NOC & TEER
NOC 2021 & TEER categories — find your code
Every Express Entry profile starts with one decision: which NOC code matches your work experience? Get it wrong and IRCC refuses your application for misrepresentation. This guide walks you through it cleanly.
What is the NOC?
The National Occupational Classification is Canada's official taxonomy of every job in the labour market. It is co-maintained by Statistics Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and used by IRCC to categorise work experience for every economic immigration program — including all three Express Entry streams.
IRCC moved from NOC 2016 (Skill Type / Skill Level) to NOC 2021 (TEER) on 16 November 2022. Profiles created after that date use TEER codes.
The six TEER categories
| TEER | Description | Typical examples | Express Entry eligible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| TEER 0 | Management occupations | Senior managers, restaurant managers, IT managers | Yes (FSW, CEC) |
| TEER 1 | University degree usually required | Software engineers, registered nurses, physicians, financial auditors | Yes (FSW, CEC) |
| TEER 2 | College diploma or 2+ yr apprenticeship; supervisory roles | Computer network technicians, paralegals, chefs, supervisors | Yes (FSW, CEC, FST) |
| TEER 3 | College diploma <2 years, apprenticeship, or 6 mo on-the-job training | Bakers, dental assistants, heavy-equipment operators, retail supervisors | Yes (FSW, CEC, FST) |
| TEER 4 | Secondary school + several weeks on-the-job | Home child-care providers, retail salespersons, food and beverage servers | No (general). PNP / Agri-Food pilot only. |
| TEER 5 | Short work demonstration; no formal education | Labourers, harvesting workers, kitchen helpers | No (general). PNP / Agri-Food pilot only. |
Management — TEER 0
Senior managers, financial managers, IT managers. NOC 00 (senior management) is the only group eligible for the +200 CRS job-offer bonus.
Tech — TEER 1
Software engineers (21231), data scientists (21211), web designers (21233), info-systems analysts (21222). Target categories: STEM and tech draws.
Healthcare — TEER 1/2/3
Registered nurses (31301), physicians (31102), pharmacists (31120), medical lab technologists (32120). Healthcare category draws often clear ~470.
Education — TEER 1
Elementary and secondary school teachers (41220, 41221), early-childhood educators (42202). Education category draws often clear ~479.
Trades — TEER 2/3
Industrial electricians (72200), plumbers (72300), welders (72106), carpenters (72310). Eligible under FST and trades category draws.
Agriculture — TEER 4/5
Generally outside Express Entry, but covered under the Agri-Food Pilot and several PNPs (BC PNP Entry-Level & Semi-Skilled, AINP rural renewal).
How to find your NOC code — the right way
- Open the official NOC 2021 portal at esdc.gc.ca.
- Search by job title — but treat the results as candidates, not answers.
- Open the unit-group profile and read the "Main duties" section.
- Compare those main duties to your actual reference-letter duties (what your employer will sign off on).
- If ≥ 80% of the listed main duties match what you actually do, the NOC fits. If not, look at adjacent unit groups.
- Confirm the TEER printed at the top of the unit-group profile (first digit of the 5-digit code = TEER level).
The reference letter rules everything
IRCC officers compare your declared NOC duties against your employer reference letter — not your CV, not your job title. If the letter doesn't list the duties, the NOC doesn't count. Have your manager rewrite the letter around the NOC main-duty language before you submit.
How TEER affects your CRS score
- Eligibility: FSW and CEC accept TEER 0/1/2/3. FST accepts TEER 2/3 trade occupations.
- Job-offer points: TEER 0/1/2/3 job offers = +50 CRS. NOC 00 senior management = +200 CRS.
- Skill transferability — foreign work × Canadian work: Maxes out at 50 points for TEER 0/1/2/3 work experience.
- Category-based draws: IRCC publishes the exact list of NOC codes that qualify for healthcare, STEM, trades, transport, agri-food, and education draws.
Common NOC mistakes that get applications refused
- Claiming TEER 1 (e.g. Software Engineer 21231) when the reference letter describes TEER 2 duties (Computer Network Technician 22221).
- Using the NOC 2016 four-digit code on an Express Entry profile created after Nov 2022.
- Listing a job title that doesn't appear in the unit group's "Example titles" section without explaining the mapping.
- Stretching a TEER 4 retail or service role into TEER 3 supervisor without supervisory headcount in the letter.
- Splitting one job across two NOC codes to claim more skill-transferability points.
NOC 2016 → NOC 2021 mapping (key examples)
| Old NOC 2016 | Title | New NOC 2021 | TEER |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2173 | Software engineers | 21231 | 1 |
| 2174 | Computer programmers | 21232 | 1 |
| 3012 | Registered nurses | 31301 | 1 |
| 3211 | Medical lab technologists | 32120 | 2 |
| 7237 | Welders | 72106 | 2 |
| 7251 | Plumbers | 72300 | 2 |
| 4011 | University professors | 41200 | 1 |
| 4032 | Elementary teachers | 41221 | 1 |
| 6322 | Cooks | 63200 | 3 |
| 6711 | Food counter attendants | 65201 | 5 |