Your Form N-400 filing date settles it and the interview date has no bearing. Everyone who filed before October 20, 2025 stays on the 2008 test. Anyone who filed on or after that date takes the newer 2025 test (128 questions, 20 asked, 12 to pass). The receipt date on your Form I-797C receipt notice is the date that counts.
Earlier test
Filed before October 20, 2025? You are on the 2008 civics test.
USCIS used this version of the citizenship test for years, and it still applies to every N-400 filed before the 2025 test took over. If you are 65 or older with 20 years as a resident, the list gets shorter still.
- to study
- 100
- asked, at most
- 10
- right to pass
- 6
Updated October 6, 2026. The 2008 test is still given for every N-400 filed before October 20, 2025.
How the officer gives the test
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Asked and answered out loud
The officer reads each question to you and you answer from memory. There are no answer choices to pick from.
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Questions from the official list
Every question comes from the 100 on the USCIS list, so learning the list covers the whole test.
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A second try if you need it
Fail a part and USCIS schedules a retest 60 to 90 days later. Only the part you failed is tested again.
Up to 10 questions, 6 right to pass
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
6 right answers pass Asked only if needed
The officer stops as soon as the result is settled, at 6 correct or 5 incorrect. If your first 6 answers are right, the officer stops there.
Are you still on the 2008 test?
What's on the 2008 test
All 100 questionsWhat the interview involves
You answer out loud. A USCIS officer asks questions from the official list one at a time during your naturalization interview and you respond in English. Nothing gets written down and there are no answer choices to pick from.
The 2008 list has 100 civics questions and answers and the officer asks up to 10 of them. Six correct answers pass. The officer stops as soon as the outcome is fixed, so once you have 6 right the civics portion is over, and once you have 5 wrong there is no way back to 6.
The questions cover American government, American history, and integrated civics, which is geography, symbols, and holidays.
A few answers move with elections or depend on your state: your senators and representative, your governor, and the current officeholders in Washington. Look those up close to your interview date.
Civics is one part of the appointment. The officer also goes through your N-400 and gives the English test, and our walkthrough of what happens at the naturalization interview covers each part.
Where the 2008 test differs from the 2025 test
One quirk worth knowing: the geography questions, the oceans, the longest rivers, which states border Canada or Mexico, belong to the 2008 list. The 2025 version dropped that section and kept only a few place facts.
Age-based accommodations may apply on top of that, each measured at the time you file. Under the 50/20 rule (50 or older with 20 years as a resident) and the 55/15 rule (55 or older with 15 years), you can take the civics test in your own language with an interpreter and skip the English reading and writing test. The 65/20 special consideration goes further and shortens the civics list itself, which is covered next.
The 65/20 special consideration
At 65 or older when you file, with 20 or more years as a lawful permanent resident, you study 20 designated questions from this list instead of all 100. The officer asks 10 of the 20 and you still pass at 6. The 2025 test carries the same accommodation, with its own set of 20.
Read more about the 65/20 special consideration
Getting through 100 questions
A hundred questions reads as a lot, but many of them are short facts you half know already, and the officer only asks 10. Study by category rather than straight down the list, so related answers reinforce each other, and keep your sessions short and frequent. What you can still recall a week later is what gets tested, and that comes from spacing the work out over time.
Free in the app
- Flashcards for all 100 questions by category, with mastery tracking on each one.
- Unlimited practice tests in the self-check format, the same way the officer runs it.
- Read-aloud audio on every question.
- If you qualify for 65/20, a free mode narrows the whole app to your 20 designated questions.
Pro adds a full mock interview with a spoken officer who runs the whole N-400, and a study plan that counts down to your interview date with a readiness score. Pro is $14.99 once, with no subscription.
Try a question
At the interview there are no answer choices. Here they help you check yourself, and in the app you can also answer out loud.
American Government Question 1 on the 2008 list
What is the supreme law of the land?
That's right.
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Every other law, and every branch of government, has to answer to it.
Not yet. Here's the answer.
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Every other law, and every branch of government, has to answer to it.
In the app this becomes a flashcard that keeps coming back until you know it. Get early access
The three versions side by side
| 2025 test | 2008 test | 65/20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who takes it | Filed on or after Oct 20, 2025 | Filed before Oct 20, 2025 | 65+ and 20 years a resident |
| Study list | 128 questions | 100 questions | 20 questions |
| Asked | Up to 20 | Up to 10 | 10 |
| To pass | 12 correct | 6 correct | 6 correct |
| Language | English, unless 50/20 or 55/15 applies | English, unless 50/20 or 55/15 applies | Your choice, with an interpreter |
Common questions
How many questions are on the 2008 civics test?
A hundred, and you study all of them unless you qualify for 65/20. The officer asks up to 10 at the interview and you need 6 correct.
Does the officer always ask all 10 questions?
No. It stops as soon as the outcome is fixed, which means 6 correct or 5 incorrect.
Do I take the 2008 test or the 2025 test?
Whichever one matches your N-400 filing date. Before October 20, 2025 puts you on the 2008 test. On or after that date puts you on the 2025 test. Your interview date does not change it, and our app covers both lists.
Can I study fewer than 100 questions?
Only under the 65/20 special consideration. At 65 or older when you file, with 20 or more years as a lawful permanent resident, you study 20 designated questions from the 2008 list and the officer asks 10 of those 20.
My interview is in 2026. Does that put me on the new test?
No. The interview date never changes the version. An N-400 filed before October 20, 2025 means the 2008 test, whenever the interview happens.
What if I fail the civics portion?
USCIS gives you a second attempt at the part you failed, between 60 and 90 days after the interview. The retest stays on the 2008 list.
The 100 questions, in your pocket
Free flashcards and practice tests for the 2008 list, plus a 65/20 mode if you qualify for it.
iPhone first, Android after that. We'll email you once, when it launches.
