The N-400 naturalization civics test: how to study in two weeks
6 min readLegal Prep
The civics portion of the naturalization interview is an oral test drawn from a published question bank. The officer asks a subset of the questions and you must answer a set number correctly. Because the bank is public and finite, this is one of the few parts of an immigration case you can fully prepare for.
Check which version applies to you
Which version you take depends on when your Form N-400 was filed, and the two differ enough that studying the wrong bank is a costly mistake. Find your filing date in the table below, then confirm it against the USCIS pages linked at the end of this article before you memorize anything.
| If you filed Form N-400 | Test | Question bank | Asked | Needed to pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On or after October 20, 2025 | 2025 civics test | 128 questions | Up to 20 | 12 |
| On or after October 20, 2025, and 65 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident | 2025 civics test, 65/20 | 20 designated questions | 10 | 6 |
| Before October 20, 2025 | 2008 civics test | 100 questions | 10 | 6 |
The filing date on your receipt notice decides which test, not the date of your interview. Your age and years as a permanent resident can change what you are asked.
Age and time as a permanent resident can change all of this, and both are measured on the day you file. At 65 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident, you study only the questions marked with an asterisk in the bank, and the officer asks 10 of those 20. At 50 or older with 20 years, or 55 or older with 15, you are exempt from the English requirement and may take the civics test in your own language, bringing your own interpreter. Check the USCIS exceptions page linked at the end before you assume the standard test applies to you.
A two-week plan
- Days 1–3: read the whole bank once, out loud, without trying to memorize. You are separating what you already know from what you don't.
- Days 4–8: work only on the questions you missed. Twenty a day, spoken aloud, not read silently.
- Days 9–11: the answers that change. Your state's officials and some federal office-holders are not fixed facts; look up the current answers and learn those.
- Days 12–13: full mock interviews with someone else asking, in the order the officer would.
- Day 14: rest. Re-read your own application instead.
The test is not only civics
Unless one of the age exemptions above applies to you, the same interview covers reading and writing in English, and the officer goes through your application with you under oath. People who study only the 128 questions are often surprised by the application review. Know what you wrote: your travel history, your addresses, your employment, and anything you answered yes to.
Filing this year?
We'll prepare it right the first time, in English or Spanish.
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