The Civics Test
As of October 2026. USCIS rules control if anything here differs.
The current test (2025 version)
Most applicants- Question pool: 128 civics questions on American government, history and geography.
- On test day: the officer asks up to 20 of them aloud, and you need 12 correct to pass. The officer usually stops once you’ve reached 12 correct.
- Who takes it: anyone who filed their citizenship application (Form N-400) on or after October 20, 2025.
The older test (2008 version)
Filed before Oct 20, 2025100 questions, up to 10 asked, 6 correct to pass. It’s still used for anyone who filed before October 20, 2025. It is the filing date that decides, not the interview date. The 128 questions on this page are for the 2025 test.
If you’re 65 or older and have been a permanent resident for 20+ years, you only have to study a short list of 20 questions, marked with an asterisk (*) in the official list. You can also take the test in your own language. Show only those 20
Besides civics, the interview also includes English speaking, reading and writing tests.
USCIS’s free 2025 question-and-answer PDF is the authoritative study list. Download it from USCIS. The list on this page follows it word for word.
Randomized Practice Test
Works like the interview: questions drawn at random from the 128, no answer choices. Say your answer out loud, then reveal the accepted answers and mark yourself honestly. The test stops as soon as the result is decided. Every start gives a new set.
For the questions whose answer changes with elections or depends on where you live, the practice test shows where to look the answer up. Know your own state’s answers and check the current officeholders on the USCIS Check for Test Updates page shortly before your interview.
The Test and the Process
Which of the two live civics tests applies to you and why your N-400 filing date decides it, where to get the official pool, the answers that change with elections and where you live, the 65/20 reduced set, the English test and the exemptions from it, what happens if you do not pass, who is eligible, continuous residence against physical presence, good moral character, the process end to end, the fees, and the oath.
Open the guideThe Section Quizzes
Multiple choice, one quiz per official section, with a printable certificate at 80%. They cover 120 of the 128 questions; the 8 whose answers change with elections or where you live are in the full list below.
American Government
The principles of American government, the system of government and its three branches, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. The largest section in the pool by a wide margin, and the one worth the most study time.
American History
The colonial period and independence, the 1800s, and recent American history. Real people, wars, documents and dates, with the wrong answers drawn from real history put in the wrong place.
Symbols and Holidays
Symbols and holidays. The shortest section in the official pool, and the one people leave until last and then lose marks on.
In the section quizzes each official question has the official answer as one of four options, so they check whether you can recognise the answer. The real test is oral: an officer asks and you answer aloud, in English, with no options in front of you. Use the quizzes to find the gaps, then use the practice test above to say the answers out loud from the question alone.
Eight questions depend on elections, appointments or where you live: your senators, your representative, the Speaker of the House, the President, the Vice President, the Chief Justice, your governor and your state capital. They are marked “changes” in the list below. Answer with whoever is serving on the day of your interview, and check the USCIS Check for Test Updates page shortly before you go.
All 128 Questions and Answers
The official 2025 list, in USCIS order and wording. Where a question asks for one thing, any answer listed counts; where it asks for two, three or five, give that many. * marks the 20 questions for the 65/20 rule.