Writing the ExAC in French: Resources, Terminology, and What Changes

Good news first: you can write the whole ExAC in French, and the French exam is the same exam. You choose English or French when you register, and the questions, materials and correspondence then come in that language. What changes is around the exam: the French codes have their own page numbers, some references exist only in English, and a few terms do not translate the way you expect. In our experience, bilingual candidates lose more time to those details than to the language itself. This guide from Examitect, an independent ExAC prep platform unaffiliated with the CACB, covers what the official documents say, which references exist in French, the CNB and CNÉB traps, and the French tools we offer.

Key Takeaways

What to know before you write the ExAC in French.

You pick the language once, at registration. Page 6 of the 2026 Preparation Guide says the exam, materials and correspondence then come in that language, and that you must be fluent in it.
No dictionaries of any kind. Bilingual dictionaries and translation devices are prohibited, so you cannot translate your way through a hard question in the room.
The French exam is a mirror of the English one. Same items, same number of items, checked item by item across the two languages. The exam structure and timing guide covers the rest of the format.
Article numbers match, page numbers do not. A tab list built on English page numbers points to the wrong page of the French CNB. Our NBC tabbing guide explains the method.
The four primary references all exist in French. CHOP is the MCPA, the IAP is the PSA, and the codes are the CNB 2020 and CNÉB 2020. See the NBC 2020 study notes for how the code is organized.
Costing and several supporting books are English only. RSMeans, Yardsticks and Architectural Graphic Standards among them.
A few words are false friends. A pare-feu is a fire block, a paragraphe is a Sentence, and a solution de rechange is not the NECB trade-off path.

The French ExAC at a glance

Language choice	English or French, chosen when you register
Exam content	Two mirror versions with the same items and the same number of items
Dictionaries	Not permitted, bilingual dictionaries included
Section 2 books	Paper CNB 2020 (no provincial adaptations) and CNÉB 2020
Code page numbers	Article numbers match; printed page numbers usually differ
English-only references	RSMeans, Yardsticks, AGS, the Studio Companion and more
Not covered by the official documents	Switching or mixing languages; check exac.ca

Can you write the ExAC in French, and what changes?

Yes. The 2026 ExAC Preparation Guide says the exam is administered once a year, simultaneously across the country, in English and in French (p. 3), and the Framework Document says candidates may take it in either official language (p. 10). You choose once, when you register: the exam, its materials and all correspondence then come in that language (p. 6). The same page says you must be fluent in it, and that dictionaries and translation devices are not permitted. The French edition, the Guide de préparation à l'ExAC 2026 posted on exac.ca, says the same on its own page 6.

What the official documents say	Source
Dictionaries, including bilingual dictionaries, are prohibited items	Preparation Guide, p. 12
Two mirror versions are prepared, with the same items and tasks and the same number of items	Framework Document, p. 6
English-language and French-language teams write the items, which are then adapted or translated and compared across languages	Framework Document, pp. 7 to 9
Short answers are marked by French-speaking and English-speaking architects in the same room, with cross-language consultation	Framework Document, pp. 11 and 12
Psychometric checks look at difficulty from language to language, and results are compiled in each official language	Framework Document, pp. 13 and 15

So the French exam is not easier, harder or different by design. You still write four three-hour sessions over two consecutive days (November 2 and 3, 2026), the objectives are numbered 1 to 13 across the whole exam, and short answers appear in Sections 1 and 3 only. Three things around the exam do change:

Your books. The French codes are paginated differently from the English ones, and more than twenty references on the official list are marked English only in the French Guide.
Your vocabulary. Code-defined terms and CCDC 2 contract terms have official French equivalents, and some of them do not match the French you use at work.
Your study material. Most ExAC prep content online is written in English, so French-writing candidates often study in one language and sit the exam in the other.

What the official documents do not answer

We could not find the following in the 2026 Guide (English or French) or the Framework Document. Check exac.ca, or ask your licensing authority's ExAC administrator, which is where the Guide sends specific questions (p. 3):

whether you can change your language after registering, and until when;
whether you may bring a code in the other language than the one you write in, or both editions;
whether a short answer, or part of one, may be written in the other language;
whether a question booklet in the other language can be requested in the room.

Which ExAC references exist in French?

The English Guide only warns that some resources may not be available in both languages (p. 30). The French Guide's Annexe 3 gives the French title wherever one exists and marks the rest "en anglais seulement" (pp. 31 to 34).

Reference	French edition named in the Guide de préparation
CHOP, 3rd edition, 2020	Manuel canadien de pratique de l'architecture (MCPA); the RAIC hosts both languages at chop.raic.ca
IAP, 4th edition	Programme de stage en architecture (PSA)
NBC 2020 and NECB 2020	Code national du bâtiment - Canada 2020 (CNB) and Code national de l'énergie pour les bâtiments - Canada 2020 (CNÉB)
CCDC 2, 2020	Contrat à forfait (CCDC 2)
CCDC 24, 1996	Guide d'utilisation des formulaires modèles et des documents de soutien
RAIC Documents 6 and 9	Formule canadienne normalisée de contrat de services en architecture (Document 6); Formule canadienne normalisée de contrat entre architecte et ingénieur ou autre consultant (Document 9)
CHING, Building Construction Illustrated	Guide technique et pratique de la construction (Modulo, Montréal), listed as an adaptation, so page references from English material may not line up
Canadian Wood-Frame House Construction	Construction de maison à ossature de bois - Canada (CMHC, 3rd revised edition, 2013)
NRC Construction Technology Updates	The Solution constructive series, such as no 34 on the rainscreen principle
National Master Specification	Devis directeur national (DDN)

More than twenty references are marked English only, including RSMeans (every title listed), Hanscomb Yardsticks for Costing, Architectural Graphic Standards, The Architect's Studio Companion, Functional Programming, the Building Envelope Thermal Bridging Guide, LEED Core Concepts, LEED v4, WELL v2, Heating, Cooling, Lighting, the LCA practice guide, Mastering the Business of Architecture and both BC Energy Step Code guides. It cuts the other way too: the English Guide lists Estimation by J. Paradis (p. 31) and the professional construction dictionary by Roy and Blin-Lacroix (p. 32) as available in French only.

The practical consequence is costing. A candidate writing in French still learns Section 1 cost work from English-language RSMeans and Yardsticks pages, so learn the English column headings and the French terms side by side. The Section 1 cost questions guide shows what those questions look like.

The CNB and CNÉB in the Section 2 room

The French Guide applies the same Section 2 rules as the English one (p. 12 in both). Paper copies of the CNB 2020, without provincial adaptations, and the CNÉB 2020 are permitted for Section 2 only. Annotations, highlighting and tabs made beforehand are fine; added pages and any mark made in the room are not. Digital versions are not permitted (Framework Document, p. 9).

Article numbers are identical in both languages. Printed page numbers are not: the French CNB runs about 95 pages longer than the English NBC (1,631 pages against 1,536 in the PDFs we work from), so almost every folio shifts. A few examples, read from both editions:

Provision	English page	French page
NBC 3.2.3.1, limiting distance and area of unprotected openings	3-78	3-82
NBC Table 3.1.17.1, occupant load	3-43	3-47
NBC 3.3.1.17, capacity of access to exits	3-123	3-129
NBC 9.10.14.4, openings in an exposing building face	9-64	9-68
NECB 3.2.1.4, allowable fenestration and door area	3-4	3-4
NECB Note A-3.2.1.4.(1), maximum FDWR by HDD	3-15	3-17

The NECB drifts less than the NBC, but it still drifts. If you write in French, take page numbers only from French sources. An English tab list that says "3-123" sends you to the wrong page in the one session where page-flipping speed decides how many questions you reach; our Section 2 pacing guide explains why. The hierarchy words differ too: an English Sentence, 3.5.2.1.(2), is a French paragraphe, written 3.5.2.1. 2), and a Clause is an alinéa. A paragraphe is not a paragraph of prose. The NECB tabbing guide covers the second book in detail.

Terminology traps between the English and French codes

Start with a free official glossary: in the CNB, the defined terms in Division A, Article 1.4.1.2 (from page 1-4) print the English term in brackets after each French one, for example Premier étage (first storey). These are the traps that matter most.

English term	CNB or CNÉB term	Why it trips people
occupancy	usage	The CNB classifies buildings by usage; occupation is not its word
exit, access to exit	issue, accès à l'issue	Everyday French says sortie; the Code says issue
fire block	pare-feu	In everyday French a pare-feu is a firewall. In the CNB it seals a concealed space, and a firewall is a mur coupe-feu
fire-resistance rating, fire-protection rating	degré de résistance au feu, degré pare-flammes	The same trap as in English: assemblies get one, closures get the other
first storey	premier étage	Defined as the uppermost storey with its floor no more than 2 m above grade, which is not always the floor people call the premier étage in everyday speech
limiting distance, exposing building face, unprotected opening	distance limitative, façade de rayonnement, baie non protégée	All three meet in Subsections 3.2.3 and 9.10.14
occupant load	nombre de personnes	The French term counts people; there is no charge in it
alternative solution (NBC)	solution de rechange	Objective 5.4 in the French Guide uses this term (p. 17)
trade-off path (NECB)	solutions de remplacement	Looks interchangeable with rechange, but it is the NECB compliance path, not an NBC alternative solution
FDWR, HDD	FDWR, HDD	The CNÉB keeps the English abbreviations

The rechange and remplacement pair deserves a second look. Article 1.1.2.1 of the CNÉB, Division B, sets out the compliance routes: prescriptive requirements or solutions de remplacement (the trade-off path) in Parts 3 to 7, and the performance paths in Parts 8 and 10. An NBC alternative solution, covered in our alternative solutions study notes, is a different mechanism under Division A.

CCDC 2 terms for Section 4

The French Guide's own sample for objective 10.1.1 asks who prepares a directive de modification under CCDC 2 (p. 29). These terms from the CCDC's French table of contents for Contrat à forfait differ most from a literal translation; our CCDC 2 vs RAIC Document 6 guide covers the contracts themselves.

CCDC 2 (English)	CCDC 2 (French)
Consultant	Professionnel
Owner	Maître de l'ouvrage
GC 6.2 Change Order	CG 6.2 Avenant de modification
GC 6.3 Change Directive	CG 6.3 Directive de modification
Supplemental Instruction	Instruction supplémentaire
Substantial Performance of the Work	Achèvement substantiel de l'ouvrage
GC 12.1 Ready-for-Takeover	CG 12.1 Prêt pour l'occupation
GC 2.3 Review and Inspection of the Work	CG 2.3 Surveillance et inspection de l'ouvrage

Watch the last row. The French CG 2.3 uses surveillance for the Consultant's review, while the Contractor's supervision is GC 3.5 in both languages. Translating surveillance back as "supervision" puts the architect in charge of the Contractor's work, which is the wrong answer on a responsibility question.

Advice for bilingual candidates

Many candidates work in one language and studied architecture in the other. Every session is three hours, and reading speed is the budget you spend.

Choose the language you read fastest under time pressure. Not the one you speak at the office, and not the one you feel you should use. Time yourself on a set of practice questions in each language before you register.
Match your code books to your exam language. If you write in French, bring the CNB and CNÉB and tab them from French page numbers. If you studied from the English NBC, budget a week to move your tabs and margin notes to the French edition.
Put your glossary in the margins, not on an extra sheet. Handwritten annotations made beforehand are allowed; a glossary page tucked inside the cover is an added page, and the Guide says it may be confiscated (p. 12).
Read English-only books in English, but summarize them in your exam language. The translation happens in your notes, months before the exam, not in the room.
Practise in the exam language for the final four weeks. Timed practice shows you which terms still need a second of translation.
Settle the open questions early. If you are unsure whether you can mix languages or bring the other edition of a code, ask exac.ca or your licensing authority well before November.

The worst moment to find out that your tabs follow English page numbers is the first hour of Section 2. Make the language call early, and build everything after it in that language.

Examitect's French study tools

Examitect runs in Canadian French: switch with the language toggle in the header. Some learning tools are still completing translation review, and those open in English until they are ready. Live in French today:

Study notes. Every study notes page has a French edition and a French PDF, and the complete notes are a free download from the site footer (free study notes guide).
CNB 2020 and CNÉB 2020 tabbing guides. The same tabs as the English guides on the French Code's page numbers; try the free NBC tabs sample.
Notes de dernière minute. The French Panic Notes, a two-page cram sheet per section, with the purchase of that section (plans).
Workbooks. Cahier de lecture de plans, Colorie ton permis and Cahier d'estimation des coûts (which keeps the English RSMeans and Yardsticks labels with a French gloss), previewed on the free workbooks page.
Flashcards. The French deck names the codes CNB and CNÉB and cites their official French headings.

FAQ

Writing the ExAC in French FAQ

Can I write the ExAC in French?

Yes. The ExAC is administered once a year across Canada in English and in French. You choose the language when you register, and the exam, its materials and all correspondence then come in that language. Whether the choice can be changed later is not stated in the Guide, so check exac.ca.

Is the French ExAC the same exam as the English one?

Yes. The Framework Document says two mirror versions are prepared, with the same items and tasks and the same number of items, and a committee compares the English and French versions of every item.

Can I bring a bilingual dictionary to the ExAC?

No. The Preparation Guide lists dictionaries, including bilingual dictionaries, as prohibited items, and translation devices are not permitted. You must be fluent in the language you chose.

Can I bring the French CNB and CNÉB to Section 2?

Yes. The French Guide permits paper copies of the CNB 2020, without provincial adaptations, and the CNÉB 2020 for Section 2 only, under the same rules as the English codes. Whether you may bring a code in the other language from the one you write in is not stated, so check exac.ca.

Do the English and French codes have the same page numbers?

No. Article numbers are identical, but the French CNB runs about 95 pages longer, so printed page numbers usually differ. Article 3.3.1.17 is on page 3-123 in English and 3-129 in French.

Which ExAC references are only available in English?

The French Guide marks more than twenty as English only, including RSMeans, Hanscomb Yardsticks for Costing, Architectural Graphic Standards and The Architect's Studio Companion. The four primary references, CHOP (MCPA), the IAP (PSA), the CNB and the CNÉB, all exist in French.

What is an alternative solution called in the French code?

A solution de rechange, the term objective 5.4 uses in the French Guide. Do not confuse it with solutions de remplacement, the CNÉB name for the NECB trade-off path.

Should a bilingual candidate write the ExAC in French or English?

Write in the language you read fastest under time pressure, and decide early. Then tab the code edition in that language and practise in it for at least the final four weeks.