IELTS to CLB Calculator — Canada Express Entry Language Score

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) does not read raw test scores — it converts every accepted test into the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) scale, then awards Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points by CLB level. This tool reproduces IRCC's own equivalency charts as deterministic lookup tables: no averaging, no interpolation, no opinion.

1. Score → CLB, per ability. For the test you took, each ability score is checked against the minimum needed for each CLB level from 4 to 10. You are awarded the highest CLB whose threshold you meet. On IELTS General Training, CLB 9 needs Reading 7.0, Writing 7.0, Speaking 7.0 — but Listening 8.0. That single higher Listening bar is the most common reason applicants land a CLB below what they expected.
2. Overall CLB = the lowest of the four.IRCC eligibility and most provincial streams are written as “CLB X in each ability”, so the binding value is your weakest skill, not an average. If Listening is CLB 8 and everything else is CLB 10, your overall CLB is 8.
3. CLB → CRS first-language points. The CRS grid assigns points per ability by CLB: for an applicant without a spouse, CLB 7 is worth 17 points per ability, CLB 8 is 23, CLB 9 is 31 and CLB 10 is 34. With a spouse the column is slightly lower (16, 22, 29, 32). The four abilities are summed — a maximum of 136 without a spouse or 128 with one.

CELPIP-General is the simplest map: a level equals the same CLB directly (levels 11 and 12 both count as CLB 10). PTE Core, added by IRCC in 2024, uses score bands — for example Listening 60–70 is CLB 7 and 82–88 is CLB 9. To keep the tool honest, each ability lookup is computed twice in code, once by a descending-threshold scan and once by explicit score ranges; the page only ships values where both methods agree. The result is the language sub-score only — pair it with the Canada Express Entry CRS Calculator for your full score, and see the English Test Score Converter if you need academic-test or CEFR equivalents instead.

• IRCC — Express Entry: Language test results (CLB equivalency charts)
• IRCC — Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) criteria grid

The IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General and PTE Core thresholds and the CRS point values were last cross-checked against the IRCC sources on 2026-07-16. French tests (TEF Canada and TCF Canada) are not yet covered: IRCC rescaled TEF Canada for tests taken on or after 10 December 2023 and secondary references disagree on the current ranges, so we are holding them back rather than publish numbers we cannot verify against the official page. This page reviews after any IRCC chart or CRS grid update.