Zestly

U.S. Citizenship Test

Practice for the naturalization test — the civics questions, the English reading and writing, and the interview itself, built on the official USCIS question banks.

Two different tests, and your filing date decides which

This is the part that catches people out, so settle it first. There are currently two live versions of the civics test, and which one you sit depends on nothing but the date you filed Form N-400:

• Filed on or after 20 October 2025 → the 2025 test: the officer asks 20 questions drawn from a bank of 128, and you need 12 correct. The officer stops as soon as you have 12 right or 9 wrong, so the test often ends before question 20.
• Filed before 20 October 2025 → the 2008 test: up to 10 questions from a bank of 100, and you need 6 correct.

Studying the wrong bank is not a small mistake — the two lists overlap in subject matter but differ in wording, in the answers accepted and in how many questions there are. Check your filing date before you start.

The civics test is only one part of the interview

The naturalization examination has four things being assessed, not one:

1. Speaking English. There is no separate speaking test — the officer judges it from how you answer ordinary questions during the interview itself, including the questions about your own N-400 application. This is the part candidates prepare for least and stumble over most.
2. Reading English. You read aloud from up to three sentences and must read one correctly.
3. Writing English. The officer dictates up to three sentences and you must write one so that it is understood.
4. Civics. The oral question-and-answer described above.

Each part is scored separately. If you fail one, you are rescheduled for a second examination between 60 and 90 days later and retested only on the part you failed. Failing the second time means the application is denied on educational grounds.

Exemptions worth knowing about before you over-prepare

• 50 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident, or 55 or older with 15 years — exempt from the English requirement. You still take the civics test, but you may take it in the language of your choice, with an interpreter.
• 65 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident — special consideration: 10 questions drawn from a specially designated list of 20, and you need 6 correct. That is a far smaller amount of material, and this track covers those twenty questions separately for exactly that reason.

There is also a medical disability exception, filed on Form N-648, which is a matter for you and a medical professional rather than for revision.

The answers that change, and why they are not in the quizzes

Several official questions ask who currently holds an office — the president, the vice president, the Speaker of the House, your own state's senators and governor, your representative. USCIS is explicit that the correct answer is the official serving at the time of your interview, and that a wrong answer is not accepted.

A quiz with a fixed answer key cannot teach those honestly: any key would be out of date by the time you sit the test, and studying a stale answer is worse than studying none. The practice tests here therefore cover only the questions whose answers are stable, and the changing ones are handled separately — as a checklist of what you must look up yourself, close to your interview date, from an official source.

How to use these materials

1. Start with your own bank. Work through the practice tests for the version your filing date puts you in, until you are getting well past the pass mark rather than just over it. The real test stops early when you are doing well, but it also stops early when you are not.
2. Read the explanation even when you were right. Most of these questions have several officially accepted answers, and the explanations say which ones. Knowing that "Congress", "the legislative branch" and "the Senate and the House" are all accepted takes the pressure off finding one exact phrase under stress.
3. Say the answers out loud. The test is oral. An answer you can pick from four options is not the same as an answer you can produce, in English, to a stranger in an office. Use the spoken practice for this — it is closer to the real thing than any written exercise.
4. Write by hand. The writing test is dictation onto paper. Practising it on a keyboard misses the two things it actually tests: spelling and legibility.
5. Look up the changing answers last. Check the current officeholders a few days before your interview, not months before.

Official sources

Everything here is built on documents published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Read them directly — they are short, free, and they are what the officer works from:

• The 2025 civics test and how it is administered: uscis.gov — 2025 Civics Test
• The official 128-question bank (2025): 128 Civics Questions and Answers, PDF
• The official 100-question bank (2008): 100 Civics Questions and Answers, PDF
• The interview and the test, explained: uscis.gov — The Naturalization Interview and Test
• The rules themselves, including the exemptions above: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part E, Chapter 2
• Changes to the test: uscis.gov — Check for Test Updates

Zestly is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with USCIS, the Department of Homeland Security or any government agency, and nothing here is legal advice. Eligibility, filing, fees and the conduct of your interview are matters for USCIS and, if you need one, for an immigration attorney or an accredited representative.