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CareerResearch-grade· CEFR can-do descriptors (written English only)

What Is My English Level? Free 40-Question CEFR Test

Take the free CEFR English test online: 40 questions on grammar, vocabulary, reading and everyday workplace usage. Instant A1 to C2 level, no email needed to see it. Written English only, no listening or speaking.

No signup15 min
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The basics

What is the English Proficiency Test?

This English Proficiency Test places your written English — and only your written English — on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the six-level A1 to C2 scale published by the Council of Europe and used across Europe and beyond to describe what a person can actually do in a language. Forty multiple-choice questions cover four areas: grammar and structure, vocabulary range, reading comprehension, and the functional language of everyday work — the register of an email, a handover note, a request to a colleague.

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Two of the four CEFR skills are deliberately not here. There is no listening section and no speaking section, so the result describes your reading and written English and nothing else. Someone can read and write at a high level and still find a fast phone call hard, and the reverse happens just as often. Read the band as a statement about text, and treat spoken fluency as an open question this test has not answered.

The test is a screening instrument mapped to the published CEFR can-do descriptors, not an accredited certification. It is not equivalent to, and does not substitute for, an accredited exam such as IELTS, TOEFL or the Cambridge qualifications — those cover skills this test does not touch and carry official recognition this test does not have. What it does give you, in fifteen minutes and without an appointment, is an honest working estimate of the level your written English is operating at, and a breakdown showing which of the four areas is holding it there.

Closely related on JobCannon: German Proficiency Test, Spanish Proficiency Test, Grammar Test, Verbal Reasoning Test, Aptitude Test, Psychometric Test, and Skill Level test.

What you get

What You'll Discover

Your CEFR band from A1 to C2, and what it means in plain language
What you can and cannot yet do in English at work, in writing
Your grammar and sentence-structure score
Your vocabulary range, from everyday words to precise register
Your reading comprehension on realistic workplace text
Which of the four areas is pulling your level down, and what to study next

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

6 questions

  • No. It measures written English only — grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension and everyday workplace usage. Listening and speaking are two of the four CEFR skills and neither is in this test, so your band describes what you can do with text and says nothing about how you sound on a call.

  • No. This is a screening instrument mapped to the published CEFR can-do descriptors, not an accredited certification. It is not equivalent to IELTS, TOEFL or the Cambridge exams and should not be presented as one — those are administered under exam conditions, cover all four skills, and carry recognition with universities and immigration authorities that this test does not have.

  • Every one of the 40 questions is written at a target CEFR level, and the levels are spread evenly across the test rather than stacked from easy to hard. Your total correct score is compared against cut-scores derived from that mix: to be placed at a band you have to handle the items written at that band, not simply collect easy points. The four area scores are reported alongside the band but do not change it — the band comes from the total.

  • 40 questions, about 15 minutes. There is no timer and no time pressure, so you can read each passage properly. Every question has exactly one correct answer, so unlike a personality test there is no way to answer 'as yourself' — it is a knowledge test.

  • The test ships in five parallel forms built to the same blueprint, so a retake draws a different set of 40 questions at the same difficulty mix rather than the same paper again. That said, written English moves with reading and practice, not with repeated attempts — a retake is worth taking after a few months of study, not the same afternoon.

  • That is what it is built for, within its limits. The result leads with the CEFR band and a plain-language description of what the person can do in written English at work, which is the form a hiring reader can act on. Two cautions: it evidences written English only, so it cannot stand in for a spoken interview, and it is a screening signal rather than a certificate — treat it as a filter and a conversation starter, not as proof.

Take the Free CEFR English Proficiency Test Now

Discover your English Proficiency Test profile. 40 questions, 15 min.

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For hiring teams

Screening candidates with this test?

Working English for roles where the customer, the ticket or the contract is in English.

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Explore all results in depth

Already taken the test, or just curious? Read the in-depth guide for any result — strengths, challenges, career matches, famous people, and FAQs.

Below A1 — No usable written English yet
A floor rather than a level: nothing was demonstrated, which is not the same as nothing being there
A1 — Beginner
Familiar words and simple sentences, understood one at a time
A2 — Elementary
Routine English works; anything outside the routine still does not
B1 — Intermediate
Independent in English, with a safety net where the writing goes out unreviewed
B2 — Upper intermediate
The usual bar for remote written support roles
C1 — Advanced
You can improve other people's English, which is a different skill from writing your own
C2 — Proficient
Nothing in written English is out of reach — and written English is all this test looked at

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