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The naturalization interview is one appointment with a USCIS officer. The officer puts you under oath, goes through your Form N-400 with you, and gives you the English test and the civics test. You leave with a written notice of how it went.
The civics questions get most of the study time, but they are only one part of that appointment. This page goes through all of it, with the numbers for both versions of the civics test.
The oath to tell the truth
Before any questions, the officer places you under oath. Everything you say after that is sworn.
You are allowed to ask for an attorney or another representative to be with you at the interview.
The N-400 review
The officer interviews you on the questions and answers in your own naturalization application. Reread your N-400 before the appointment, since every answer the officer asks about is one you already gave, and make a note of anything that has changed since you filed. The questions themselves, including the long "have you ever" list in Part 9, are laid out in N-400 interview questions and how to answer them.
This conversation doubles as your English speaking test. USCIS has no separate speaking exercise. The officer decides whether you can speak and understand English from how you respond to the questions that come up in the interview.
The reading test and the writing test
For reading, you read one sentence out loud, and you get up to three sentences to get one right. You have to read all the content words. Leaving out a short word or mispronouncing something does not fail you as long as the meaning holds.
For writing, you need one correctly written sentence out of three. Mistakes in spelling, capitalization, or punctuation do not fail you unless they change what the sentence means.
The civics test
The civics test is oral. The officer asks, you answer, and there are no answer choices to pick from. Which list the questions come from depends on the date you filed your N-400.
| 2008 test | 2025 test | |
|---|---|---|
| Who takes it | N-400 filed before October 20, 2025 | N-400 filed on or after October 20, 2025 |
| Study list | 100 questions | 128 questions |
| Asked | Up to 10 | Up to 20 |
| To pass | 6 correct | 12 correct |
| The officer stops at | 6 correct or 5 incorrect | 12 correct or 9 incorrect |
Look at the bottom row. The officer stops as soon as the result is settled, so on the 2008 test six right answers in a row means you hear six questions and the civics test is over.
Each list is on its own page here with the accepted answers and a short explanation under every question: all 128 civics questions for the 2025 test and the 100 civics questions on the 2008 test. If you are unsure which one is yours, the page on who takes the 2025 civics test explains the filing-date rule.
If you are 50 or older
Your age and your years as a permanent resident can change the test.
At 50 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident, or 55 or older with 15 years, you are exempt from the English requirement. You still take the civics test, and you can take it in the language you choose with an interpreter. These are known as the 50/20 and 55/15 exemptions.
At 65 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident, the civics test itself gets shorter. The officer asks 10 questions from a designated list of 20, and 6 correct answers pass. Both versions of that short list are in our guide to the 65/20 civics questions.
What you leave with
At the end the officer gives you a notice of results, Form N-652, whatever the outcome. The application is granted, continued, or denied.
A granted application still leaves one step. In the words of USCIS, "You are not a U.S. citizen until you take the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony." You may be able to take part in a ceremony the same day as your interview. If none is available, USCIS mails the date, time, and location on Form N-445.
If you do not pass a test
You get two attempts at the English and civics tests. USCIS schedules the second one between 60 and 90 days after the first interview, and the officer retests only the parts you failed. Pass civics but miss the writing sentence, and you come back for writing alone. The retest does not reuse the test you were given the first time.
Take the second appointment seriously. If you fail any part again, the officer must deny the application, and failing to appear counts as a failed attempt. For the retest and the hearing you can ask for after a denial, see what happens if you fail the citizenship test.
How to prepare for each part
Start with your N-400. Read it again and list what is different now, such as a new address, a new job, or a trip abroad.
For speaking, practice answering out loud while someone else asks the questions. For reading and writing, read sentences aloud and have someone dictate sentences for you to write.
Study the civics questions out loud too, in a mixed order. At the interview you have to say each answer from memory.
Our app is built around saying the answers out loud. Flashcards, unlimited practice tests, and read-aloud audio for both question lists are free, and so is a step-by-step interview guide. Pro, a one-time purchase, adds a full mock interview: a spoken officer takes you through the oath, the N-400 review, the English test, and the civics test, and ends the civics questions at the same point a real officer would.
Sources
Checked against USCIS on October 6, 2026. USCIS can change its procedures, so confirm anything that matters to your case on uscis.gov.
General information, not legal advice. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by USCIS.
