Answers to the US Citizenship Test: All 128 Questions and Scoring

The US citizenship test answers come from a fixed list of 100 civics questions published by USCIS, and you pass by answering 6 out of 10 correctly when a USCIS officer quizzes you during your naturalization interview.¹ Because the full question pool is public, nothing on test day is a surprise. The national pass rate sits above 92%.²

How the Answers Are Scored

USCIS uses the 2008 version of the civics test. The officer selects 10 questions at random from the list of 100 and asks them out loud. You answer out loud. As soon as you give 6 correct answers, the officer stops the civics portion and moves on.¹ Some questions accept several correct answers; you only need to give one that matches the official answer key.³

The 100 questions split into three groups: American Government, American History, and Integrated Civics.

American Government Answers

Government questions make up the largest share of the test. They cover the Constitution, the three branches, and the split between federal and state authority.

What is the supreme law of the land? The Constitution.
What are the first three words of the Constitution? “We the People.”
How many amendments does the Constitution have? Twenty-seven.
What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful? Checks and balances, or separation of powers.
How many voting members are in the House of Representatives? 435.
How long is a U.S. Senator’s term? Six years.

You should also know which powers belong to which level of government. Printing money and declaring war are federal powers. Providing schooling and issuing driver’s licenses are state powers.³

Presidential succession comes up too. If the President can no longer serve, the Vice President takes over. If both are unable to serve, the Speaker of the House does.³ Expect questions on the Electoral College, the Bill of Rights, and how the Constitution is amended.

American History Answers

History questions run from the colonial era into the twentieth century. Colonial and founding-era questions ask why the colonists fought the British, what the Declaration of Independence did, and who the Founding Fathers were. A common one asks you to name a writer of the Federalist Papers. Any of these answers is accepted: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, or the pen name Publius.⁴

Nineteenth-century questions focus on the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. Know that slavery was among the causes of the Civil War, which states made up the Confederacy, and what Abraham Lincoln is remembered for. Twentieth-century questions touch on the Great Depression and the Cold War, including which countries the United States opposed.

Integrated Civics Answers

This group covers geography, national symbols, and holidays. Sample answers:

Two longest rivers in the United States: the Missouri and the Mississippi.
Why does the flag have 13 stripes? They represent the original 13 colonies.
Why does the flag have 50 stars? One for each state.³

Federal holidays are fair game as well. Be ready to name and identify holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving.

Answers That Change With Elections

Several questions have no fixed answer because they depend on who currently holds office at the time of your interview. You need to know the sitting President, Vice President, and Speaker of the House, along with your state’s U.S. Senators, your state’s Governor, and your U.S. Representative.⁴

As of 2026, the President is Donald J. Trump and the Vice President is JD Vance. Because these answers shift after elections, check the USCIS updates page close to your interview date. If you live in Washington, D.C. or a U.S. territory, the correct answer for U.S. Senators is that your jurisdiction has none.³

The Shorter Answer List for Applicants 65 and Older

If you are 65 or older and have been a lawful permanent resident for at least 20 years, you only study 20 designated questions rather than the full 100. USCIS publishes this shorter list separately, and applicants who qualify can also take the test in their native language.⁵ The passing standard is still 6 correct out of 10.

Two related exceptions relieve the English requirement but not the civics test itself. Applicants 50 or older with 20 years of permanent residency, and applicants 55 or older with 15 years, can take the civics questions in their native language through an interpreter they bring to the interview.⁶

Reading and Writing Answers

Alongside the civics questions, the officer scores your English reading and writing. For reading, you get up to three tries to read a single sentence out loud correctly. For writing, the officer dictates up to three sentences and you need to write one legibly without major errors.⁷

Both sentences pull from a standardized civics vocabulary list: words like “President,” “Congress,” “vote,” “Constitution,” and holiday names such as Memorial Day and Independence Day.⁸ Reviewing that list before your interview is one of the fastest ways to lock in points. USCIS now administers reading and writing on digital tablets using a stylus, though the paper method is still available in some cases.⁹

Speaking is not a separate exercise. The officer judges your spoken English throughout the interview as you answer questions about your Form N-400 application.⁷

If You Get Too Many Answers Wrong

Missing 5 or more of the 10 civics questions is not the end of your case. USCIS reschedules you for a second exam between 60 and 90 days later, and you only retake the portion you failed. There’s no extra fee.¹⁰

If you fail the retake, USCIS denies the application.¹¹ From there you can request a hearing within 30 days of the denial, or file a new N-400 and pay the filing fee again. Most applicants never reach that stage; the civics pass rate is above 92%.²

Where to Find the Official Answers

Every answer scored on test day comes from official USCIS study materials, which are free:¹

The 100 Civics Questions and Answers PDF, available in large print and in multiple languages for applicants who qualify to test in a native language.
MP3 recordings of every question and answer.
Printable flash cards for all 100 questions.
Reading and writing vocabulary lists containing the exact words that can appear.
Interactive practice tests that mirror the real interview format.

Study straight from those materials. The applicants who struggle are usually the ones who didn’t set aside enough time to review, not the ones who found the questions too hard. Work through the practice tests until you consistently get 8 or 9 of 10, and you’ll have a comfortable cushion above the 6-of-10 threshold.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Study for the Test
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Naturalization Test Performance
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Civics Questions and Answers (2008 Version)
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 100 Civics Questions and Answers for the 2008 Test
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Civics Questions for the 65/20 Exemption
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Exceptions and Accommodations
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Scoring Guidelines for the U.S. Naturalization Test
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Reading Vocabulary for the Naturalization Test
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Using Tablets to Administer the English Reading and Writing Tests for Naturalization
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part B Chapter 4 – Results of the Naturalization Examination
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part E Chapter 2 – English and Civics Testing