TCF/DELF Registration File Requirements
What the TCF and DELF French-proficiency exam registration portals typically expect from your uploaded documents, and how to avoid a rejected registration.
TCF (Test de Connaissance du Français) and DELF (Diplôme d'Études en Langue Française) registrations both require uploading identity and supporting documents through an online portal, and both are strict about format and size in ways that catch people off guard when registering close to a deadline.
What's typically required
- A valid ID document (passport or national ID), usually as a clear scan or photo
- A recent passport-style photo, in some cases
- Proof of payment or registration confirmation, depending on the specific center
Requirements vary by testing center and country, so always check the specific center's stated list rather than assuming — but the format and size constraints below are common across nearly all of them.
PDF, under a size limit
Most TCF/DELF registration portals expect documents as PDF, with an upload cap that's often stricter than people expect — commonly around 1MB per document, sometimes less. A phone photo of an ID card, saved directly as PDF, is routinely far above that.
- Compress PDF to 1MB
- Convert images to PDF — if your ID or documents are currently separate photos, not yet a PDF
A blurry or dark ID scan gets flagged
Because identity verification matters for a certified language exam, a document that's technically under the size limit but hard to read (poor lighting, motion blur, glare across the text) can still get flagged during manual review, costing you a registration cycle even though the upload itself succeeded. Before compressing, make sure the original photo is genuinely legible — even light, no glare, in focus — since compression can only shrink a file, not fix a photo that was unclear to begin with.
Double-check before submitting
- File checker — verify your document's exact size against the specific limit your test center listed, before you upload
None of this uploads your documents anywhere except the registration portal itself when you actually submit — compression and checking both happen locally in your browser.