The DCL, a certification for professional life
The DCL certifies the skills acquired in the language of usual and professional communication common to all sectors of economic activity.
The test takes place in the form of a case study where various tasks follow one another, as in professional life.
Le DCL is a national professional diploma which is part of the quality approach Eduform and concerns four specialties and thirteen languages:
Professional foreign languages
- German
- English
- Arab
- Chinese
- Spanish
- FLE
- Italian
- Portuguese
- Russian
1st level professional French
French sign language
Regional languages
The Public Office of the Occitan language supports candidates for the DCL Occitan and reimburses them 80% of the registration fees, subject to:
- To be a resident of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions (academies of Bordeaux, Limoges, Montpellier, Poitiers and Toulouse);
- To have appeared in the tests of the DCL Occitan for a justified professional use, in an examination center located in the academies of Bordeaux, Limoges, Montpellier, Poitiers or Toulouse.
Learn more
Who is affected by DCL?
The DCL was created especially for adults and meets the needs of the professional world.
It allows the companies to ensure the language skills of their employees beyond the “read, write, speak” formula.
For the employees, job seekers, vocational training trainees, students and individualsthis approach can be part of a perspective of:
- personal development
- professional integration
- retraining
- development and mobility
The DCL is eligible for the Skills Development Plan, Personal Training Account (CPF), Professional Transition CPF, Professional Security Contract (CSP) and PRO-A.
DCL CPF Codes
The advantages of DCL
- it is a national professional diploma registered in the Specific Register of France Skills
- it is aligned with the CEFR levels
- its validity period is unlimited
- it assesses all dimensions of language proficiency
- a success rate of over 90%
- one and the same test for all, a result based on performance
Skill areas assessed
The valid DCL five skill areas in the language of usual and professional communication:
- Writing comprehension
- oral comprehension or French sign language (LSF)
- oral expression or expression in LSF
- written expression
- interaction orally or in LSF
At the end of the test, the jury awards the winners, depending on the performance achieved, one of the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: from A1-A2 for first-level Professional French and from A2- C1 for all other languages.
Download the description of the DCL levels
To download the description of the capacities demonstrated by the DCL
Resources
The regulatory framework for the language skills diploma (DCL)
Calendar of sessions 2022
Memorandum of October 20, 2021
setting work of the training course of the young deaf
Circular n° 2017-011 of February 3, 2017
Creation of a automated processing of personal data titled “language proficiency diploma” (DCL)
Order of August 11, 2015
Exceptions to the application of the principle “silence is acceptance” on the basis of II of article 21 of law n° 2000-321 of April 12, 2000 relating to the rights of citizens in their relations with the administrations, as well as to the exceptions to the two-month period for the birth of implicit decisions, on the basis of II of this article (Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research)
Decree No. 2014-1274 of October 23, 2014
Approval of examination centers DCL
Order of July 12, 2013
Remuneration of speakers participating, as an ancillary activity, in activities related to the operation of examination boards leading to the issuance of diplomas or certificates under the responsibility of the Ministry of National Education
Order of April 13, 2012
List of diplomas and certifications attesting to the level of French proficiency required of applicants for French nationality pursuant to Decree No. 93-1362 of December 30, 1993 as amended relating to declarations of nationality, decisions on naturalization, reinstatement, loss, forfeiture and withdrawal of French nationality
Order of March 12, 2020
List of diplomas attesting to the level of French proficiency required to obtain a resident card
Order of February 21, 2018
Exam registration fees leading to the issuance of the language proficiency diploma
Order of February 25, 2011
DCL in regional languages
Order of December 13, 2010
DCL in French sign language
Order of December 13, 2010
Diplomas, titles or certificates required for the tenure of the winners of the first and second degree competitions
Order of May 31, 2010
Decree amending the provisions of the education code relating to the language proficiency diploma
Decree No. 2022-166 of February 11, 2022
Creation of DCL in a professional foreign language
Order of May 7, 2010
Creation of DCL in First Level Professional French
Order of May 7, 2010
Creation of the language proficiency diploma (DCL)
Decree No. 2010-469 of May 7, 2010
Websites to consult
CEFR: the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages on the Eduscol website
Cned
The Cned ensures, on behalf of the State, the public service of distance education
National Center for Distance Education
Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP)
The Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP) represents businesses in Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne. It is a partner of national education for DCL FLE and professional French
The portal of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The Personal Training Account
- Presentation
- Functioning
- The actors of the device
- Documentation
moncompteformation.gouv.fr/
.