and CEFR conversion for each test.
- AI correction of writing and speaking against the official criteria. In speaking, you talk, and the app transcribes and scores — pronunciation and fluency included.
- Hundreds of exercises in the exact TCF Canada format: listening with the audio played once, reading with free navigation as on exam day, and a detailed explanation after each answer.
- Original topics, designed in the official format. No account needed.
Is it free? Most of the app can be used for free every day. Access to all the mock exams and to unlimited AI assessments is part of the Premium subscription.
What free resources don’t do: correct your writing and speaking
Timed mock exams in the exact format of each version, AI correction of writing and speaking against the official criteria, an immediate CLB and CEFR conversion for each test — in the “TCF DELF TEF: Tests 2026” app.
Download on the App StoreFrequently asked questions
Are there official TCF Canada past papers?
No. TCF topics are strictly confidential and any reproduction is prohibited, so there are no official published past papers. Any site that claims to sell “real topics from the exam” is distributing either counterfeits or documents obtained illegally — a real risk for an immigration or citizenship application.
Is there a free TCF Canada practice test?
Not in the TCF Canada format specifically. France Éducation international cites two free resources, and only two, on all its TCF pages: listening practice on Le français facile avec RFI, and practice for the compulsory tests on TV5MONDE’s learning site, whose questions are written by the designers of the official tests and validated by the TCF office. Both follow the TCF tout public format, and neither corrects writing or speaking.
Where can I find official TCF sample questions?
On FEI’s « Exemples d'épreuves du TCF » page — but it has only 14 questions in total (7 in listening, 3 in language structures, 4 in reading) and no audio: the listening examples are written transcripts. TV5MONDE offers 680 questions in 17 sets, and RFI 12 listening sessions of 16 questions.
Does TV5MONDE’s free simulator replace a real mock exam?
It comes close to the conditions: it is a 90-minute timed test that recreates the conditions of an official session, for the three compulsory tests of the TCF tout public. But it covers neither writing nor speaking, and its length differs slightly from the real 85 minutes. It is an excellent starting point, not a full simulation.
Can I calculate my TCF score myself after a practice test?
Not exactly. The TCF score isn’t a simple proportion of your correct answers: a scoring scale weights each question by its difficulty and turns the total into a calibrated score from 100 to 699. You can estimate a trend, not predict a score. RFI does, however, provide a useful self-assessment scale for its 16-question sets.
Why does my TCF score vary from one session to the next?
It is officially acknowledged. France Éducation international explains that a candidate on the borderline of a level can get 304 points in one session and 295 in the next — and so change level without any change in ability. The practical conclusion: never aim for the exact threshold of the level you need; leave a margin.
How many times can I listen to a recording in the exam?
Once. It is the rule that costs the most points for anyone who practised with exercises they could replay at will. Each recording is played only once, and the question is asked after listening. Make sure you practise under this condition.
Is the TCF Canada practice test in the app free?
Most of the app can be used for free every day. Access to all the mock exams and to unlimited AI assessments is part of the Premium subscription.
Related pages
- TCF Canada practice app and software
No official software to download: what really exists.
- TCF Canada listening practice
Four sample exercises with audio, played once, and the answers explained.
- TCF Canada reading practice
39 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, with answers explained.
- TCF Canada speaking: the 3 tasks
The test free resources don’t correct, in only 12 minutes.
Formats change. This article is up to date as of 27 July 2026 and describes the official formats in force on that date — the TCF IRN, for example, changed on 12 May 2025. The sections on what a mock exam must respect and on the app’s mock exams are up to date as of 7 August 2026. Always check the format and durations of your version on france-education-international.fr before your session, and with your test centre for the delivery mode (paper-based or computer-based).