CELPIP Score for PR: Minimum Scores for Express Entry and the CRS Points Each Level Earns

There's no single CELPIP passing score for Canadian permanent residence. Each program sets a minimum for every skill: 7 in all four for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and for Canadian Experience Class jobs in TEER 0 or 1, 5 in all four for TEER 2 or 3 jobs, and 5 in Listening and Speaking with 4 in Reading and Writing for the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Above the minimum, each level earns more Express Entry points, and 9 in all four skills brings the biggest gain. The skill furthest from your target is the one costing you points, so check where each skill stands with PrepEx's free CELPIP practice before you book.

Find my weakest skill free See the minimum scores

We checked the program minimums, result validity, CRS points and Federal Skilled Worker grid on this page against IRCC's Express Entry language test page and its Comprehensive Ranking System criteria, and CELPIP levels and averages against CELPIP's results page and 2024 data report, on 12 November 2026. This is general information, not immigration advice. IRCC changes its rules, so confirm what your program needs with IRCC before you book or apply.

Minimum CELPIP scores for PR

CELPIP levels 3 to 12 equal the same CLB number, so IRCC's CLB minimums read straight across as CELPIP levels.

Each skill has to meet the minimum on its own. Your CELPIP score report shows an average of the four skills, but Express Entry doesn't use it: Listening 9, Reading 6, Writing 8 and Speaking 9 fails the Federal Skilled Worker minimum because Reading is under 7.

The Federal Skilled Worker Program also needs at least 67 points on its selection grid, where language is one of the factors (see below). Provincial nominee programs set their own language requirements, so check with the province you're applying to.

Meeting the minimum makes you eligible. Your rank in the Express Entry pool comes from your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, and language is one of the largest parts of it.

Which CELPIP test counts, and for how long

• Take CELPIP-General. It's the only CELPIP test IRCC accepts for Express Entry. CELPIP-General LS tests only Listening and Speaking and is for citizenship.
• Results must be less than two years old when you complete your Express Entry profile and again when you submit your PR application. IRCC says applying with expired results gets the application refused.
• Go by IRCC's rule. CELPIP's own pages don't all describe validity the same way, and IRCC's two-year rule is the one that decides your application.

Check the date on your score report before you submit. If your results will pass two years before you can apply, plan a retake early: in Canada you can't take more than one CELPIP session within five calendar days, and outside Canada sessions must be at least 30 calendar days apart. Fees are in our CELPIP exam fee guide and retake planning in the CELPIP retake guide.

CRS points for each CELPIP level

In the CRS, your first official language earns points for each skill separately. For a CELPIP result, the CELPIP level is the CLB level in this table.

Two steps stand out. For a single applicant, CLB 6 to 7 adds 8 points per skill, and so does CLB 8 to 9: 23 to 31, or 32 points across all four skills. With a spouse or partner, 8 to 9 adds 7 per skill, 28 in total. Nothing is added above CLB 10, so a CELPIP 12 earns the same as a 10.

A spouse or partner's own language results can add up to 20 more points in the spouse factors. For what each CLB level means and its IELTS and PTE Core equivalents, see What is CLB?.

Find the skill that's costing you points

Express Entry checks each skill on its own, so one weak skill caps your score. In the worked example below, one 8 among three 9s is worth 32 fewer language-linked points than 9 in all four. Before you pay for CELPIP-General, find out which skill that would be. PrepEx's CELPIP practice tests are written to be as hard as the real test, and benchmarked against CELPIP's official sample tests.

• Free every day: two graded practice sessions in any skill, so you can test the one you're least sure of. Writing and Speaking get a level estimate on the four rating dimensions; Listening and Reading are marked with explanations.
• Free once: a full-length CELPIP-General practice test, unlocked after three graded sessions in at least two skills, with an overall level estimate.
• With CELPIP Pro: a level estimate for each skill on every full test, the quickest way to see which skill is still below 9, plus unlimited graded practice and a new full-length test every week.

Practice levels are estimates, not official results, but they tell you where to spend your remaining study time.

Check your skills against CLB 9 before you book. Find my weakest skill free

Why CLB 9 matters: skill transferability points

Skill transferability points reward combinations, and two of them depend on your first-language results. Each has a lower tier for CLB 7 or higher in all four skills with one or more under 9, and a higher tier for CLB 9 or higher in all four.

The education category and the foreign work category are each capped at 50, and skill transferability as a whole at 100. A trades certificate of qualification has its own language rule: 25 points with CLB 5 or higher and one or more skills under 7, and 50 with CLB 7 or higher in all four.

"One or more under 9" is the line to watch. Three 9s and an 8 keep you on the lower tier, so your weakest skill decides which column you're in.

Worked example: from 8 in every skill to 9

Take a single applicant with one post-secondary credential of one year or longer, two years of foreign work experience and no other points in those two transferability categories. Here are the points that depend on their CELPIP results.

Moving from 8s to 9s in every skill is worth 56 points for this applicant: 32 in core language points and 12 in each transferability category. Three 9s and an 8 gets only 24 of those, because the transferability points stay on the lower tier until the last skill reaches 9.

With a spouse or partner, the core gain from 8s to 9s is 28 points (88 to 116) instead of 32, and the transferability gain is the same. Your own total depends on age, education, experience and the 3 November 2026 changes below, so check your details against IRCC's CRS criteria rather than an example.

See how far each skill is from 9 before you book the real test. Take a free CELPIP practice test

Other language points: the FSW grid and French

Federal Skilled Worker selection grid

Separately from CRS, the Federal Skilled Worker Program needs at least 67 points on its selection grid. In the first official language, each skill earns 4 points at CLB 7, 5 at CLB 8 and 6 at CLB 9 or higher, up to 24. A second official language at CLB or NCLC 5 or higher in all four skills adds 4.

A second official language

If you also have French results from TEF Canada or TCF Canada, CRS gives second-language points per skill: 1 at level 5 or 6, 3 at 7 or 8, and 6 at 9 or higher, up to 24 for a single applicant and 22 with a spouse or partner. Strong French also earns additional points: 50 for NCLC 7 or higher in all four French skills with CLB 5 or higher in all four English skills, or 25 if your English is CLB 4 or lower or you have no English test.

The 3 November 2026 CRS changes

IRCC changed the Comprehensive Ranking System on 3 November 2026. The core section now includes a Labour Market Integration factor worth up to 140 points with a spouse or partner and 150 without. The core maximum is now 530 with a spouse or partner and 570 without, and official languages can make up to 150 and 160 of that.

The language points in the tables above are the ones IRCC listed when we read its criteria on 12 November 2026. For what the new factor counts and how it applies to you, go to IRCC's CRS criteria page itself rather than older summaries written before the change.

What CELPIP scores look like on average

CELPIP's 2024 data report shows how far typical results are from these targets. Nearly all CELPIP-General test takers (96.0%) took the test for IRCC purposes.

These are shares per skill. The share with 9 or higher in all four can't be more than the lowest single figure, 29.8% in Writing, and the share with 7 or higher in all four can't be more than Reading's 58.0%.

Reading is where the CLB 7 minimum is missed most: 42.0% of results were below 7. For CLB 9, Writing has the smallest share at 9 or higher, and 8 is its most common level, at 27.3% of results.

How to work toward CLB 9

1. Get a baseline in every skill. Take a timed full-length practice test and write down all four levels.
2. Turn the target into numbers. Level 9 is about 33–35 correct out of 38 in Listening and 31–33 in Reading. Writing and Speaking have no raw score; raters judge Content/Coherence, Vocabulary, Readability or Listenability, and Task Fulfillment.
3. Work on the lowest skill first. It decides your transferability tier and, for any minimum, your eligibility.
4. Retest under real timing and book when several results reach your target, not one.

You can run this loop on PrepEx. A free account gets two graded CELPIP practice sessions a day, and a full-length CELPIP-General practice test unlocks free after three graded sessions in at least two sections. Listening and Reading are marked against an answer key with explanations; Writing and Speaking get a level estimate on the same four dimensions CELPIP raters use, with feedback. Treat every practice level as an estimate. For a fuller plan, see how to work toward CLB 9, Writing from 8 to 9 and Speaking from 8 to 9. If you're comparing tests, CELPIP to IELTS conversion has the IELTS equivalents.

Once you know which skill is short, work on that one. The CELPIP Practice Hub has graded practice for every Reading and Listening part and every Writing and Speaking task, and a full practice test shows whether the gap has closed.

Practise all four skills free before you book CELPIP-General. Start the free practice test

Sources we checked

• IRCC: Language test results for Express Entry — CELPIP-General only, program minimums, two-year validity at profile and application, Federal Skilled Worker grid language points
• IRCC: Comprehensive Ranking System criteria — language points per CLB level, skill transferability, second official language and French points, core maximums and the Labour Market Integration factor
• CELPIP: Test Results — levels equal CLB, approximate raw-score ranges, the score report average
• CELPIP: Test Format & Scoring — CELPIP's own validity wording
• CELPIP: Canadian Citizenship — CELPIP-General LS covers Listening and Speaking for citizenship
• CELPIP: Policies & Forms — no more than one session within five calendar days in Canada
• CELPIP: India — sessions outside Canada at least 30 calendar days apart
• CELPIP 2024 Data Report — averages and level shares by skill, share taking CELPIP for IRCC