100 Questions for Citizenship: Topics, Scoring, and Retakes

The 100 questions for the citizenship civics test are the official study bank USCIS uses if you filed Form N-400 before October 20, 2025. During your naturalization interview, an officer asks up to 10 of those questions out loud, and you need 6 correct to pass.¹ The full list of 100 questions and answers is published free on the USCIS website, along with flashcards and audio recordings.²

Who Still Takes the 100-Question Test

Your N-400 filing date decides which version of the civics test you take. If you filed before October 20, 2025, you take the 2008 civics test built on the 100-question bank. If you filed on or after that date, you take the 2025 civics test, which draws from 128 questions and asks 20.²

So the 100-question test is the right study set only for people whose N-400 was already on file before that cutoff and whose interview hasn’t happened yet. If you’re not sure which version applies, confirm with USCIS before you start memorizing the wrong list.

How the Test Is Given and Scored

The civics test is oral. There is no written portion, no multiple choice, and no paper test for this section. A USCIS officer reads each question aloud during your naturalization interview, and you answer out loud.

The officer draws 10 questions at random from the 100-question bank. You pass by answering 6 correctly. The test stops as soon as you hit 6 correct or 5 incorrect, whichever comes first, so a strong start can end the section in six questions.¹ The passing standard is 60 percent, the same threshold used for the 2025 version.

You don’t have to recite answers word for word. Alternative phrasings that convey the correct information still count.¹ Once you’ve passed, the officer moves on. Extra correct answers after that don’t add anything.

What the 100 Questions Cover

The 100 questions fall into three broad categories. Together they test a general knowledge of American government, history, and geography.

American Government

This is the largest category. Expect questions about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the three branches of the federal government. You should know how many senators each state has, what the Electoral College does, who currently holds key offices, and what rights the First Amendment protects. Questions also cover the responsibilities of citizenship, including voting, jury duty, and obeying federal law.

American History

History questions run from the colonial era to the present. You should know why colonists fought for independence, the purpose of the Constitutional Convention, and the causes of the Civil War. The 20th and 21st century questions focus on the world wars, the civil rights movement, and the leaders who shaped those periods.

Integrated Civics

The last group covers practical knowledge about the country itself: the longest rivers, the oceans on each coast, the location of the Statue of Liberty, the meaning of the flag’s stripes and stars, and which holidays are federal. These tend to be the easiest questions, but they still catch applicants who skip them during preparation.

Where to Get the Official Questions

USCIS publishes the full 100-question list and answers on its Citizenship Resource Center, along with flashcards and audio versions of the material.² Use those directly. Third-party apps and printed guides sometimes carry outdated answers, particularly now that a newer test version exists alongside the 100-question one.

A few answers change over time on their own. Questions about current officeholders, such as the president, your state’s governor, and your U.S. senators, shift with each election. Any study material more than a year old can give you the wrong names, even if it was accurate when printed.

The Shorter Version for Applicants 65 and Older

Applicants who are at least 65 years old and have been lawful permanent residents for at least 20 years study a smaller subset. On the 100-question list, the questions available to this group are marked, and the officer asks only from that reduced set. The 65/20 group can also take the test in their preferred language with their own interpreter.¹

Two related English exemptions also let applicants take the civics test in their native language, with their own fluent interpreter, while still studying the full civics list: applicants who were at least 50 when they filed and have been permanent residents for 20 years, and applicants who were at least 55 with 15 years as permanent residents.³ A separate medical disability exception on Form N-648 can waive the civics or English requirements entirely, but only when a doctor certifies that a specific condition prevents you from learning the material.⁴

If You Fail on the First Try

You get two attempts within a single N-400 application. If you fail the civics test, the English test, or both at your first interview, USCIS schedules a second appointment between 60 and 90 days later. At the retest you only take the portion you failed.⁵

Failing both attempts results in denial of the naturalization application. The officer issues a written notice explaining which requirements weren’t met.⁵ From there you can request a hearing by filing Form N-336 within 30 days of the decision, or 33 days if it was mailed to you.⁶ You can also file a new N-400 and start over with two fresh testing attempts. Missing a scheduled retest without asking to reschedule can itself lead to denial, so hold on to that appointment date.

A Note if You Filed on or After October 20, 2025

The 100 questions don’t apply to you. Your test draws from a bank of 128 questions, and the officer asks 20 of them, with 12 correct needed to pass. The stopping rule works the same way: the officer ends the section at 12 correct or 9 incorrect.¹ USCIS publishes the 128-question list and a study guide called “One Nation, One People” on the same Citizenship Resource Center.⁷ The subject areas are the same, but the specific questions and required answers differ, so studying the wrong list is a real risk if you don’t check your filing date first.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part E Chapter 2 – English and Civics Testing
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Study for the Test
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Exceptions and Accommodations
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Information for Medical Professionals Completing Form N-648
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part B Chapter 4 – Results of the Naturalization Examination
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2025 Civics Test