CELPIP to IELTS Conversion: CELPIP 7, 8, 9 and 10 in IELTS, Skill by Skill, and IELTS Back to CELPIP

There's no official CELPIP-to-IELTS score converter. The only official link between the two tests is IRCC's Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) tables, which put CELPIP-General and IELTS General Training on one scale for Canadian immigration, one skill at a time. Read that way, CELPIP 9 equals IELTS 8.0 in Listening and 7.0 in Reading, Writing and Speaking, and CELPIP 7 equals IELTS 6.0 in every skill. If you haven't taken either test yet, a free PrepEx CELPIP practice test gives you a level estimate to read across these charts.

Get my CELPIP level free Jump to the conversion chart

We checked every score in the charts on this page against IRCC's Express Entry language test page and CELPIP's results page, and the other rules against IRCC's Comprehensive Ranking System criteria and the Australian Department of Home Affairs English language pages, on 12 November 2026. These equivalents are IRCC's and apply to Canadian immigration only. Confirm your own requirement with IRCC or the program you're applying to.

How CELPIP to IELTS conversion works

The two tests use different scales. CELPIP gives each skill a level from 0 to 12. IELTS gives each skill a band from 0 to 9 in half bands. Neither was designed to translate into the other.

What connects them is CLB. IRCC publishes a table for each approved test with the score needed for each CLB level, skill by skill. CELPIP is the easy side, because levels 3 to 12 equal CLB 3 to 12: a CELPIP 8 is CLB 8. IELTS General Training has its own minimum for each CLB level, and Listening has different numbers from the other three skills.

So the conversion always runs CELPIP level, then CLB, then IELTS band, for one skill at a time. A converter that turns one CELPIP number into one overall IELTS band hides the place where the tests differ most, which is Listening.

CELPIP to IELTS conversion chart

Find your CELPIP level in each skill, then read across to the IELTS General Training band for the same skill.

The IELTS figures are the lowest band that reaches each level. Three patterns are worth knowing:

• Listening asks for more on IELTS. From CLB 8 up, IELTS Listening needs a higher band than the other skills: 7.5 for CLB 8, 8.0 for CLB 9 and 8.5 for CLB 10.
• Reading asks for less at the lower levels. IELTS Reading 4.0 is CLB 5 and 5.0 is CLB 6, below the other skills at those levels.
• The table stops at CLB 10. IRCC gives no separate IELTS lines for CLB 11 or 12, so CELPIP 10, 11 and 12 all match the same IELTS bands. Express Entry points stop rising at CLB 10 as well.

For the same levels with PTE Core and what each CLB level is used for, see What is CLB?. For the CELPIP correct-answer ranges behind each level, see the CELPIP score chart.

IELTS to CELPIP conversion chart

Going the other way, an IELTS band counts at the highest CLB level whose minimum it meets. IELTS Listening 7.0 is above the CLB 7 minimum (6.0) but below CLB 8 (7.5), so it counts as CLB 7, which is CELPIP 7.

"10+" is IRCC's top line, CLB 10 and above. It doesn't mean IELTS 9.0 equals CELPIP 12, because IRCC doesn't separate those levels. "Below 4" means the band is under IRCC's CLB 4 minimum for that skill, where its tables start.

IELTS Listening 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0 all land on CLB 7, so a half-band gain in Listening below 7.5 changes nothing for Express Entry.

Know your CELPIP level before you convert it

A conversion is only as useful as the score you start from. If you have an IELTS result, the chart above shows the CELPIP level to aim for in each skill. If you don't have a CELPIP result yet, check with practice first. 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. Listening and Reading come with an explanation for every answer; Writing and Speaking get a level estimate on the four rating dimensions.
• Free once: a full-length CELPIP-General practice test, unlocked after three graded sessions in at least two skills, with an overall level estimate you can read across the chart.
• With CELPIP Pro: a level estimate for each skill on every full test, which is what you need to compare skill by skill with IELTS, plus unlimited graded practice and a new full-length test every week.

Practice levels are estimates, not official results.

Find your CELPIP level, then read it across the chart. Get my CELPIP level free

Worked examples

CELPIP 9 in every skill

That's CLB 9 across the board. In IELTS General Training it equals Listening 8.0, Reading 7.0, Writing 7.0 and Speaking 7.0. Written in that order, it's the 8777 you see quoted for CLB 9.

IELTS 7.0 in every skill

This is where the scales part ways. Reading, Writing and Speaking at 7.0 are CLB 9, but Listening at 7.0 is CLB 7, because CLB 8 needs 7.5. The CELPIP equivalent is Listening 7, Reading 9, Writing 9 and Speaking 9.

For any CLB 9 requirement this result counts as CLB 7. In Express Entry a single applicant gets 17 core points for that Listening score instead of 31, so the four skills total 110 rather than 124. One more band in IELTS Listening is worth 14 points, and it also moves skill transferability points to the higher tier, which needs CLB 9 in all four skills.

What is 8777 in CELPIP?

IELTS Listening 8.0 with 7.0 in Reading, Writing and Speaking is CLB 9 in every skill, so the CELPIP equivalent is 9 in all four. It's the lowest IELTS result that reaches CLB 9 everywhere.

A mixed CELPIP result

CELPIP Listening 10, Reading 8, Writing 9 and Speaking 7 converts to IELTS Listening 8.5, Reading 6.5, Writing 7.0 and Speaking 6.0. For Express Entry that's CLB 10, 8, 9 and 7, and every minimum and every point is read from those four numbers, not from an average.

CELPIP 7 is not IELTS 7

CELPIP 7 is CLB 7, which is IELTS 6.0 in each skill. IELTS 7.0 in Reading, Writing or Speaking is CLB 9, the same as CELPIP 9. The numbers look alike and mean different things.

Find out your CELPIP level before you compare the two tests. Take a free CELPIP practice test

Why this conversion only works for Canadian immigration

IRCC's tables are built for Canadian immigration decisions, and other bodies aren't bound by them.

• IELTS General Training only. Express Entry accepts IELTS General Training, not IELTS Academic, so the table says nothing about Academic bands. IELTS One Skill Retake isn't accepted for Express Entry either. Our IELTS Academic vs General Training guide explains the difference.
• CELPIP-General only. Express Entry needs CELPIP-General. CELPIP-General LS tests only Listening and Speaking and is used for citizenship.
• Australia sets its own CELPIP levels. The Department of Home Affairs accepts CELPIP General taken at a test centre on or after 7 August 2025, with its own minimums: 7 in each skill for Competent English; Listening 9, Reading 8, Writing 10 and Speaking 8 for Proficient; and Listening 10, Reading 10, Writing 12 and Speaking 10 for Superior. Those aren't read off IRCC's table.
• Schools and employers set their own rules. If a college or licensing body asks for an IELTS band, ask it whether it accepts CELPIP and at what level, rather than sending it a converted score.

Using the chart to plan your next test

If you already have IELTS results, convert each skill with the reverse chart and compare it with your target CLB. If only Listening is short, as in the 7.0 example, CELPIP Listening at level 9 means about 33–35 correct answers out of 38. Whether that's easier for you than one more band in IELTS Listening is something a timed practice test will tell you better than any chart.

IRCC gives the same points for the same CLB level whichever test it came from, so switching only helps if the format suits you better. Our CELPIP vs IELTS comparison covers those format differences, and CELPIP scores for PR shows what each level is worth in Express Entry.

To find your CELPIP level, a free PrepEx 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, and Writing and Speaking get a level estimate on the same four dimensions CELPIP raters use. To check a full set of scores, use the CELPIP to CLB calculator or the IELTS to CLB calculator. If you're staying with IELTS, there's IELTS practice on PrepEx too.

The surest way to choose is to try both formats. PrepEx has free practice for each: a free CELPIP practice test and IELTS practice.

See what your CELPIP practice results convert to in IELTS. Start the free practice test

Sources we checked

• IRCC: Language test results for Express Entry — CLB tables for CELPIP-General and IELTS General Training; IELTS General Training only, no One Skill Retake; CELPIP-General only
• IRCC: Comprehensive Ranking System criteria — core points per skill at CLB 7 and 9; skill transferability needs CLB 9 in all four for the higher tier
• CELPIP: Test Results — levels 3 to 12 equal CLB 3 to 12; Listening raw-score range for level 9
• CELPIP: Canadian Citizenship — CELPIP-General LS covers Listening and Speaking for citizenship
• Home Affairs: English language — CELPIP General at a test centre on or after 7 August 2025
• Home Affairs: Competent English — CELPIP General 7 in each skill
• Home Affairs: Proficient English — CELPIP General Listening 9, Reading 8, Writing 10, Speaking 8
• Home Affairs: Superior English — CELPIP General Listening 10, Reading 10, Writing 12, Speaking 10