U.S. Citizenship Test – How the officer tests your knowledge of U.S. Civics

Updated: May 3, 2021

Important Update to the Civics Test:

USCIS is reverting back to the 2008 version of the civics test.

All applicants are required to take the 2008 civics test, except:
Applicants who filed their Form N-400 on or after Dec. 1, 2020, and before March 1, 2021, with an initial examination (interview) before April 19, 2021, will have the option to take either the 2020 civics test, or the 2008 civics test at initial exam, re-exam, or N-336 hearing.

The English Test portion of the Naturalization Test which includes a speaking, reading and writing test has not changed.

The 2008 version of the Civics Test has 100 questions. You will be asked to answer 10 out of the 100 civics test questions. You will have to answer 6 questions correctly in order to pass the 2008 version of the civics test. All test questions are asked orally.

The 2020 version of the Civics Test has 128 questions. The USCIS officer will ask you to answer 20 out of the 128 civics test questions. 12 questions out of 20 must be answered correctly in order to pass the 2020 version of the civics test. All questions on the test are asked orally.

During your U.S. citizenship test interview, the USCIS officer will ask you to orally answer some civics questions to test your knowledge of U.S. Civics (Government, History, Geography, Symbols and Holidays). As soon as you have correctly answered the required amount of questions correctly, the officer will stop and you will have passed the civics portion of the citizenship test.

You will not fail if you provide an alternative phrasing of the correct answer.

The questions will be asked exactly as written on the Civics Questions and Answers list but the officer could re-phrase the question to make you understand it better.

The civics portion of the interview is a spoken test. The officer will speak the question out loud and you will also respond verbally. You won’t be required to read or write anything.

Do you need help preparing for your U.S. citizenship test? We offer a FREE U.S. Citizenship Test online training program. Check it out!

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