Updated November 12, 2026

How to pass the US citizenship exam: passing scores, English grading rules, exemptions, and study plan

To pass the US citizenship exam at your USCIS naturalization interview, you must pass both the English test and the oral civics test unless you qualify for an exemption. For English, USCIS requires you to answer Form N-400 eligibility questions, read 1 of 3 sentences aloud, and write 1 of 3 dictated sentences. For civics, USCIS requires 12 of 20 correct answers from the 128-question bank if you filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025, or 6 of 10 from the 100-question bank if you filed earlier.

Which citizenship civics test you take and the passing score

Your Form N-400 filing date determines which oral civics exam an officer gives you. USCIS implemented the 2025 civics test under Executive Order 14161, as detailed in the USCIS Policy Manual.

Both test versions require a 60 percent score to pass. A USCIS system randomly selects the questions, and the officer asks them aloud during your interview.

Officers stop the oral civics exam as soon as you hit either the passing score or the failing threshold, a change from the 2020 test. You pass each item by giving the listed answer or an alternative phrasing of the right answer, and officers exercise due consideration case by case based on your age, background, education level, years of US residence, and efforts to learn.

Answers about elected leaders or appointments change on a rolling basis. USCIS requires the name of the person serving at the time of your interview, which you can check on the USCIS Check for Test Updates page. Applicants age 65 or older with at least 20 years as a permanent resident at filing study just 20 asterisk-marked questions from their test version.

USCIS naturalization civics test versions and passing rules

How USCIS grades the English speaking, reading, and writing tests

Under INA 312, you only need to read, write, speak, and understand English words in ordinary usage. USCIS defines ordinary usage as comprehensible, pertinent communication through simple vocabulary and grammar, even with noticeable errors in pronouncing, constructing, spelling, or understanding certain words and sentences.

You do not need to understand every word on Form N-400, and you may ask the officer to repeat or rephrase questions without losing points. USCIS policy directs officers to repeat and rephrase questions until satisfied you either understand the question or cannot understand English.

If you fail speaking, the officer must still administer the reading, writing, and civics tests. USCIS publishes free Reading Test and Writing Test Vocabulary Lists focused on civics and history in its Citizenship Resource Center, and the officer stops each test once you get 1 of 3 sentences right.

USCIS English test passing and failing standards

The Form N-400 eligibility and Good Moral Character review

Passing the English and civics tests alone does not approve your application. The officer places you under oath, reviews your A-file and FBI background checks, and questions you on every Form N-400 requirement.

USCIS systems automatically calculate your days abroad from Form N-400 and alert officers to any trip over 180 days. Oral updates are added to your Form N-400 and signed under penalty of perjury, so review these areas before your interview:

• Biographical and marital details: Current legal name, prior names, marital status, and for 3-year spousal filers under INA 319(a), 3 years of marital union with a US citizen.
• Residence and physical presence: At least 5 years of continuous residence and 30 months (913 days) of physical presence for general filers (or 3 years for qualified spouses), plus 3 months in your state or USCIS district.
• Trips abroad and history: Every departure since becoming a permanent resident, especially trips lasting more than 6 months (180 days) and less than 1 year, plus your 5-year or 3-year address, employment, and school history.
• Good Moral Character, taxes, and support: Worldwide arrests, citations, charges, or convictions, tax compliance and any IRS or local payment agreements, and timely child or spousal support.
• Selective Service: Registration with the Selective Service System before age 26 if required, or a Selective Service status information letter and written explanation for unregistered men age 26 to under 31 (or under 29 for spousal filers).
• Constitution and Oath: Organizational memberships, attachment to the US Constitution, and willingness to take the Oath of Allegiance.

Age, residency, and medical exemptions (50/20, 55/15, 65/20, and Form N-648)

Under INA 312(b) and Form N-400 instructions, you can skip the English test or both tests based on your age and permanent resident years on the exact date you file Form N-400, or for a qualifying medical condition. Even if you file up to 90 calendar days early for continuous residence, you must already meet the full age and residency thresholds on your filing date to claim an English exemption. USCIS systems automatically calculate age and residency exemptions from your application dates.

If you test in your native language under 50/20, 55/15, or 65/20, bring a fluent, disinterested interpreter at your own expense unless the officer speaks your language. You and your interpreter sign Form G-1256 and submit a copy of the interpreter's government ID at the interview, and the interpreter must translate word for word without adding commentary.

For physical or developmental disabilities or mental impairments lasting or expected to last 12 months or more, submit Form N-648 with Form N-400, completed by a licensed medical doctor, osteopathic doctor, or clinical psychologist. Separate from test waivers, request interview accommodations such as sign language or wheelchair access through the USCIS Disability Accommodations page once your appointment notice arrives.

Statutory exemptions and modifications for the US citizenship exam

Exam results, Form N-14 continuations, and the 60 to 90 day retest

At the end of every interview, the officer gives you Form N-652, Naturalization Interview Results. Under the USCIS Policy Manual, USCIS has 120 days from your initial interview to issue a decision, after which you may seek judicial review in federal district court.

If you fail any test part at your first interview, 8 CFR 312.5(a) and 335.3(b) require USCIS to reschedule you between 60 and 90 days later unless you are ineligible on other grounds. The re-examining officer must use a different test form and retests only the specific English or civics section you failed.

• Granted: Your file clears internal quality re-verification by a second officer, and USCIS schedules your Oath of Allegiance ceremony (sometimes held the same day).
• Continued for evidence (Form N-14): The officer issues a written Request for Evidence on Form N-14, generally giving you 30 days (plus up to 3 days if mailed under 8 CFR 103.8(b)) to reply before deciding on the existing record.
• Continued for retest: USCIS schedules an in-person re-examination 60 to 90 days from your initial interview covering only the failed test component.
• Missed interview vs missed retest: Missing your initial interview without notifying USCIS within 30 days leads to administrative closure (reopenable in writing without a fee within 1 year), whereas missing your retest without good cause counts as a second failure and triggers denial.
• Denied after two attempts: USCIS mails a written denial within 120 days explaining how to request a USCIS hearing before another officer (where failed test parts are given one final time), or you can file a new Form N-400 with a new fee since USCIS sets no limit on reapplying.

A 4-week study plan to pass the English and civics tests

Follow this 4-week plan written by our team, built around USCIS's study guides, vocabulary lists, and Form N-400 examination rules.

• Week 1 (Core civics bank and dynamic answers): Confirm whether your Form N-400 filing date puts you in the 100-question or 128-question test, check your current elected leaders on the USCIS Check for Test Updates page, and study the first half of your civics questions out loud.
• Week 2 (Remaining civics and English vocabulary): Finish the remaining civics questions while using the USCIS Reading Test and Writing Test Vocabulary Lists to read sentences aloud without long pauses and write dictated civics sentences without abbreviations.
• Week 3 (Form N-400 line-by-line audit): Read your filed Form N-400 aloud from Part 1 to Part 16, list any post-filing trips, address or job changes, or citations, and practice asking the officer to repeat or rephrase a question.
• Week 4 (Oral mock exams and document folder): Practice answering 20 random civics questions aloud until you reach 12 right consistently, write 3 dictated sentences to check legibility, and assemble your original documents.

Checklist of original documents for your citizenship interview and oath

USCIS asks for photocopies when you file Form N-400 and warns that unrequested mailed originals may be destroyed, so bring original documents to your interview instead, along with signed translator certifications for any foreign-language records. Passing the interview does not make you a US citizen until you complete Form N-445, turn in your Green Card, take the Oath of Allegiance at a ceremony, and receive your Certificate of Naturalization.

• Interview appointment notice and valid government photo ID (driver's license, state ID, or passport).
• Permanent Resident Card (Green Card), plus your Form N-400 receipt notice.
• All current and expired passports and travel documents used since becoming a permanent resident.
• Original birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce decrees, annulments, or death certificates ending prior marriages, and legal name-change records.
• For 3-year spousal filers: Proof of your spouse's US citizenship for 3 years (birth certificate, US passport biographical page, naturalization or citizenship certificate, or Form FS-240) and 3 years of marital union evidence (IRS tax transcripts, joint leases, mortgages, bank statements, or children's birth certificates).
• For trips abroad of 6 months to under 1 year: IRS tax transcripts, rent or mortgage statements, pay stubs, bank statements, and car registration proving continuous US residence.
• Good Moral Character and representative records if applicable: Court-certified arrest and sentencing records, probation completion proof, IRS or local tax payment agreements, child support proof, Form G-28 for an attorney, or an interpreter with government ID to sign Form G-1256.

Practice example

Have you taken any trips outside the United States since you filed your Form N-400, and what was your longest trip abroad in the last five years?

Give a clear, two-part factual answer that updates your Form N-400 and confirms your longest absence. First, state whether you traveled outside the United States after submitting your application. If you traveled, give the exact departure and return dates and countries visited so the officer can add them to Part 8 before you re-sign at the end of the interview. Second, state the dates, destination, and purpose of your longest trip during your 5-year (or 3-year spousal) statutory period, matching your passport stamps and filed form. Keep all current and expired passports ready. If any absence lasted more than 6 months (180 days) and less than 1 year, bring IRS tax transcripts, rent or mortgage statements, pay stubs, and bank statements proving you maintained continuous US residence.

This question evaluates your spoken English comprehension while checking both continuous residence (flagged by USCIS systems for any absence over 180 days) and total physical presence up to naturalization.

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.