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CELPIP results: when they arrive and how to read them

CELPIP results arrive in your account in 2 to 4 business days. How to check them, what the report shows, how long they last, and how re-evaluation works.

HelloCelpip Team
• 14 min read

CELPIP results are available online in your CELPIP Account 2 to 4 business days after your test date. You get an email when they are posted, and you download your Official Score Report as a PDF from your account. Hard copy reports are no longer issued. This guide covers how to check your results, what the report actually shows, how long the scores stay valid, and what to do if you believe a score is wrong.

The short version

Results: 2 to 4 business days, online only. Validity: 2 years. Re-evaluation: within 6 months of your test date, and the fee is refunded if your level changes. Everything below is from CELPIP's own results page, linked at the end.

#How do you check your CELPIP results?

Everything happens inside your CELPIP Account. There is nothing to collect and nothing arrives in the post.

Getting your score report
  1. Wait for the email
    CELPIP emails you once your scores have been posted. You do not need to keep checking, although you can.
  2. Sign in to your CELPIP Account
    Use the same account you booked the test with.
  3. Click Check Scores
    This opens your results for the test sitting.
  4. Download the PDF
    Your CELPIP Official Score Report downloads as a PDF. This is the file you send to an organisation such as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. A screenshot of the screen is not the score report.

Your scores stay viewable in your CELPIP Account for 2 years from your test date, so you can come back and download the PDF again rather than storing it somewhere fragile.

#How long do CELPIP results take?

2 to 4 business days from your test date. Business days exclude weekends and public holidays, so a Friday test can easily mean the following Wednesday or Thursday.

If it has been 3 business days or fewer, your scores are simply still being processed and there is nothing to do.

If it has been more than 5 business days and no email has arrived, CELPIP asks you to contact them directly. Its results page names three reasons a result gets held, and all of them are uncommon:

Why a result is occasionally delayed
  • Your test was flagged for additional review before the scores could be released. CELPIP may contact you for more information.
  • You reported an issue about your test within 24 hours of taking it, and the scores are held while it is investigated.
  • CELPIP needs more confirmation of your identity, or is looking into a possible testing irregularity.

None of these mean your result is bad. They mean it is not released yet.

#What is on a CELPIP score report?

Four levels, one for each skill: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. Each is a CELPIP Level from 0 to 12. There is no total, no percentage, and no pass mark, because there is nothing to pass. A programme decides what it needs; the test just reports where you are.

From level 3 upward, your CELPIP Level and your CLB level are the same number. A Reading 8 is CLB 8.

CELPIP Level CLB CEFR What CELPIP says it means
12 12 C2 Expert proficiency in high-stakes contexts
11 11 C1 Advanced proficiency in high-stakes contexts
10 10 C1 Highly effective proficiency in some high-stakes contexts
9 9 B2 Effective proficiency in some high-stakes contexts
8 8 B2 Good proficiency in more demanding contexts
7 7 B2 Adequate proficiency in somewhat demanding contexts
6 6 B1 Developing proficiency in everyday contexts
5 5 B1 Acquiring proficiency in everyday contexts
4 4 A2 Adequate proficiency for daily-life activities
3 3 A2 Some proficiency in limited contexts
2 1 to 2 A1 Limited ability in contexts tied to immediate needs
1 n/a n/a Insufficient information to assess
0 n/a n/a Insufficient information to assess
NA n/a n/a Not administered: you did not take this component

Two rows people ask about. 0 and 1 both mean "insufficient information to assess", which usually means there was too little to rate rather than that the answer was wrong. NA means that component was not taken at all.

For what each level means skill by skill, see the CELPIP Reading score chart and the CELPIP Listening score chart.

#Why is your result not a percentage?

This is the question that bothers people most when the report arrives, and the answer is genuinely reassuring once you know it.

You did not take the same test as the person beside you. For security, CELPIP runs many different test forms, and two people sitting at the same time can get different ones. Each form shares some questions with others and has some of its own, so nobody can benefit from having seen the questions in advance.

Every form is built to the same guidelines for content and difficulty, but they cannot be exactly identical, so small differences remain. Score equating is the process that corrects for them. If you answer 30 questions correctly on a slightly harder form and somebody else answers 30 on a slightly easier one, equating adjusts for the gap so the two reported results mean the same thing.

That is also why raw scores are never reported. A raw score is just a count of correct answers, and a 30 on one form is not the same achievement as a 30 on another, so the number would be misleading rather than helpful. Your raw score becomes a scaled score, and for Reading and Listening the scaled score becomes a CELPIP Level.

Where the levels themselves come from is worth knowing too. The cut-off for each level was set by standard setting: language experts and testing professionals worked out what a learner needs to be able to do at each level, analysed the test, and decided what performance a given CELPIP Level requires. The levels are a research-backed judgement about ability, not a curve.

Exam Tip
Some questions on your test did not count
CELPIP includes new, pre-test questions in every form. They look exactly like the scored ones, they do not affect your result, and you are never told which they are, precisely so that everyone tries on every question. If one felt strangely hard, it may not have counted at all. The safe habit is to treat every question as though it does.

One more number, for anyone wondering how much to trust a computer-rated result. CELPIP reports that its Reading and Listening forms have an average Cronbach's alpha of 0.88, a standard measure of internal consistency where anything at or above 0.80 is considered excellent.

#How long are CELPIP results valid?

Two years. Two different two-year clocks are worth keeping straight, because they do not start on the same day:

  • Score validity: 2 years from the date your score report is issued. This is the one that matters to an organisation receiving your results.
  • Account access: 2 years from your test date. This is how long you can log in and download the PDF again.

For Express Entry, IRCC is specific about when the results have to be valid. Your test results must be less than 2 years old both when you complete your Express Entry profile and when you submit your application for permanent residence. If you apply with expired results, IRCC says the application will be refused.

Exam Tip
Check the expiry against your plan, not against today
Sitting in the Express Entry pool with results that expire in three months is a real risk. If they will lapse before you can apply, the options are to retest, to apply before they expire, or to decline an invitation and return to the pool. Confirm the current rule on the IRCC language-test page before deciding.

#What if you think a CELPIP score is wrong?

You can ask for a re-evaluation of some or all components. The rules are worth reading before you pay, because two of them surprise people.

CELPIP re-evaluation at a glance
Deadline
Within 6 months of your test date.
How
Apply online by signing in to your CELPIP Account.
Cost
A fee at the time of application, depending on which components you choose.
If your level changes
The fee for that component is refunded.
How long
About one to two weeks after you apply and pay.
Limit
One re-evaluation per component, and requests cannot be cancelled once submitted.

The detail that should decide it for most people: CELPIP itself says that re-evaluating Listening and Reading is unlikely to change your scores, because those two are computer rated. There is no rater judgement to revisit. Writing and Speaking are rated by people, so those are where a re-evaluation has something to actually re-examine.

So if your Writing came back below what you expected and you have a specific reason to think it was misjudged, a re-evaluation is a reasonable step. If your Reading is one mark short of what you need, retaking the test is usually the better use of the money.

#CELPIP levels for Australian visas

CELPIP-General is accepted by the Australian government as well as the Canadian one, and Australia's Department of Home Affairs uses its own bands rather than CLB. CELPIP publishes the mapping:

Australia DHA level CELPIP Levels required
Superior English At least 10 Listening, 10 Reading, 12 Writing, 10 Speaking
Proficient English At least 9 Listening, 8 Reading, 10 Writing, 8 Speaking
Competent English At least 7 in every component
Vocational English At least 5 in every component

Note that these are not a flat requirement across the four skills the way the Canadian ones tend to be. Superior English asks for a 12 in Writing but a 10 in the other three.

#What to do once you have your results

Three sensible next steps
  1. Convert your levels to CLB and check them against your programme
    Your CELPIP level is your CLB level from 3 upward, so the conversion is easy, but each programme sets its own minimum in each skill.
  2. Look at your weakest skill, not your average
    Programmes almost always set a minimum for every skill separately. One low skill decides your outcome even when the other three are comfortable.
  3. Decide between retaking and re-evaluating
    If a rated skill looks wrong, re-evaluation is worth considering. If you are simply short, practice and a retake are the more reliable route.

Use the Score to CLB calculator to see how your four levels line up with the programme you are applying to. If you are retaking, the CELPIP Reading practice test and CELPIP Listening practice test guides show what each section asks for and where marks usually go.

#CELPIP results FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions
How long do CELPIP results take?
Two to four business days after your test date. Business days do not include weekends or holidays, so a test late in the week often means results the following week. You get an email when they are posted.
How do I check my CELPIP results?
Sign in to your CELPIP Account and click Check Scores. Your Official Score Report can then be downloaded as a PDF. Results are online only, and hard copy score reports have been discontinued.
How long are CELPIP results valid?
Two years from the date your score report is issued. Separately, you can view and download your results in your CELPIP Account for two years from your test date. For Express Entry, results must be less than two years old both when you complete your profile and when you submit your PR application.
Is there a pass mark on CELPIP?
No. CELPIP reports a level from 0 to 12 for each of the four skills and nothing is marked pass or fail. Whether your result is enough depends entirely on what the programme or organisation you are applying to asks for.
Can I get my CELPIP test re-evaluated?
Yes, within six months of your test date, by applying through your CELPIP Account and paying a fee. If your level changes for a re-evaluated component, that fee is refunded. There is a limit of one re-evaluation per component and requests cannot be cancelled once submitted.
Is a CELPIP re-evaluation worth it?
It depends which skill. CELPIP says re-evaluating Listening and Reading is unlikely to change your scores because they are computer rated. Writing and Speaking are rated by people, so a re-evaluation there has something to genuinely re-examine.
My CELPIP scores have not been posted. What should I do?
If it has been three business days or fewer, they are still being processed. If it has been more than five business days with no email, CELPIP asks you to contact them directly. A result can be held for additional review, because you reported an issue within 24 hours of your test, or while identity or test conditions are confirmed.
Why does CELPIP not report a percentage or a raw score?
Because there are many test forms and they cannot be exactly equal in difficulty. A raw count of correct answers would mean something different on each form, so CELPIP converts it to a scaled score through a process called score equating, which corrects for those small differences. That is what makes two people’s results comparable.
Does everyone take the same CELPIP test?
No. CELPIP uses many test forms for security, and two people testing at the same time can receive different ones. Each form has some unique questions and some shared with other forms, and score equating corrects for any small difference in difficulty between them.
Are there unscored questions on the CELPIP test?
Yes. CELPIP includes new, pre-test questions in every form to check their quality before they count. They look identical to scored questions, they do not affect your result, and you are not told which they are, so try your best on every question.
What does NA mean on a CELPIP score report?
Not administered, meaning you did not take that component. It is different from 0 or 1, which both mean there was insufficient information to assess your response.
Official sources

Confirm current timelines, re-evaluation rules, score validity, and the CELPIP Level, CLB, CEFR and Australia DHA mapping on the official CELPIP Test Results page, and confirm language requirements and validity rules for Express Entry on the IRCC language test results page. Your HelloCelpip level uses the same 0 to 12 CELPIP scale, so you can track real progress between now and test day. Your official score comes from Paragon Testing Enterprises on test day. HelloCelpip is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with CELPIP or Paragon Testing Enterprises.

Official sources:

Last updated: July 27, 2026