Guide
2025 or 2008: which civics test will you take?
Your Form N-400 filing date decides whether you take the 2025 or the 2008 civics test. How each test works, how many answers you need, and the 65/20 rule.
newlycitizen
3 min read
One date decides which version of the civics test you take: the day you filed Form N-400, your application for naturalization. Your interview date doesn’t change it.
Which test is yours
| You filed Form N-400 | Your civics test |
|---|---|
| Before October 20, 2025 | 2008 test |
| On or after October 20, 2025 | 2025 test |
| You haven’t filed yet | 2025 test |
USCIS gives this rule on its Study for the Test page, and the Federal Register notice that started the 2025 test confirms the date. If you’re not sure when you filed, check your USCIS receipt notice or your USCIS online account.
How each test works
The civics test is oral. The officer asks questions from the official list, and you answer out loud. The officer stops as soon as you pass, or as soon as you can no longer pass.
| 2008 test | 2025 test | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions on the official list | 100 | 128 |
| Questions the officer asks | Up to 10 | Up to 20 |
| Correct answers to pass | 6 | 12 |
| The officer stops after | 6 right or 5 wrong | 12 right or 9 wrong |
Each test has its own list: the 2008 questions and answers and the 2025 questions and answers. Many questions appear on both, but under different numbers. “What is the supreme law of the land?” is question 1 on the 2008 list and question 2 on the 2025 list. Study from the list for your test. You can also read all 128 questions for the 2025 test or all 100 questions for the 2008 test on one page on this site.
USCIS encourages you to answer with the answers on its list. The lists also say there may be other correct answers.
If you’re 65 or older: the 65/20 rule
If you were 65 or older and had been a permanent resident for at least 20 years when you filed, you get special consideration:
- You study only the 20 questions marked for 65/20 on your test’s list.
- The officer asks up to 10 of them, and you pass with 6 right.
- You can take the civics test in the language you choose.
Your filing date still decides which list you use. The 2008 and 2025 lists each mark their own 20 questions.
The 50/20 and 55/15 exceptions work differently. If you were 50 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident, or 55 or older with 15 years, you don’t take the English test, and you can take the civics test in your language. You still study the whole list. If you take the civics test in another language, bring an interpreter fluent in English and that language. USCIS explains each one on its exceptions and accommodations page.
Some answers change
A few questions ask who holds an office now, like the President or the Speaker of the House. Others depend on where you live, like your senators, your representative, your governor and your state capital. Both tests have them.
Answer with the name of the person in office on the day of your interview. Check the USCIS test updates page close to that day.
What the civics test doesn’t cover
The civics test is one part of your naturalization interview. The officer also reviews your Form N-400 and your background, and tests your English: you read one of up to three sentences, write one of up to three sentences, and the officer judges your speaking from the interview itself. USCIS describes each part in its overview of the test.
This guide explains the rules USCIS publishes. It isn’t legal advice. For questions about your eligibility or your case, follow the instructions USCIS gives you, or ask an immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the Department of Justice.
Try three questions from the 2025 test
They come from the newlycitizen quiz, free on iPhone.
What is the supreme law of the land?
Sources
We checked these pages on October 2, 2026.
- Study for the Test, USCIS
- Notice of Implementation of 2025 Naturalization Civics Test, Federal Register, 90 FR 45047
- Civics Questions and Answers (2008 version) (PDF), USCIS
- 128 Civics Questions and Answers (2025 version) (PDF), USCIS
- Exceptions and Accommodations, USCIS
- Instructions for Form N-400 (PDF), USCIS
- Check for Test Updates, USCIS
- Naturalization test components (PDF), USCIS
