CELPIP score chart: CELPIP levels, CLB and IELTS compared
By Michael Ukwuma
A plain guide to the CELPIP score chart: how CELPIP levels convert to CLB, and what each CLB level means on IELTS General Training, skill by skill.
CELPIP reports a level from 1 to 12 for each skill. For immigration, those levels convert to the Canadian Language Benchmark, or CLB, and the conversion is the simplest of any English test: CELPIP 4 to 10 equals CLB 4 to 10, skill by skill. Scores of 10, 11 and 12 all count as CLB 10.
Below is each CLB level with its IELTS General Training equivalent, written out so it reads clearly on any screen.
Check your own scores
Put your four CELPIP scores, or the scores you are aiming for, into the converter below. It shows your CLB level in each skill and the Express Entry language points they earn.
CLB levels and their IELTS General equivalents
- CLB 10 is CELPIP 10 to 12. On IELTS: Reading 8.0, Writing 7.5, Listening 8.5, Speaking 7.5.
- CLB 9 is CELPIP 9. On IELTS: Reading 7.0, Writing 7.0, Listening 8.0, Speaking 7.0.
- CLB 8 is CELPIP 8. On IELTS: Reading 6.5, Writing 6.5, Listening 7.5, Speaking 6.5.
- CLB 7 is CELPIP 7. On IELTS: 6.0 in every skill.
- CLB 6 is CELPIP 6. On IELTS: Reading 5.0, Writing 5.5, Listening 5.5, Speaking 5.5.
- CLB 5 is CELPIP 5. On IELTS: Reading 4.0, Writing 5.0, Listening 5.0, Speaking 5.0.
- CLB 4 is CELPIP 4. On IELTS: Reading 3.5, Writing 4.0, Listening 4.5, Speaking 4.0.
These equivalents come from the official IRCC language test equivalency charts.
What the levels mean in plain words
- Levels 10 to 12: advanced. You handle complex, unfamiliar topics with precision.
- Levels 8 and 9: strong. You work comfortably in English at a professional level.
- Level 7: adequate for most work and study in Canada, and the minimum for many programs.
- Levels 4 to 6: developing. Enough for daily life and for citizenship, which needs CLB 4 in Speaking and Listening.
Sources
Key points
- CELPIP levels 4 to 10 are the same as CLB levels 4 to 10.
- CELPIP 10, 11 and 12 all count as CLB 10.
- Each skill is converted on its own, so check all four.