A Certificate of Naturalization is the document U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issues to prove citizenship for anyone who became a U.S. citizen rather than being born one. You receive it at the end of the naturalization process, right after taking the Oath of Allegiance, and it is what you use to get your first passport, update your Social Security record, register to vote, sponsor family members, and prove citizenship for federal jobs.
The document carries your naturalization application number, a unique certificate number, the date you naturalized, your photograph and personal description, your place of residence, and the USCIS office and official that handled your case.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1449 – Certificate of Naturalization; Contents Those two numbers become permanent identifiers that other agencies use to verify your citizenship for the rest of your life.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Certificate of Naturalization
How It Differs From a Certificate of Citizenship
The two documents look alike and prove the same thing, but they go to different people. A Certificate of Naturalization is for someone who was born a citizen of another country and later naturalized. A Certificate of Citizenship is for someone born abroad to U.S. citizen parents whose parents did not obtain a Consular Report of Birth Abroad before the child turned 18.3USAGov. Get or Replace a Certificate of Citizenship or a Certificate of Naturalization If you derived citizenship through a parent rather than by applying yourself, you file Form N-600 for a Certificate of Citizenship, not Form N-400.
What You Can Do With It
Before you have a U.S. passport, the certificate is your primary evidence of citizenship. A passport is easier to carry around once you have one, but you need the certificate to get the passport in the first place.
- Applying for your first U.S. passport. The Department of State accepts the Certificate of Naturalization as evidence of citizenship.4U.S. Department of State. Apply for Your Adult Passport
- Updating your Social Security record from non-citizen to citizen. You apply online for a replacement card and bring proof of your new status to an appointment; the certificate qualifies.5Social Security Administration. Update Your Citizenship or Immigration Status
- Registering to vote. Local election offices require proof of citizenship, and the certificate satisfies it.
- Federal employment and security clearances. Most federal jobs and clearance positions require proof of citizenship, and the certificate is the standard document for naturalized citizens.
- Sponsoring family members for immigrant visas. The certificate proves your eligibility to file the petition.
- Jury service. U.S. citizens who are at least 18, have lived in the judicial district for at least a year, and can communicate in English are qualified for federal jury duty. Naturalized citizens are fully eligible and may be summoned like anyone else.6United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions, and Excuses
Rules for Handling the Certificate
This one catches new citizens off guard: it is a federal crime to photocopy, photograph, or otherwise reproduce a Certificate of Naturalization without lawful authority. Penalties for unauthorized reproduction reach up to 10 years in prison for a first or second offense and up to 15 years otherwise. If the reproduction is tied to drug trafficking or international terrorism, sentences can reach 20 or 25 years.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1426 – Reproduction of Naturalization or Citizenship Papers
Government agencies handling passport applications or employment verification can make copies as part of their official duties. You should not. Do not photocopy the certificate for personal files, and do not hand copies to private employers. If someone needs to verify your citizenship, show them the original or point them to the appropriate verification process. Keep the document in a safe deposit box or fireproof safe.
How to Get One
The certificate is the last step in the naturalization process. Getting to it means filing Form N-400, meeting the residency and physical presence rules, passing an interview with English and civics tests, and taking the Oath of Allegiance.
Filing Form N-400
You can file the Application for Naturalization online or by mail.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-400, Application for Naturalization USCIS lets you file up to 90 days before you hit your continuous residence anniversary, so you don’t have to wait until the exact five-year or three-year mark.
The application asks for a full residency history, every international trip you took as a permanent resident, and any encounters with law enforcement. Arrests, citations, and similar matters must be disclosed because USCIS uses them to judge good moral character. You’ll also submit a copy of your Green Card and evidence of your marital history (a current marriage certificate and any divorce decrees or death certificates for prior marriages). USCIS may request passport-style photographs based on processing needs, and if so you’ll get a separate request with instructions after filing.
Residency and Physical Presence
Two rules that people conflate. Continuous residence means keeping your home in the United States without significant interruption. Physical presence means the number of days you were actually on U.S. soil.
For the standard five-year path, you need at least 30 months of physical presence during that period. Married to a U.S. citizen and filing on the three-year path, the threshold drops to 18 months.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements for Naturalization A single trip abroad of more than six months but less than a year creates a presumption that continuous residence was broken, which you can try to overcome by showing you kept employment, a home, and family ties in the U.S. during the absence. A trip of a year or more generally breaks continuous residence outright, with no way around it, and the clock starts over.
Fees and Fee Relief
The filing fee is $710 online and $760 on paper.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-400, Application for Naturalization Two forms can reduce or eliminate that cost:
- Form I-912 requests a full fee waiver. You qualify if you currently receive a means-tested public benefit (like Medicaid, SNAP, or SSI), if your household income is at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or if you’re facing financial hardship such as a medical emergency or job loss. For a single-person household in the 48 contiguous states, 150 percent of the 2026 guideline is $23,940.10HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
- Form I-942 requests a reduced fee if your income is above 150 percent but not more than 400 percent of the poverty guidelines. For a single-person household in the contiguous states, the upper threshold is $63,840 in 2026.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-942, Request for Reduced Fee
Either form is filed alongside the N-400. There is no filing fee at all for applicants naturalizing through military service.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Naturalization Through Military Service
The Interview and Tests
After USCIS processes your application and finishes background checks, you’ll be scheduled for an interview at a local field office. The officer reviews your application with you and administers two tests.
The English test has three parts. The officer judges your speaking and understanding through the conversation itself, then asks you to read one of three sentences correctly and write one of three sentences correctly.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Study for the Test
The 2025 civics test, current at this writing, is an oral test of 20 questions pulled from a published list of 128. You must answer at least 12 correctly; miss 9 and you fail.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Study for the Test The full question set and study materials are on the USCIS website.
Two exemptions let older, long-time residents skip the English portion (they still take the civics test, which they can take in their native language with an interpreter): the 50/20 exemption, if you’re at least 50 at filing and have been a lawful permanent resident for 20 years; and the 55/15 exemption, if you’re at least 55 with 15 years of permanent residency.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – English and Civics Testing A physical or developmental disability or mental impairment that prevents you from meeting either requirement can be raised through Form N-648, filed with your application.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-400, Application for Naturalization
Military Applicants
Service members and veterans use a different track. Honorable service of at least one year qualifies you under Section 328 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Service during a designated period of hostility (which includes September 11, 2001 through the present) qualifies you under Section 329 and waives the continuous residence and physical presence requirements entirely.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Naturalization Through Military Service Currently serving applicants submit Form N-426; separated applicants submit a DD Form 214 or equivalent discharge document.
The Oath and the Certificate
If the officer approves your case, the final step is the Oath of Allegiance. You pledge loyalty to the United States and renounce foreign allegiances, and the Certificate of Naturalization is handed to you at the end of the ceremony. Your citizenship takes effect the moment you finish the oath, not when you filed or when you interviewed.
Some field offices hold same-day oath ceremonies right after the interview, so you can walk in a permanent resident and leave a citizen the same afternoon.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Naturalization Ceremonies Others schedule ceremonies separately, sometimes weeks later. Which approach applies isn’t up to you.
Replacing a Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Certificate
File Form N-565 with USCIS to replace a certificate that’s been lost, stolen, or damaged, or to correct a clerical error on the original. You’ll need your original certificate number and an explanation of why a replacement is needed. If the certificate was stolen, USCIS expects a police report or sworn statement.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document Filing fees differ between online and paper submissions and change periodically, so check the current amount at uscis.gov before you file. All information on the replacement request must match your original naturalization record to avoid processing delays.
What Changes After You Have It
Citizenship carries a tax rule that surprises many new citizens: the United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income no matter where it’s earned. Income from a foreign business, rental property, investment account, or job must be reported on your federal return.17Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad The rule likely applied to you already as a permanent resident, but it now follows you permanently, even if you later move abroad.
If your foreign financial accounts have a combined value over $10,000 at any point in the calendar year, you must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) by April 15 of the following year. An automatic extension to October 15 applies without a separate request.18Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) FBAR penalties can reach well into six figures, so treat this filing seriously.