The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is the points system IRCC uses to rank every profile in the Express Entry pool. Your CRS score doesn't decide whether you are eligible (each program has its own rules), but it decides how high you rank when IRCC holds a round of invitations. The rules below are those in force since 25 March 2025; no CRS point value changed in 2026 as of 10 October 2026.
Estimate your score with our CRS calculator, and confirm it with IRCC's own CRS tool.
The four parts of the score
| Part | Maximum points |
|---|---|
| A. Core human capital | 500 (460 with an accompanying spouse or partner) |
| B. Spouse or common-law partner factors | 40 |
| C. Skill transferability | 100 |
| D. Additional points | 600 |
| Total | 1,200 |
With or without a spouse? You are scored "with spouse" only if you are married or in a common-law relationship and your spouse or partner is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and they will come with you to Canada. In every other case you are scored as single.
A. Core human capital
| Factor | Without spouse | With spouse |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 110 | 100 |
| Level of education | 150 | 140 |
| First official language | 136 | 128 |
| Second official language | 24 | 22 |
| Canadian work experience | 80 | 70 |
Age. The maximum goes to ages 20 to 29. Points then fall each year and reach 0 at age 45. Your age is updated on your birthday while you are in the pool; after an invitation, your age on the date of the invitation is used.
Education. Points range from 30 (secondary diploma) to 150 (doctorate) without a spouse. Foreign credentials count only with an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) less than 5 years old.
First official language (points per ability, for each of listening, reading, writing and speaking):
| CLB/NCLC level | Without spouse | With spouse |
|---|---|---|
| 4 or 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | 9 | 8 |
| 7 | 17 | 16 |
| 8 | 23 | 22 |
| 9 | 31 | 29 |
| 10 or more | 34 | 32 |
Second official language: 1 point per ability at CLB/NCLC 5–6, 3 at 7–8 and 6 at 9 or more, capped at 24 (22 with a spouse). Test results must be less than 2 years old; points disappear when they expire.
Canadian work experience (skilled work in TEER 0–3, in Canada, in the last 10 years, while authorized): 40 points for 1 year, rising to 80 for 5 years or more (35 to 70 with a spouse). Self-employment and work done while a full-time student don't count.
B. Spouse or partner factors
Only if you are scored "with spouse": up to 10 points for your spouse's education, up to 20 for their first official language and up to 10 for their Canadian work experience.
C. Skill transferability
These points reward combinations, and they use your first official language only. The section is capped at 100.
| Combination | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Education + language | 50 (shared cap of 50 with the next line) |
| Education + Canadian work experience | 50 |
| Foreign work experience + language | 50 (shared cap of 50 with the next line) |
| Foreign work experience + Canadian work experience | 50 |
| Canadian certificate of qualification (trades) + language | 50 |
The language combinations count only when all four abilities reach CLB 7; the top points need CLB 9 in all four. A single ability at CLB 6 cancels the language-based transferability points, even if the others are high. Foreign work experience earns no core points on its own; it counts only here.
D. Additional points
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| Provincial or territorial nomination (Express Entry stream) | 600 |
| French: NCLC 7+ in all four abilities, with CLB 4 or less in English or no English test | 25 |
| French: NCLC 7+ in all four abilities and CLB 5+ in all four English abilities | 50 |
| Canadian post-secondary credential of 1 or 2 years | 15 |
| Canadian credential of 3 years or more, or a master's, professional or doctoral degree | 30 |
| Brother or sister in Canada (18+, citizen or PR, living in Canada) | 15 |
| Job offer | 0 (removed) |
The French points apply whether French is your first or second official language. The section is capped at 600, so a nomination alone reaches the maximum.
Job-offer points were removed on 25 March 2025
Until 24 March 2025, a qualifying job offer added 50 or 200 CRS points. Since 25 March 2025, job offers earn no CRS points, for candidates already in the pool and for new ones. Invitations issued before that date were not affected.
A job offer still matters for eligibility: it is required (or a certificate of qualification) for the Federal Skilled Trades Program, it earns points on the FSWP selection grid, it can exempt you from proof of funds, and some provincial streams use it.
Recent changes
- 25 March 2025: job-offer points removed (Ministerial Instructions amendment 2025-1).
- April–May 2026: IRCC consulted on reforms, including a possible single program and changes to some CRS factors. None of this is in force as of 10 October 2026. IRCC has said changes would be published in the Canada Gazette. We will update this page if the rules change.
How a score turns into an invitation
- There is no pass mark. Each round sets its own cut-off, published on IRCC's list of rounds.
- In category-based rounds, candidates who meet the category are still ranked by CRS.
- If two profiles tie at the cut-off, the one submitted earlier is invited first.
Ways a score can change
- Down: a birthday, an expired language test (2 years) or ECA (5 years), a change in marital status, or losing a nomination.
- Up: a better language result, a French test, more Canadian work experience, a completed Canadian credential, or a provincial nomination.
Recalculate your score after an invitation and before you apply. If it has dropped below the round's cut-off, decline the invitation.
How we can help
Anasse Boulbaroud, RCIC, can:
- Consultation: go through your score factor by factor and identify realistic ways to improve it.
- Profile review: check that every claim in your profile (language, education, work experience, marital status) is supported by documents.
- Application preparation: prepare your application after an invitation and check that your score still holds.
Only IRCC decides who is invited and approved. Book a consultation.