Updated
· 7 min read · Built from the official USCIS question lists
In 2026 there are two live versions of the US citizenship test, and your Form N-400
filing date decides which one you take. If you filed on or after 20 October 2025 you take the
2025 version: 128 possible questions, of which the officer asks up to 20, and you need
12 correct to pass. If you filed before that date you take the 2008 version: 100 possible
questions, up to 10 asked, 6 correct to pass.
Nothing about that rule depends on your interview date. An applicant interviewing in 2026 on an
N-400 filed in, say, August 2025 still takes the older 100-question test. Getting this right is the
single most valuable thing you can do before you start studying, because the two banks are not the same.
Find the date you filed Form N-400. Not the date you were interviewed, not the date your
biometrics were taken — the filing date.
You filed Form N-400…
You take
Question bank
Asked
Need correct
On or after 20 October 2025
2025 version
128 questions
Up to 20
12
Before 20 October 2025
2008 version
100 questions
Up to 10
6
Because the 2025 rule keys off the filing date, both tests will keep being administered side by side
for as long as older applications are still working through the queue. If you are filing fresh in 2026,
you are on the 2025 version — study the 128.
Do not study the wrong bank
The 128-question list contains most of the old questions but rewords many of them and adds new
material on the Federalist Papers, the Electoral College, American innovation and the rule of law.
It also drops the old Geography section. Studying the 100 for a 2025-version interview leaves real gaps.
What actually changed in the 2025 test
The 2025 version is meaningfully harder, in four ways:
A bigger bank. 128 questions instead of 100, so there is more to memorise.
More questions asked. The officer asks up to 20 instead of up to 10.
A higher bar. 12 correct out of 20 (60%) instead of 6 out of 10 — same percentage,
but far less room for a lucky run.
Harder content. New questions ask you to explain why, not just recall a fact.
"Why does each state have two senators?" and "Supreme Court justices serve for life. Why?" are new in
this style.
The section structure changed too. The 2008 test had American Government, American History and
Integrated Civics (which included Geography). The 2025 test has American Government, American History,
and Symbols and Holidays — the geography questions about rivers, oceans and bordering states are gone.
The 2026 test format, side by side
The civics test is oral. A USCIS officer asks the questions out loud and you answer
out loud, in English (unless you qualify for an exemption). It is not multiple choice and there is no
paper. The officer stops as soon as you have answered enough questions correctly to pass — so on the
2025 version, a run of 12 straight correct answers ends the civics test at question 12.
The civics test is only one part of the interview. You also take an English test with three parts —
speaking, which the officer assesses from your normal conversation during the interview; reading, where
you must read 1 of 3 sentences correctly; and writing, where you must write 1 of 3 sentences correctly.
And the officer goes through your N-400 answers with you under oath.
If you fail
Failing is not the end. You are retested only on the portion you failed — English or civics, not both —
between 60 and 90 days after your first interview. Plenty of people pass on the second attempt.
How to study for it
The questions that trip people up are almost never the famous ones. Nobody fails on "What is the
capital of the United States?" People fail on the ones with numbers (how many amendments, how many
voting members of the House, how long a Senate term is), and on the handful whose answers depend on
where they live or on who currently holds office.
Sort out your version first, using the table above.
Take a cold mock test before you study anything. You need to know your real
starting point, and the questions you miss become your study list.
Drill by category. American Government is the biggest section by far in both
versions — it is worth more of your time than history.
Look up your own state's answers. Your governor, your state capital, your two US
senators and your US representative are all fair game, and no study list can answer them for you.
Say the answers out loud. The real test is oral. Reading an answer silently and
saying it to a stranger under pressure are different skills.
Check the volatile answers close to your interview date on the official
USCIS test
updates page. The President, Vice President, Speaker of the House and Chief Justice all change.
Study the whole bank on your phone
All 128 questions of the 2025 version and all 100 of the 2008 version, offline, with mastery
tracking per category and study in your own language. Free on iPhone and Android.
Studying the right version in the app
Both the free web test on this site and the iPhone app let you switch between the 2025 and 2008
banks, so you are never memorising questions that will not be asked. In the app, open
Settings → Quiz Version and pick 2025 or 2008; every quiz, category and statistic then
follows that choice.
Two other settings are worth doing on day one. Set your US State and
ZIP code, which is how the app answers the location-dependent questions about your
governor, state capital and members of Congress. And set your App Language if English
is not your first language — the app shows each question in your language alongside the English wording
you will actually have to produce at the interview.
Frequently asked
Is the US citizenship test different in 2026?
The test itself did not change in 2026. What changed was in October 2025: applicants who file Form N-400 on or after 20 October 2025 take a new 2025 version with 128 questions, of which 20 are asked and 12 must be correct. Anyone who filed before that date still takes the 2008 version with 100 questions, 10 asked and 6 correct to pass. Both are being administered in 2026.
How many questions are on the 2026 citizenship test?
It depends on your version. The 2025 version has a bank of 128 questions and the officer asks up to 20 of them. The 2008 version has a bank of 100 questions and the officer asks up to 10.
Is the 2025 civics test harder than the 2008 one?
Yes. There are 28 more questions to learn, twice as many are asked at the interview, and several of the new questions ask you to explain why something is the way it is rather than recall a single fact. The passing percentage is the same at 60%, but there is much less margin for error.
Do I take the test in English?
Yes, unless you qualify for an exemption. Applicants who are 65 or older and have been lawful permanent residents for 20 or more years may take the civics test in the language of their choice and study only 20 starred questions. Some older applicants also qualify to take the civics test with an interpreter under the 50/20 and 55/15 rules.
