How Is CELPIP Scored? Levels 0–12, Raw Scores, Raters and What Counts as a Pass

CELPIP gives you a separate level from 0 to 12 in each skill, and levels 3 to 12 equal the same CLB number. Listening and Reading are scored by computer from your correct answers out of 38; Writing and Speaking are rated by trained human raters on four dimensions. There's no pass or fail: whoever receives your scores sets the minimum for each skill. PrepEx scores CELPIP practice the same way, so you can see a likely level before test day.

Get a free practice level See what each level means

We checked the levels, score ranges, rating process and 2024 averages on this page against CELPIP's test results page, its level descriptors, its 2024 test data report and its official podcast, and the program minimums against IRCC and Australia's Department of Home Affairs, on 12 November 2026. CELPIP can change how it reports scores, so check its results page if your report looks different.

CELPIP levels, CLB and CEFR

Each of the four skills gets its own level, as a whole number. CELPIP doesn't use bands or half bands the way IELTS does, so a "CELPIP band score" is simply this level.

For levels 3 to 12, the CELPIP level and the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) are the same number: CELPIP 8 in Writing is CLB 8 in Writing. Level 2 covers CLB 1 and 2. Levels 1 and 0 mean there wasn't enough of your performance to assess, and NA means you didn't take that section.

CLB 7 to 9 all sit at B2 on the CEFR, so CEFR is too broad to tell you much for Canadian immigration. Work in CELPIP levels or CLB.

Is there a passing score for CELPIP?

No. CELPIP doesn't pass or fail anyone. "Passing" means reaching the minimum set by whoever receives your scores, skill by skill. For Canada and Australia those minimums are:

Those are floors. For Express Entry, higher levels earn more Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points: a single applicant gets 17 points per skill at CLB 7, 23 at CLB 8, 31 at CLB 9 and 34 at CLB 10 or above. Provincial programs, employers and licensing bodies set their own rules. Our CELPIP score for PR guide covers Express Entry targets, and the CELPIP for citizenship guide covers level 4.

How Listening and Reading are scored

Both sections are multiple choice and scored by computer, with 38 questions that count in each. Your correct answers are your raw score, and CELPIP converts that to a level, allowing for the difficulty of the test form you got.

• Wrong answers cost nothing. CELPIP doesn't deduct points, so a blank and a wrong guess both score zero. Answer every question.
• The conversion is approximate. CELPIP's ranges overlap because test forms differ slightly in difficulty, so the same raw score can be one level on one form and the next level on another.
• Some questions don't count. Both sections can include unscored questions used for test development. They look like the scored ones and can appear anywhere, which is why your test may seem to have more than 38.

Listening needs more correct answers than Reading for the same level. Some key points on CELPIP's approximate chart:

The chart doesn't separate levels 10, 11 and 12. To look up any score from 0 to 38, use our CELPIP score chart, or the Listening and Reading score calculators, which show every level a raw score can fall on.

How Writing and Speaking are rated

There's no answer key for Writing or Speaking. Trained raters read your two Writing responses and listen to your eight Speaking recordings. Each Writing performance is rated by four to six raters and each Speaking performance by three to five, working independently. Tests are assigned to raters at random, raters can't see each other's ratings, and a senior benchmark rater steps in when they disagree.

Raters score four dimensions. Each dimension is rated on five performance levels, and those ratings are converted to your CELPIP level.

What that means in practice:

• Raters can't see your other scores or your target. A former CELPIP rater said on CELPIP's official podcast that raters don't know what score you need and aren't encouraged to mark low.
• They judge the whole response, not an error count. There's no set number of mistakes you're allowed. Grammar and spelling sit inside Readability, one dimension of four.
• Word count is part of Task Fulfillment. Both Writing tasks ask for 150–200 words. CELPIP says there's a little room either side, but going far over or under can lower your score even when the writing is good.
• Memorised sentences get noticed. The same former rater said raters recognise general sentences that could fit any prompt, and CELPIP counts memorizing test answers as cheating. Use a planning pattern, then build each sentence from the task in front of you.
• Only what's recorded counts. A Speaking recording stops when the timer runs out, so put your main point first. Stopping far too early gives raters less language to assess.

An accent doesn't cost marks in itself. Listenability asks whether you're easy to follow: steady rhythm, clear pronunciation and few long pauses or restarts.

And no, CELPIP isn't marked by AI, according to CELPIP's own description. Its published process has human raters for Writing and Speaking and computer scoring only for the multiple-choice Listening and Reading questions. Instant AI feedback belongs to practice tools.

See how your own email or Speaking answer does on the four dimensions. Get a free level estimate

How PrepEx estimates a practice level

You can't work out a Writing or Speaking level by counting, so any practice tool has to estimate it. PrepEx rates each practice email, survey response and Speaking recording on the same four dimensions CELPIP raters use, gives a level estimate and shows which dimension is holding you back. Listening and Reading are marked against an answer key, with an explanation for each question.

A free account gets two graded CELPIP practice sessions a day, and one full-length CELPIP-General practice test unlocks free after three graded sessions in at least two sections. CELPIP Pro adds a level estimate for each skill on every full test, unlimited graded practice and a new full-length test every week.

Treat any practice level, on PrepEx or elsewhere, as an estimate. Look at several attempts rather than one, and note which dimension or question type keeps costing you. For worked examples at different levels, see our Writing samples and Speaking samples with audio, and for the test itself, the CELPIP test format guide.

PrepEx's CELPIP practice tests are written to be as hard as the real test, and benchmarked against CELPIP's official sample tests. You can also try a single task without an account: a Writing Task 1 email or a Speaking task gets one free AI grade a day, with a practice level estimate and the dimension to fix first.

See how the four dimensions rate your own work. Get a free practice level

The overall score on your report

Your score report shows a level for each skill and an average of the four. Canadian immigration doesn't use that average. IRCC checks each skill against the requirement on its own and counts Express Entry points skill by skill.

Take Listening 9, Reading 8, Writing 9 and Speaking 10. That averages 9, but for any CLB 9 requirement it's a Reading 8, and the Reading score decides it. Australia's Functional English is the exception: Home Affairs asks for an overall CELPIP General score of at least 5 there. For its other levels it checks each skill, like IRCC. Our CELPIP to CLB calculator keeps the four skills separate.

What a typical CELPIP score looks like

CELPIP publishes a yearly data report. These are the 2024 results for CELPIP-General:

So the typical test taker sits around 7 or 8. Reading has the lowest average and the smallest share at 7 or above. Writing has the most people at 7 or above but the fewest at 9 or above, and 8 is the single most common level in both Writing (27.3%) and Speaking (22.5%).

Being a native speaker doesn't guarantee a high score everywhere. Test takers whose first language is English averaged 9.33 in Speaking but 7.79 in Reading.

A good score is one that meets your target in every skill. For Express Entry, the usual aim is 9 in each, because CLB 9 also earns the maximum Federal Skilled Worker language points and can add skill transferability points. Our guide on how to work toward CLB 9 breaks that down by skill.

If a score looks wrong

You can ask CELPIP to re-evaluate any section within six months of your test date. It takes about one to two weeks, each section can be re-evaluated once, requests can't be cancelled, and the fee comes back if a Writing or Speaking level goes up. CELPIP staff said on its official podcast that scores are not lowered on re-evaluation.

It makes most sense for Writing or Speaking when you're one level short and everything else meets your target. CELPIP says computer-scored Listening and Reading results are unlikely to change. For a gap of two levels or more, better answers on a retake are the realistic route. Our CELPIP re-evaluation guide walks through the decision.

Get a practice level before you book the real test. Start the free practice test

Sources we checked

• CELPIP: Test Results — level table with CLB and CEFR, approximate raw-score charts, raters per skill, rating dimensions, re-evaluation rules
• CELPIP: Speaking and Writing score comparison chart — rating dimensions and performance levels
• CELPIP Level Descriptors (May 2026) — what each level describes
• CELPIP 2024 Data Report — computer scoring with no deductions, 2024 averages and level shares, first-language-English averages
• CELPIP: CELPIP-General — unscored items in Listening and Reading
• Official CELPIP Podcast #11: Interview with a CELPIP Rater — raters can't see other scores or targets, no set error count, memorised sentences, word count
• Official CELPIP Podcast #2: Busting CELPIP Myths — re-evaluation doesn't lower scores
• CELPIP blog: Study strategies, Writing — word-count room and penalty
• CELPIP: Test Day Information — memorizing test answers counts as cheating
• CELPIP: Policies and Forms — one re-evaluation per section, final sale, refund when a level rises
• IRCC: Language test results for Express Entry — program minimums, each skill checked separately
• IRCC: Comprehensive Ranking System criteria — CRS language points per CLB level
• IRCC: Citizenship language proof, step 5 — CELPIP 4 in Listening and Speaking
• IRCC: PGWP eligibility — CLB 7 for university and CLB 5 for college graduates
• Home Affairs: English language — CELPIP General minimums, including the overall score for Functional English