Mon Coach de Français
Le français de l'école à l'examen
The level required for naturalisation changed on 1 January 2026: it went from B1 to B2, and it is asked in both skills, spoken and written. It is the highest level of all the residence procedures, and it is the only point on which this site can help you: we prepare you for a language test, we do not process any application and we do not judge any decision in advance.
Not sure whether a level is required from you, or which one? The simulator starts from your situation and answers in one minute.
Loi n° 2024-42 du 26 janvier 2024 · CESEDA art. L413-7 et L433-1 à L433-3-1 · information checked on 20/08/2026 on page F11926 of Service-Public.fr.
The Service-Public page asks for both skills and does not allow one to make up for the other: excellent writing does not make up for weak speaking. This is what makes this procedure more demanding than the resident card (B1) or the first multi-year permit (A2).
The TCF IRN is the version of the TCF designed for these procedures: it is the most direct route if you have none of the diplomas above. The exact list of documents accepted for your situation is on the Service-Public page. That page is the reference, not us.
This is the most common mistake in these procedures. The exemption from age 65 exists for the residence permit, multi-year or resident card. It does not exist for naturalisation. Age alone never exempts you from a naturalisation application.
No exemption at 65. The people exempt are refugees with official status who are 70 or older, and who have lived in France for 15 years or more.
A disability or a health condition that makes the assessment impossible, shown by a medical certificate.
Not sure about your case? The simulator gives you an answer in one minute, taking this difference into account. Take the test
If you take the TCF IRN, this is what "B2" means in each of the four tests. This is your target, in all four.
The certificate also shows an "overall level reached: YES / NO" ("niveau global atteint : OUI / NON"), calculated by France Éducation international from the four tests. The rule for this calculation is not published: nobody can work it out, and we do not try to. The only safe strategy is to aim for B2 in all four tests, without counting on one making up for another.
Six weeks: the exam format, administrative vocabulary, the three writing and speaking tasks, and the interview. You start and finish with the full mock test.
Week 1
You cannot prepare for B2 without knowing where you start from. The full mock test gives you the starting point; the whole programme is read from it. At the same time, we start on the vocabulary that comes up in all procedures: the words of the documents to provide.
Week 2
Reading comprehension is the longest of the four tests (35 minutes) and one of the two that can never be recovered: the multiple-choice answers are not marked again. An administrative document reads quickly when you know its words; otherwise you reread it, and time runs out.
Week 3
In listening comprehension, each recording plays only once. And in the speaking exam, as at the counter, a question asked in a formal register ("pourriez-vous préciser...", meaning "could you specify...") blocks you more often than the vocabulary itself: you do not understand what is being asked.
Week 4
At B2, spelling is no longer what sets you apart: it is the ability to structure an opinion and keep a register. Three tasks in 30 minutes, with a required number of words. Outside the limits, the task is rated "A1 not reached", whatever your French.
Week 5
The TCF IRN speaking test takes place with no preparation at all, and reciting a learned text is rated "A1 not reached": the examiner is told to interrupt. So we practise having ideas ready to use, never learned sentences.
Week 6
The last questions of each test are the hardest: opinion articles, talks at normal speed. We work on them last, then take the full mock test again in exam-day conditions: 1 h 35, no break, no dictionary.
Your level is proved by a document; the interview, however, takes place in French, spoken, with someone who follows up on what you say. The simulator lets you live through this quarter of an hour: an officer asks questions by voice, you answer into your microphone, they pick up on your answers, and your French is corrected answer by answer.
It works on your French, never on your application: no knowledge questions, no opinion on your motivations.
This is the only vocabulary you will use twice: in the reading section, then in your letters and appointments. Every answer is explained.
Justificatif, pièce, original, copie certifiée : le vocabulaire qu'on lit sur toutes les listes de documents.
Les mots qui décrivent qui vous êtes officiellement : filiation, nom de naissance, situation matrimoniale.
Titre, récépissé, résidence habituelle, renouvellement : les mots du droit au séjour, expliqués comme du vocabulaire.
Convocation, instruction, service instructeur : comprendre qui fait quoi et ce qu'on vous demande.
Net, brut, imposable, avis d'imposition : lire une fiche de paie et un avis sans se tromper de ligne.
Le vocabulaire du logement qu'on retrouve dans tous les justificatifs de domicile.
CDI, période d'essai, ancienneté, attestation d'employeur : les mots du monde professionnel français.
Foyer, charge, autorité parentale : les mots par lesquels l'administration décrit une famille.
Assuré, remboursement, mutuelle, arrêt de travail : le vocabulaire du système de santé français.
Inscription, certificat de scolarité, conseil de classe : parler à l'école de ses enfants avec les bons mots.
RIB, virement, prélèvement, découvert : le vocabulaire bancaire qu'on retrouve dans toutes les démarches.
Déclaration, avis, foyer fiscal, exonération : le vocabulaire fiscal sans le jargon inutile.
Objet, pièces jointes, formule de politesse : écrire une lettre que l'administration lit sans effort.
Produire, notifier, statuer, s'acquitter : douze verbes qui ne veulent pas dire ce qu'ils semblent dire.
Jours ouvrés, à compter de, sous quinzaine : lire une date limite sans se tromper d'un jour.
Recevable, ajournement, rejet, recours : ce que chaque mot veut dire — sans aucune promesse sur votre dossier.
« Pourriez-vous préciser… », « depuis combien de temps… » : décoder ce qu'on vous demande vraiment, à l'oral comme à l'écrit.
CAF, CPAM, URSSAF, OFII : les abréviations qu'on lit partout et que personne ne développe jamais.
Des mots courants qui changent complètement de sens dans un courrier officiel. Les pièges les plus coûteux.
Passer du langage courant au registre attendu à l'écrit formel — l'écart que les correcteurs d'examen repèrent immédiatement.
A civic exam is now added to naturalisation, the resident card and the first multi-year permit. It is separate from the language test: the TCF IRN only tests French, never French history, culture or society.
We do not prepare for it yet. On our side, its official programme has not yet been checked against a primary source, and we will not write a training page for a programme we have not read.
The full TCF IRN mock test and two vocabulary series stay free, for everyone. The Pass opens the 20 series, the TCF IRN practice sets and the automatic correction of your writing and speaking.
Level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference, spoken and written. Both have been required since 1 January 2026; the level asked before was B1. The Service-Public page F11926 does not allow one skill to make up for the other.
Not for naturalisation. This is the most widespread mistake in these procedures: the exemption at 65 applies to the residence permit (multi-year or resident card), not to naturalisation. For naturalisation, only refugees with official status who are 70 or older and have lived in France for 15 years or more are exempt. An exemption for health reasons also exists, with a medical certificate.
The TCF or the TEF are the two recognised certifications, valid for 2 years. The TCF IRN is the version of the TCF designed for immigration and nationality procedures. If you already hold the brevet, a state diploma at level 3 or higher, an RNCP certification at level 3 or higher, or any diploma showing a level at least equal to B2, you do not necessarily need to take a test: check the exact list on the Service-Public page F11926.
A TCF or TEF certificate is valid for 2 years from the date the results are issued. After that, it can no longer be submitted and the exam must be taken again. Check the issue date shown on the certificate itself, not the date you took the exam.
No, not yet, and we prefer to say so. A civic exam has been added to the procedures since 1 January 2026, but we have not yet checked its programme against a primary official source. We will not publish training for a programme we have not read. The TCF IRN, for its part, only tests the language: no history, no culture, no society.
Nobody can give you an honest figure: it depends on your real starting point, the time you spend on it and how much French you hear every day. What we can say is what the six-week programme covers: the four tests, administrative vocabulary, and two sittings of the full mock test to measure the gap at the start and at the end. If the gap is still large after the first mock test, it is better to spread the programme out than to squeeze it.
Yes, for the language part. The interview simulator puts you in the situation: an officer asks questions by voice, you answer out loud, they follow up on your answers, and your French is corrected. It asks no knowledge questions and gives no opinion on your application: the Service-Public page F2213 describes the interview, and that page is the reference.
No. Mon Coach de Français is an independent site: it prepares you for a language test, it does not submit any application, does not register you for any exam and does not issue any official document. The conditions for access to naturalisation, apart from the French level, are covered by the Service-Public page F2213 and by the prefecture, not by us.
Yes, in two ways. The documents in the TCF IRN reading test are partly administrative messages and letters: this is exam vocabulary. And once the exam is over, these are exactly the words of your letters and your appointments. It is the only vocabulary you will use twice.
Information checked on 20/08/2026 on pages F11926 (citizenship: proving your French level) and F2213 (naturalisation by decree) of Service-Public.fr. Conditions for naturalisation other than the French level are not covered here: see those pages and your prefecture. Rules change: check the source before you apply.
Grammar rules are explained in your language when French is not enough yet.
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