Written by Christian Chinonso
Founder, LearnViaHub | Academic Credential & International Student Research
✓ Last checked: 28 October 2026
Quick answer
France does not use a GPA. Grades are out of 20, and 10/20 is the pass mark. The baccalauréat awards mentions from 12 (Assez bien), 14 (Bien) and 16 (Très bien) (Ministry of Education).
There is no official French-to-US conversion. The one published table we could verify is the University of Washington Graduate School’s: 14 to 20 is an A, 12 to 13.9 a B+ (3.50), 11 to 11.9 a B (3.00) and 10 a C (2.00) (UW). It is that school’s table, not WES’s.
Prefer to check your own grades? Use the tool below, then compare it with the official rules and examples on this page.
French grade tool
Check a grade out of 20, or work out a credit-weighted average and its mention.
The US figure is the University of Washington Graduate School's published equivalent for French grades. It is one institution's table, not an official or WES conversion, and the tool gives no UK or "French GPA" figure because none is official. Mentions follow the bands used in the baccalauréat and by Aix-Marseille Université for degrees; other institutions can differ. Check your own regulations.
The 0–20 scale and mentions
In the baccalauréat a candidate is admitted with an average of 10/20 or more. An average of 8 to under 10 allows the second-group oral exams, and under 8 is a fail. Mentions go only to candidates admitted at the first group (baccalauréat rules; Ministry of Education).
| Average | Baccalauréat | Degree mention at Aix-Marseille Université |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 20 | Très bien (any félicitations du jury is the jury’s decision) | Très bien with the félicitations du jury |
| 16 to under 18 | Très bien | Très bien |
| 14 to under 16 | Bien | Bien |
| 12 to under 14 | Assez bien | Assez bien |
| 10 to under 12 | Admitted, no mention | Passable |
| Below 10 | Not admitted at the first group | Not validated, unless compensated |
The Aix-Marseille column comes from its degree regulations for 2024/25 (AMU M3C). The baccalauréat has no “Passable” mention, but some universities use it for degrees, so check yours. For the baccalauréat, félicitations du jury is not a fourth mention and has no national average threshold (Nomad Éducation, a secondary source). Aix-Marseille ties it to an average of 18 for its degrees.
Compensation and ECTS
French universities set their own assessment rules within the national framework. At licence level, a course unit (UE) is passed with 10/20 or more, or by compensation: a UE below 10 can be validated when the weighted average of the UEs reaches 10/20. The rules differ by programme, and some require certain blocks to be validated on their own (Université de Lorraine; Université d’Angers).
A licence is 180 ECTS credits, with 30 credits per semester, and a semester validated at 10/20 or more earns all 30 (Lorraine). Where a UE is not validated and the semester is not either, its credits are not awarded. Check your programme’s modalités de contrôle des connaissances.
A published US conversion: the University of Washington
| French grade (/20) | UW Graduate School equivalent |
|---|---|
| 14 to 20 | A |
| 12 to 13.9 | B+ (3.50) |
| 11 to 11.9 | B (3.00) |
| 10.5 to 10.9 | B- (2.70) |
| 10.1 to 10.4 | C+ (2.50) |
| 10 | C (2.00) |
| 9 to 9.9 | C- (1.70) |
| 8 to 8.9 | D (1.00) |
| 0 to 7.9 | F (0) |
This is the University of Washington Graduate School’s guide for computing grade point averages from foreign grades (Computing Grade Point Averages). It is one institution’s table, other US schools and evaluators use their own, and the same guide points applicants to WES’s own calculator for scales it does not cover (WES iGPA calculator). Some sites present this table as WES’s, but UW does not. The page gives no date and no source for the French rows, so treat it as a published example, not a standard.
US GPA to French grades
We found no official table that converts a US GPA into a French grade, so we give none. If you are applying to France with a US transcript, send the original with the documents the institution asks for. See our U.S. GPA guide and our WES evaluation guide.
Worked examples
Example 1: a weighted average with ECTS (hypothetical)
| Course | Grade (/20) | ECTS | Grade × ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 15 | 6 | 90 |
| English | 13 | 6 | 78 |
| Biology | 14 | 6 | 84 |
| History | 11 | 6 | 66 |
| Mathematics | 10 | 6 | 60 |
| Total | 30 | 378 |
378 ÷ 30 = 12.6/20. That is in the Assez bien band (12 to under 14). Equal credits make this the same as a simple mean. UW’s table gives B+ (3.50) for 12.6.
Example 2: compensation (hypothetical)
A semester has five UEs of 6 ECTS graded 8, 12, 13, 9 and 14. The average is (8 + 12 + 13 + 9 + 14) ÷ 5 = 56 ÷ 5 = 11.2. If the programme allows compensation between these UEs, the semester is validated with 11.2 and earns all 30 ECTS, including the UEs graded 8 and 9. If it does not, the UEs below 10 would not be validated.
Frequently asked questions
What is GPA in France?
France does not use GPA. French transcripts give grades out of 20, with an average (moyenne) that is also out of 20.
What is the passing grade in France?
10/20. In the baccalauréat an average of 10 or more means admission (Ministry of Education), and French universities validate a unit or semester at 10 or more, or by compensation (Lorraine).
Is 14/20 a good grade in France?
Is 12/20 a good grade?
It is the threshold of the Assez bien mention, and a B+ (3.50) in UW’s table.
What is a 4.0 GPA in France?
There is no official equivalent. In UW’s table an A covers 14 to 20, but that table converts French grades to US ones, not the reverse.
Can a failed course be compensated?
Often. A unit below 10 can be validated when the average of the units reaches 10/20, depending on the programme’s rules (Angers).
How do I convert French grades to US GPA?
There is no official formula. Use the target school’s table or instructions, or a credential evaluation if it asks for one.
How we researched this
Last checked: 28 October 2026. We read the French Ministry of Education’s baccalauréat rules (a 2004 ministry document and a school’s summary of current rules), assessment regulations for 2024/25 from Aix-Marseille Université, Université de Lorraine and Université d’Angers, the University of Washington Graduate School’s grade computing guide, Nomad Éducation’s explanation of the bac mentions. The worked examples are our own arithmetic.
Limits: the Ministry baccalauréat document is undated (it cites 2004 figures), and the 8-to-10 second-group range comes from a school’s summary. The UW table has no stated date or source for its French rows. Rules differ by institution and change over time, so confirm yours in your programme’s assessment regulations.
This page is for general information. LearnViaHub is not affiliated with any French university or ministry, the University of Washington or any credential evaluator.
Christian Chinonso is the founder of LearnViaHub, with 6+ years of research experience in international education — including GPA systems, scholarships, student financing, and study-abroad guidance — for students worldwide.