CFAT replaced by SEAF: Canadian Forces application guide (2026)
The Canadian Forces Aptitude Test (CFAT, or TACF in French) was replaced by the Scored Employment Application Form (SEAF) in October 2024. This guide explains the change and distinguishes it from aircrew aptitude testing. Brain Preflight is an iPhone app for free daily aptitude practice: memory, mental maths, reasoning and spatial skills. Get 5 free sessions every day and choose any exercise, without a purchase or subscription. Installed exercises work offline, and the app is available in 5 languages. This guide explains CFAT, SEAF and aircrew selection so you can choose practice that fits your Canadian Forces application.
Country overview: Canada — armed forces, RCMP and Québec police.
Brain Preflight · 2026-10-23
Older CFAT guides can describe a previous process
The Royal Military College’s 2025–2026 recruitment brochure states that the Canadian Armed Forces replaced the Canadian Forces Aptitude Test (CFAT) with the Scored Employment Application Form (SEAF) in October 2024. The Department of National Defence describes the SEAF as a scored application form covering education, experience, leadership and other life achievements. It is not a timed cognitive test. Do not assume an old CFAT practice booklet describes the steps in a new application.
Check the instructions for your own application
Before paying for a course or scheduling weeks of test practice, confirm the assessment named in your recruitment instructions. Ask your recruiting centre if the wording is unclear. A practice app does not establish whether you must sit a particular test. The SEAF should not be presented as a renamed version of a timed cognitive battery.
Aircrew selection is a separate process
The Canadian Forces Aircrew Selection Centre (CFASC) tests Pilot, Aerospace Control and Air Combat Systems Officer candidates. Its candidate guide, modified on 14 January 2026, describes about seven hours of timed, computer-based aptitude tests over two days, assessing cognitive and psychomotor abilities. Some tests use a joystick, a foot pedal or headphones. Older pages call this battery CFAST; the current candidate guide does not use that name. Aircrew testing is distinct from the former CFAT and from the SEAF.
What general practice can and cannot do
Brain Preflight includes mental arithmetic, reasoning, spatial and memory exercises. These can be used for general practice, but they do not complete a SEAF application, and touchscreen exercises do not reproduce the CFASC tests or equipment. Brain Preflight’s Canadian Armed Forces programme is general aptitude practice. Earlier versions labelled it CFAT; that label does not indicate a current recruiting test. For general cognitive and psychomotor practice before aircrew testing, open Calculation grid, Logic sequences, Cube nets, 3D objects, 2-back memory, Psychomotor and Airways from the catalogue.
Questions about your preparation
Should I use an old CFAT practice plan for my application?
Check the current Canadian Armed Forces instructions first. As the official sources in this guide explain, SEAF replaced CFAT in October 2024. An older CFAT preparation page should not determine what you expect in your current application.
Is Canadian aircrew selection the same as SEAF?
No. Aircrew selection is a separate assessment route. Check the requirements for the occupation you are applying for and follow its official candidate material, rather than assuming the general application process describes every aircrew stage.
What can a general aptitude app help me practise?
Brain Preflight provides arithmetic, memory, spatial and attention exercises, with 5 free sessions each day on iPhone. Use them for general practice where relevant to your goals; they do not reproduce SEAF or replace its application requirements.
Sources
- Department of National Defence: CFAT replaced by SEAF
- Canadian Forces Aircrew Selection Centre
- CFASC candidate guide
Independent app, not affiliated with the organisations named here.