The emission spectrum of Cf IV has not been observed. The systematic analysis of optical spectra and electronic structure of actinide ions in compounds and in solutions led to estimate 5f^N energy parameters which are affected by ligand-field interaction (84.8). These parameters were used to predict the energy levels of the ground configuration 5f⁹ (unp.11). Although the level structure of the gaseous free ion Cf³⁺ may be different, the theoretical energies reported below for the 20 lowest levels, are data of interest for unraveling the spark spectra of californium when available. The energy of the lowest levels has been predicted for 4 excited configurations by Brewer (71.2).