CELPIP Score Chart: CELPIP to CLB (2026)

CRS points stop at CLB 10: a CELPIP 11 or 12 earns the same 34 points per skill as a 10 (32 with an accompanying spouse or partner). Below CLB 4 a skill earns no first-language points at all.

Say your score report reads Listening 10, Speaking 8, Reading 9, Writing 7. For IRCC that is CLB 10, 8, 9 and 7 — four separate levels. It is not “CLB 8.5”, and it does not meet “CLB 9 in all four skills”.

Your lowest skill does most of the deciding. Program minimums are checked skill by skill, and the skill-transferability part of the CRS looks at the band your lowest skill falls in: with writing at 7, this profile sits in the CLB 7–8 band, not CLB 9+. Try your own four levels in the checker.

Listening and reading each have 38 scored questions (plus unscored questions you cannot tell apart). celpip.ca publishes example charts that show roughly how many correct answers lead to each level. Use them as an estimate, not a promise.

Each Express Entry program sets a minimum level for every skill in your first official language. These are eligibility thresholds — separate from the CRS points you score.

The per-skill points in IRCC’s Federal Skilled Worker selection grid are not CRS points — a common mix-up. Check your four levels against every program.

For IRCC, your results must be less than 2 years old on the day you create your Express Entry profile and on the day you submit your permanent residence application. When results reach 2 years, they stop counting.

Not in Express Entry. First-language points are capped at CLB 10: 34 per skill if you are single and 32 with a spouse, so 11 and 12 add nothing. Getting from CLB 9 to 10 in all four skills is worth 12 points on our example profile (429 → 441).

The bigger jump is usually lower down: reaching CLB 9 in your weakest skill can unlock skill-transferability points. See what each level is worth.

• Level 2 means limited ability in contexts related to immediate needs — CLB 1–2.
• Levels 0 and 1 mean the raters had insufficient information to assess the response.
• NA (not administered) means you did not receive that component.
• M appears only in celpip.ca’s raw-score example charts, for listening or reading scores below level 3.

None of these earn CRS points, and all sit below every Express Entry minimum. Level 3 (CLB 3) is also below the CRS table, which starts at CLB 4.

No. Express Entry needs all four skills, so IRCC accepts CELPIP-General, not CELPIP-General LS. LS tests listening and speaking only and is mainly used for citizenship. CELPIP-General vs General LS: which one you need.