Updated November 12, 2026

Civic history and government questions for the naturalization test: 2008 vs. 2025 guide

The naturalization civics test is an oral exam given by a USCIS officer during your Form N-400 interview to check your knowledge of U.S. history and government. Under USCIS rules, applicants who filed Form N-400 before October 20, 2025 study 100 questions and must answer 6 of up to 10 correctly, while those filing on or after October 20, 2025 study 128 questions and must answer 12 of up to 20 correctly. Applicants age 65 or older with at least 20 years as a lawful permanent resident study a 20-question list, need 6 of 10 correct, and may test in their chosen language.

2008 vs. 2025 naturalization civics test: which version you take

As the Department of Homeland Security explains, people become U.S. citizens at birth or through naturalization under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). If your biological or adoptive parents became U.S. citizens before you turned 18, DHS notes you may already be a citizen without filing Form N-400. Everyone else applying to naturalize must satisfy the English and civics requirements in INA Section 312 unless an exception applies.

Your Form N-400 filing date decides which civics list you study, not your interview date. To align with Executive Order 14161, USCIS gives the 2008 naturalization civics test to applicants who filed before October 20, 2025, and gives the 2025 naturalization civics test (Form M-1778, 09/25 edition) to applicants filing on or after October 20, 2025. Under Volume 12, Part E, Chapter 2 of the USCIS Policy Manual, the 2025 test is based on the 2020 test, modified so the officer stops asking questions once you reach the 60 percent passing score or the failing threshold.

Comparison of USCIS naturalization civics test versions and scoring rules

How the USCIS officer runs the oral civics and English test

Your test takes place in person during your Form N-400 interview. There is no paper multiple-choice quiz. A USCIS system randomly selects 10 questions (for the 2008 test or 65/20 cases) or 20 questions (for the 2025 test) onto a standardized form, and the officer asks them aloud one at a time. Under the USCIS Policy Manual and 8 CFR 312.2(c)(2), you pass an item with a published answer or an alternative phrasing of a right answer, and officers give due consideration to your age, background, education level, length of U.S. residence, and study efforts.

Unless exempt, you also complete the three-part English exam. USCIS welcomed 818,500 new citizens in fiscal year 2024 (data accessed October 2024), and its cumulative test pass rate since October 1, 2023 is 89.7 percent on the initial exam and 94.4 percent after re-examination, counting exempt and approved Form N-648 cases. The Office of Homeland Security Statistics also publishes annual profiles of naturalized citizens from fiscal years 2003 through 2024 by birth country, state, and metropolitan area.

• English speaking check: Determined during your Form N-400 interview from whether you understand and answer normal eligibility questions in ordinary English. You may ask the officer to repeat or rephrase questions.
• English reading check: Read aloud 1 of up to 3 civics-focused sentences without extended pauses or omitting content words. The officer stops once you read 1 sentence accurately.
• English writing check: Write 1 of up to 3 dictated civics sentences without unapproved abbreviations. Minor spelling, capitalization, or punctuation errors pass if the meaning is clear, and numbers may be words or digits.
• Oral civics check: Answer aloud until you hit 6 right (2008 or 65/20) or 12 right (2025). Giving no response counts as an incorrect answer.

Civics test categories and question counts: 2008 vs. 2025 breakdown

Both USCIS lists group every question into three main sections. By our calculation from the USCIS 2008 100-question list and 2025 Form M-1778, the 2025 study bank is 28 percent larger overall (adding 28 items to 100). American Government makes up 57 percent of the 2008 bank (57 of 100) and 56.25 percent of the 2025 bank (72 of 128), while American History grows from 30 to 46 questions and the final section shifts from 13 Integrated Civics items to 10 Symbols and Holidays items.

Question distribution across USCIS 2008 (100-item) and 2025 (128-item) study lists

What changed on the 128-question 2025 civics test

Core facts carry over to Form M-1778, including 27 constitutional amendments, 100 U.S. Senators, and 435 voting House members. However, the 2025 list drops the six 2008 geography questions on rivers, oceans, territories, and border states (2008 Items 88 to 93) and adds deeper constitutional and historical questions.

• Influencing documents and the 10th Amendment: Adds Item 14 on documents influencing the Constitution (Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Federalist or Anti-Federalist Papers, Virginia Declaration of Rights, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, Mayflower Compact, or Iroquois Great Law of Peace) and Item 60 on the 10th Amendment reserving unlisted powers to the states or the people.
• Why federal institutions work as they do: Asks why House terms last two years (Item 26, to follow public opinion closely), why each state has two senators (Item 28, equal representation or the Great Compromise), why presidents serve only two terms (Item 37, 22nd Amendment or limiting power), why the Electoral College matters (Item 49), how many Supreme Court justices decide a case (Item 54, five), and why justices serve for life (Item 56, political independence).
• Higher multi-part counts: Requires three rights of everyone living in the U.S. instead of two (Item 65), two Oath of Allegiance promises instead of one (Item 67), five of the 13 original states instead of three (Item 81), and three national holidays instead of two, with Juneteenth on both lists (2008 audio list Item 100 and 2025 Item 126).
• Founders, Civil War, and voting amendments: Adds standalone questions on James Madison (Item 88) and Alexander Hamilton (Item 89), American Revolution events (Item 80), Civil War events (Item 93), the 14th Amendment citizenship clause (Item 97), men's suffrage (Item 98: after the Civil War, Reconstruction, 15th Amendment, or 1870), and women's suffrage (Item 102: 1920, after World War I, or 19th Amendment).
• 20th-century wars, innovations, and symbols: Adds why the U.S. entered World War I (Item 101), World War II (Item 106), the Korean War (Item 110), the Vietnam War (Item 111), and the Persian Gulf War (Item 114), post-September 11 conflicts (Item 116: Global War on Terror, Afghanistan, or Iraq), an American innovation (Item 118: light bulb, automobile, skyscrapers, airplane, assembly line, landing on the moon, or integrated circuit), E Pluribus Unum (Item 124: Out of many, one), and definitions for Memorial Day and Veterans Day (Items 127 and 128).

Dynamic questions: current federal answers and state lookups

Answers tied to elections or appointments change over time, and USCIS requires the name of the person serving on the date of your naturalization interview rather than your filing date. Before your appointment, check the USCIS Check for Test Updates page, the U.S. Senate and House directories for your congressional delegation, and the federal state and territory directory for your governor.

Dynamic federal and state civics questions (USCIS test updates reviewed September 18, 2025)

65/20 special consideration, 50/20, 55/15, and Form N-648 exemptions

Under INA Section 312(b), your age and years of U.S. residence as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) when filing Form N-400 can exempt you from English and narrow your civics list. If you take civics in your native language, you must bring an interpreter fluent in both English and your native language. Applicants unable to learn or demonstrate English, civics, or both due to a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment may file Form N-648, completed by a licensed medical doctor, osteopathic doctor, or clinical psychologist.

• 2008 Test 65/20 asterisk list (20 items, filed before October 20, 2025): Item 6 (First Amendment right), Item 11 (economic system), Item 13 (branch of government), Item 17 (two parts of Congress), Item 20 (state U.S. Senator), Item 27 (presidential election month), Item 28 (President now), Item 44 (state capital), Item 45 (two major parties), Item 49 (citizen-only responsibility), Item 54 (voting age), Item 56 (April 15 tax deadline), Item 70 (first President), Item 75 (Abraham Lincoln accomplishment), Item 78 (1900s war), Item 85 (Martin Luther King, Jr. accomplishment), Item 94 (U.S. capital), Item 95 (Statue of Liberty location), Item 97 (50 stars meaning), and Item 99 (Independence Day date).
• 2025 Test 65/20 asterisk list (20 items on Form M-1778, filed on or after October 20, 2025): Item 2 (supreme law), Item 7 (number of amendments), Item 12 (economic system), Item 20 (power of Congress), Item 30 (Speaker of the House now), Item 36 (presidential term length), Item 38 (President now), Item 39 (Vice President now), Item 44 (who vetoes bills), Item 52 (highest court), Item 61 (state Governor now), Item 66 (Pledge of Allegiance loyalty), Item 74 (who lived in America before Europeans), Item 78 (Declaration writer), Item 86 (George Washington accomplishment), Item 94 (Abraham Lincoln accomplishment), Item 113 (Martin Luther King, Jr. accomplishment), Item 115 (September 11, 2001 event), Item 121 (13 stripes meaning), and Item 126 (three national holidays). The USCIS updates page also marks 2025 Item 23 (state U.S. Senator), so prepare one Senator's name too.

USCIS English and civics exceptions under INA Section 312(b)

A 4-week study plan for history and government questions

Our team built this 4-week plan around the free materials in the USCIS Citizenship Resource Center, including the One Nation, One People 2025 study guide and textbook, flashcards, 2008 MP3 audio files, large-print booklets, and screen-reader text files. Pick the shortest acceptable answer you can say clearly and group related numbers together.

• Week 1 (Constitutional structure): Study Principles and System of Government. Pair 3 branches, 2 chambers of Congress, 100 senators (2 per state, 6-year terms), 435 voting House members (population-based, 2-year terms), a 4-year presidential term capped at 2 terms by the 22nd Amendment, and 9 Supreme Court seats with 5 needed to decide a case.
• Week 2 (Rights, amendments, and local names): Memorize your state capital, Governor, two U.S. Senators, and Representative. Group the Bill of Rights (first 10), 27 total amendments, 10th (state powers), 14th (citizenship), 16th (federal taxes), and the four voting amendments covering race (15th, 1870), women (19th, 1920), no poll tax, and age 18.
• Week 3 (Chronological U.S. history): Walk forward from Native Americans, colonial settlement, July 4, 1776, and the 1787 Constitution to 1803 (Louisiana Territory), the four 1800s wars, the five 1900s wars, the Cold War, Civil Rights, and September 11, 2001.
• Week 4 (Symbols, holidays, and oral drills): Review the flag (13 stripes, 50 stars), national anthem, Statue of Liberty, holidays, and USCIS Reading and Writing Vocabulary Lists, then practice answering 20 random questions out loud.

What happens if you miss questions: the 60-to-90-day retest

At the end of your interview, the officer records your scores in your A-File and gives you Form N-652, Naturalization Interview Results, unless serving a denial notice. You get two opportunities per Form N-400 to pass English and civics. If you fail any portion, USCIS schedules a re-examination between 60 and 90 days after your initial interview under 8 CFR 335.3(b) and 8 CFR 312.5(a), using a different test form and retesting only the part you missed.

Missing your scheduled re-examination without USCIS excusing the absence counts as a failed attempt, and USCIS must deny Form N-400 if you fail any portion twice. You may request a hearing on a denial by filing Form N-336 under INA Section 336, where an officer gives the failed test portion once, or submit a new Form N-400 with the filing fee since USCIS sets no limit on reapplying.

Practice example

Who is one of your state's U.S. Senators now?

Give the full name or last name of either of the two U.S. Senators serving the state listed as your current residence on Form N-400 on the day of your interview. You only need to name one Senator, even though every state elects two. Before your appointment, check the U.S. Senate directory and verify the residential address on your Form N-400 copy, especially if you moved to a different state after filing and reported an address change to USCIS. If an election or special appointment happened recently, name the person holding the seat when you sit across from the USCIS officer, not the person serving when you applied. If you live in the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory such as Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana Islands, state clearly that D.C. or your territory has no U.S. Senators.

This question appears on both the 2008 test (Item 20) and the 2025 test (Item 23). The USCIS officer checks that you know who represents your state of residence on the date of the interview rather than repeating an outdated study guide, and that D.C. or territorial residents know their jurisdiction has no U.S. Senators.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.