Civics test versions
2025 vs 2008 Civics Test: Which Version Do You Take?
USCIS now uses two versions of the civics test. You do not choose between them: the version is set by the date you filed Form N-400. Find yours below, then study the matching question list.
The rule: your N-400 filing date
Filed before October 20, 2025You take the 2008 civics test: 100 questions to study. Open the 100 questions (2008)
Filed on or after October 20, 2025You take the 2025 civics test: 128 questions to study. Open the 128 questions (2025)
USCIS announced the 2025 test in the Federal Register on September 18, 2025. It applies to applications filed 30 days after that notice, on or after October 20, 2025. What counts is the filing date of your Form N-400, not the date of your interview.
Differences at a glance
| 2025 test | 2008 test | |
|---|---|---|
| Who takes it | N-400 filed on or after Oct 20, 2025 | N-400 filed before Oct 20, 2025 |
| Questions to study | 128 | 100 |
| Questions asked | Up to 20, out loud | Up to 10, out loud |
| Correct answers to pass | 12 | 6 |
| When the officer stops | At 12 correct or 9 incorrect | At 6 correct or 5 incorrect |
| 65/20 special consideration | 10 of 20 designated questions; 6 to pass | 10 of 20 designated questions; 6 to pass |
Both versions require 60% correct answers, and both are given orally by a USCIS officer at your naturalization interview.
What else to know
- USCIS describes the 2025 version as based on the 2020 civics test. It has more questions, and the officer asks more of them, so plan more study time if you take it.
- Some answers change after elections or appointments (for example, the President or the Speaker of the House). Use the name of the person in office on the day of your interview; USCIS lists current answers on its test updates page.
- You get two chances to pass. If you fail any part of the test at your first interview, USCIS retests you on that part between 60 and 90 days later.
- The English test (reading, writing and speaking) is separate from the civics version: you read one of three sentences and write one of three sentences, and the officer judges your speaking during the interview.
Practice the right version
The C-T-ZEN trainer has both question banks and a mock oral exam with the official pass and stop rules for each version.
Official USCIS sources
- USCIS: 2025 Civics Test
- USCIS: The naturalization interview and test
- USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 12, Part E, Ch. 2: English and Civics Testing
- USCIS: Study for the Test (2008 and 2025 civics tests)
- USCIS: Check for test updates (answers that change)
- Federal Register: implementation of the 2025 civics test