The 2025 Citizenship Test: What Changed From the 2008 Test

• More to study: the civics bank grew from 100 questions to 128.
• More questions asked: up to 20 instead of up to 10.
• Higher bar in raw numbers: 12 correct to pass instead of 6. The officer stops as soon as you've passed (12 right) or can't pass (9 wrong).
• Same 65/20 setup: 10 questions from a special list of 20, 6 to pass, though the 2025 list of 20 is different.
• Same English test: reading, writing and speaking didn't change.
• Your filing date decides which version you take: N-400s filed on or after October 20, 2025 get the 2025 test.

The pass rate you need is the same on paper: 60% (6 of 10, or 12 of 20). What changed is the volume. You now need 12 correct answers from a bigger list, so there's more to know and less room for luck.

USCIS announced the new test on September 17, 2025, and the official notice was published in the Federal Register on September 18, 2025. The notice says applicants who file 30 days or more after publication take the 2025 test, and everyone who filed earlier keeps the 2008 test. The notice sets the cutoff: applications filed on or after October 20, 2025.

Two things people get wrong:

• It's the filing date, not the interview date. If you filed in September 2025 and interview in 2026, you still take the 2008 test.
• You can't choose. The notice doesn't give applicants an option to take the other version.

If the 2025 test looks familiar, there's a reason: it's closely based on the 128-question "2020 version" of the civics test, which USCIS used briefly before returning to the 2008 test in early 2021.

Beyond the count, the 2025 list asks you to explain more. Of its 128 questions, 19 ask "why," such as why representatives serve shorter terms than senators, why Supreme Court justices serve for life, and why the U.S. entered the Korean and Vietnam wars. Another 35 ask you to name or describe one or more items from a list.

Some examples of questions on the 2025 list that weren't on the 2008 list:

• What is the form of government of the United States?
• Supreme Court justices serve for life. Why?
• Alexander Hamilton is famous for many things. Name one.
• What was the Great Depression?
• Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War?
• Name one example of an American innovation.
• The Nation's first motto was "E Pluribus Unum." What does that mean?

And one familiar 2008 question is gone: the 2025 list doesn't ask for the President's political party.

History got more room overall: the 2025 list has 46 American History questions, including separate "famous for" questions about Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Lincoln, Eisenhower and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The officer only asks until the result is decided. That creates a few scenarios worth knowing:

• Shortest pass: 12 correct in a row, and you're done after 12 questions.
• Shortest fail: 9 misses in a row ends it after 9 questions.
• Longest test: 20 questions, which happens only when you're at 11 correct and 8 wrong going into the last one.

The takeaway: a couple of early misses mean nothing. You can miss up to 8 and still pass, so don't let one blank answer rattle you into missing the next three.

• The English test. The Federal Register notice says it "does not change the English language parts of the naturalization test (reading, writing, speaking, and understanding)." You still need to read one of up to three sentences and write one of up to three.
• It's still oral. The officer asks, you answer out loud. No multiple choice.
• Exemptions. The 50/20 and 55/15 English exemptions and the Form N-648 disability exception still apply.
• Retests. Fail a part and you get a second opportunity 60 to 90 days after your first exam (8 CFR 335.3 and 312.5).

Four 2025 questions ask for current officials. As of September 29, 2026: the President is Donald J. Trump, the Vice President is JD Vance, the Speaker of the House is Mike Johnson and the Chief Justice is John G. Roberts, Jr. Four more ask about where you live: one of your senators, your representative, your governor and your state capital. Check uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates right before your interview.

1. Check your filing date on your N-400 receipt notice. That tells you which list to study.
2. On the 2025 test? Get the full list: all 128 questions and answers, with memory tricks.
3. Practice out loud with Interview Mode, which uses the real 12-right/9-wrong stop rule.
4. Don't neglect English. It didn't change, but you still have to pass it unless you're exempt.
5. Read the full guide to the 2025 citizenship test for exemptions, fees and a study plan.