US Citizenship Test Answers: Sources, Scoring, and Exemptions

The U.S. citizenship test answers are published in advance by USCIS. For anyone who filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025, the civics portion draws from a bank of 128 questions with set acceptable answers; an officer asks 20 of them at your interview and you pass by answering 12 correctly.¹ There are no surprise questions. If you learn the published answers and can read, write, and speak simple English, you pass.

Where to Get the Official Answers

USCIS releases the full list of 128 civics questions and every acceptable answer as a free PDF, along with a study guide titled “One Nation, One People.”² These are the only questions the officer will ask, and any answer on the official list counts as correct. Study from the USCIS materials rather than a third-party book or app you can’t verify.

What the Answers Cover

The 128 questions fall into three subject areas.²

American Government: how the Constitution divides power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, the rights protected by the Bill of Rights, and the responsibilities of citizenship such as voting and jury service.
American History: the colonial period and independence, the 1800s and the Civil War, civil rights movements, and modern conflicts including World War II and the Cold War.
Symbols and Holidays: the flag, the Statue of Liberty, the national anthem, and federal holidays.

Most answers are fixed facts. The Constitution was written in 1787. The Bill of Rights contains 10 amendments. Learn those once and they stay learned.

Answers That Change

A handful of questions have answers that depend on current officeholders, and these are the ones that catch prepared applicants off guard. You may be asked to name the current President, the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, your U.S. Senators, your U.S. Representative, or the Chief Justice. USCIS keeps a Civics Test Updates page with current names, and you can enter your zip code on the agency’s site to look up your specific members of Congress.³ Check those names shortly before your interview date. An outdated study aid is the most common preventable mistake.

How the Interview Scores Your Answers

A USCIS officer asks the questions orally in a private interview. Twenty questions maximum, twelve correct answers to pass. The officer stops as soon as you reach 12 correct or 9 incorrect, whichever comes first.⁴ If you answer the first 12 correctly, the civics portion ends there.

Some questions have multiple acceptable answers listed on the official sheet. You only need to give one. If the officer asks how many voting members are in the House of Representatives, either the number itself or any answer USCIS lists as acceptable counts.

The English Portion

Federal law requires applicants to read, write, and speak English at an ordinary, everyday level.⁵ Fluency is not the standard. Basic function is.

For reading, the officer shows you up to three sentences. Reading one aloud correctly is a pass. For writing, the officer dictates up to three sentences and you write them down; writing one legibly with the intended meaning is a pass.⁶ The vocabulary is drawn from a published word list built around civics and history themes, so every word you could face is available to study in advance.³

There is no separate speaking test. The officer judges your spoken English from the interview itself, based on whether you can understand and respond to questions about your application. If the officer thinks you missed a question, they will rephrase it.⁴

If You Get Answers Wrong

Failing the civics test or the English portion on the first attempt is not a denial. USCIS must schedule a second attempt on the specific section you failed, 60 to 90 days after your first interview.⁷ You retake only the part you didn’t pass.

If you fail the retest, USCIS denies the application. The denial notice states the requirement you didn’t meet and explains how to request a hearing. You can either request that hearing within the time stated in the notice or file a new Form N-400 and pay the fee again.⁷

Who Studies a Shorter List

Older long-term permanent residents get accommodations that reduce what they have to learn.⁵

65/20: A Shorter Civics List

If you are 65 or older and have been a permanent resident for at least 20 years, you study a designated list of only 20 questions instead of all 128, and you take the test in the language of your choice.⁸ This is the most generous accommodation available.

50/20 and 55/15: Test in Your Native Language

You are exempt from the English reading, writing, and speaking requirements if, at filing, you are at least 50 with 20 years of permanent residency, or at least 55 with 15 years. You still take the full civics test, but you can take it in your native language and must bring your own interpreter fluent in both languages.⁹

Disability-Based Waiver

If a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment prevents you from learning English or civics, Form N-648 requests an exception. The impairment must be medically determinable and must have lasted, or be expected to last, at least 12 months.¹⁰ Only a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, or clinical psychologist licensed in the United States can certify the form, and the professional must examine you, diagnose the condition, and explain on the form how it specifically prevents you from meeting the requirement.¹¹ USCIS does not charge a fee to file Form N-648.

If You Filed Before October 20, 2025

The 128-question bank applies to applications filed on or after October 20, 2025. If you filed earlier, you take the 2008 version instead: 10 questions from a bank of 100, with 6 correct answers to pass.³ The answer sheets for the two versions are different documents, so confirm your filing date before choosing your study materials.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2025 Civics Test
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 128 Civics Questions and Answers (2025 Version)
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Study for the Test
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part E Chapter 2 – English and Civics Testing
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1423 – Requirements as to Understanding the English Language, History, Principles and Form of Government of the United States
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Naturalization Interview and Test
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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. 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. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part E Chapter 3 – Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions