100 Civics Questions and Answers: The 2008 Test in 2026

Here are all 100 civics questions and answers from the 2008 naturalization test, in order, with the answers USCIS accepts. In 2026 they still apply to a large number of people. If you filed Form N-400 before October 20, 2025, this is your list. If you filed on or after that date, your test draws from 128 questions instead.

That single date decides months of study. Getting it wrong is the most expensive mistake in the whole process, and it is entirely avoidable: your receipt notice shows the filing date.

A star marks the 20 questions set aside for the 65/20 exemption. Where a question has several accepted answers, any one of them is enough.

All 100 civics questions and answers below come from the official USCIS list for the 2008 test, published in pocket study guide M-1122. The officer asks up to 10 of them out loud and you pass at 6 correct. Cover the answers, say yours aloud, then check. Six answers depend on where you live or who currently holds office.

What’s New in 2026 for the 100 Civics Questions and Answers

The list is unchanged. Who sits it is not.

USCIS is implementing the 2025 naturalization civics test to align with Executive Order 14161. Applications filed on or after October 20, 2025 take the 2025 test, drawn from a bank of 128 questions with 12 correct out of 20 to pass. Applications filed before that date take the 2008 test below, with 6 correct out of 10 to pass.

Both tests are live at the same time, which is what makes 2026 confusing. The USCIS study pages now carry two parallel sets of everything: two question lists, two sets of flash cards, two sets of practice tests, labelled Civics (2008 version) and Civics (2025 Version).

Nothing about the 100 questions themselves was rewritten. The answers about current office holders do move with elections. USCIS publishes those on its civics test updates page and expects the name of the official serving at the time of your interview.

How the 100 Civics Questions Are Tested

The scoring is more forgiving than most people assume.

The civics test is oral. A USCIS officer asks you up to 10 of the 100 questions and you answer out loud. You must answer 6 out of 10 correctly to pass.

There is no multiple choice, no written paper, and no way to know your 10 in advance. Once you have 6 right, the officer stops, so a test that ends early is a good sign.

Many questions accept several answers. When the question says “name one”, one correct answer is enough and any of the published options counts. USCIS notes there may be additional correct answers, but asks you to use the answers it publishes.

How to Use These 100 Civics Questions and Answers

Reading this page top to bottom will not put the answers in your head.

Cover the answer with your hand or a card. Read the question, say your answer out loud, then uncover and check. The struggle to recall is the part that builds the memory, and reading the answer straight away skips it.

Work in blocks of about a dozen, then shuffle. Questions grouped by topic are easier than the same questions in random order, because the topic itself hints at the shape of the answer. The officer gives no such hint.

Mark strictly. If you said “the court” rather than “the Supreme Court”, or paused for ten seconds and then got there, count it wrong and put it on tomorrow’s list.

American Government: Questions 1 to 57

More than half the list sits in this section, so more than half your 10 questions will come from it. It covers the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the three branches, Congress, the presidency, the courts, federal versus state powers, political parties, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

1. What is the supreme law of the land?

the Constitution

2. What does the Constitution do?

sets up the government / defines the government / protects basic rights of Americans

3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?

We the People

4. What is an amendment?

a change (to the Constitution) / an addition (to the Constitution)

5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

the Bill of Rights

6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment? ★

speech / religion / assembly

7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?

twenty-seven (27)

8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?

announced our independence (from Great Britain) / declared our independence (from Great Britain) / said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)

9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?

life / liberty / pursuit of happiness

10. What is freedom of religion?

You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion

11. What is the economic system in the United States? ★

capitalist economy / market economy

12. What is the "rule of law"?

Everyone must follow the law / Leaders must obey the law / Government must obey the law

13. Name one branch or part of the government. ★

Congress / legislative / President

14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?

checks and balances / separation of powers

15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?

the President

16. Who makes federal laws?

Congress / Senate and House (of Representatives) / (U.S. or national) legislature

17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress? ★

the Senate and House (of Representatives)

18. How many U.S. Senators are there?

one hundred (100)

19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?

six (6)

20. Who is one of your state's U.S. Senators now? ★

Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents and residents of U.S. territories should answer that D.C.(or the territory where the applicant lives) has no U.S. Senators.]

21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

four hundred thirty-five (435)

22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?

two (2)

23. Name your U.S. Representative.

Answers will vary. [Residents of territories with nonvoting Delegates or Resident Commissioners may provide the name of that Delegate or Commissioner. Also acceptable is any statement that the territory has no (voting) Representatives in Congress.]

24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?

all people of the state

25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?

(because of) the state's population / (because) they have more people / (because) some states have more people

26. We elect a President for how many years?

four (4)

27. In what month do we vote for President? ★

November

28. What is the name of the President of the United States now? ★

Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the President of the United States. As of September 23, 2026: Donald J. Trump

29. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?

Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the Vice President of the United States. As of September 23, 2026: JD Vance

30. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

the Vice President

31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

the Speaker of the House

32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?

the President

33. Who signs bills to become laws?

the President

34. Who vetoes bills?

the President

35. What does the President's Cabinet do?

advises the President

36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?

Secretary of Agriculture / Secretary of Commerce / Secretary of Defense

37. What does the judicial branch do?

reviews laws / explains laws / resolves disputes (disagreements)

38. What is the highest court in the United States?

the Supreme Court

39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?

Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the number of justices on the Supreme Court

40. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?

Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the Chief Justice of the United States. As of September 23, 2026: John Roberts

41. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?

to print money / to declare war / to create an army

42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?

provide schooling and education / provide protection (police) / provide safety (fire departments)

43. Who is the Governor of your state now?

Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. does not have a Governor.]

44. What is the capital of your state? ★

Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. is not a state and does not have a capital. Residents of U.S. territories should name the capital of the territory.]

45. What are the two major political parties in the United States? ★

Democratic and Republican

46. What is the political party of the President now?

Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the political party of the President. As of September 23, 2026: Republican (Party)

47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?

Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. As of September 23, 2026: Mike Johnson

48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.

Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote) / You don't have to pay (a poll tax) to vote / Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)

49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens? ★

serve on a jury / vote in a federal election

50. Name one right only for United States citizens.

vote in a federal election / run for federal office

51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?

freedom of expression / freedom of speech / freedom of assembly

52. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?

the United States / the flag

53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?

give up loyalty to other countries / defend the Constitution and laws of the United States / obey the laws of the United States

54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President? ★

eighteen (18) and older

55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?

vote / join a political party / help with a campaign

56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms? ★

April 15

57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?

at age eighteen (18) / between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)

American History: Questions 58 to 87

Thirty questions covering the colonial period, independence, the 1800s and the Civil War, then the wars and movements of the twentieth century.

58. What is one reason colonists came to America?

freedom / political liberty / religious freedom

59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?

American Indians / Native Americans

60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?

Africans / people from Africa

61. Why did the colonists fight the British?

because of high taxes (taxation without representation) / because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering) / because they didn't have self-government

62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

(Thomas) Jefferson

63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

July 4, 1776

64. There were 13 original states. Name three.

New Hampshire / Massachusetts / Rhode Island

65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

The Constitution was written / The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution

66. When was the Constitution written?

1787

67. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

(James) Madison / (Alexander) Hamilton / (John) Jay

68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?

U.S. diplomat / oldest member of the Constitutional Convention / first Postmaster General of the United States

69. Who is the "Father of Our Country"?

(George) Washington

70. Who was the first President? ★

(George) Washington

71. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

the Louisiana Territory / Louisiana

72. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.

War of 1812 / Mexican-American War / Civil War

73. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.

the Civil War / the War between the States

74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.

slavery / economic reasons / states' rights

75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did? ★

freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation) / saved (or preserved) the Union / led the United States during the Civil War

76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

freed the slaves / freed slaves in the Confederacy / freed slaves in the Confederate states

77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?

fought for women's rights / fought for civil rights C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information

78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s. ★

World War I / World War II / Korean War

79. Who was President during World War I?

(Woodrow) Wilson

80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?

(Franklin) Roosevelt

81. Who did the United States fight in World War II?

Japan, Germany, and Italy

82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?

World War II

83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?

Communism

84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

civil rights (movement)

85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do? ★

fought for civil rights / worked for equality for all Americans

86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?

Terrorists attacked the United States

87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States. [USCIS Officers will be supplied with a list of federally recognized American Indian tribes.]

Cherokee / Navajo / Sioux

Integrated Civics: Questions 88 to 100

The shortest section, and generally the easiest marks on the test. Geography, national symbols, and holidays.

88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.

Missouri (River) / Mississippi (River)

89. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?

Pacific (Ocean)

90. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?

Atlantic (Ocean)

91. Name one U.S. territory.

Puerto Rico / U.S. Virgin Islands / American Samoa

92. Name one state that borders Canada.

Maine / New Hampshire / Vermont

93. Name one state that borders Mexico.

California / Arizona / New Mexico

94. What is the capital of the United States? ★

Washington, D.C

95. Where is the Statue of Liberty? ★

New York (Harbor) / Liberty Island [Also acceptable are New Jersey, near New York City, and on the Hudson (River).]

96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

because there were 13 original colonies / because the stripes represent the original colonies

97. Why does the flag have 50 stars? ★

because there is one star for each state / because each star represents a state / because there are 50 states

98. What is the name of the national anthem?

The Star-Spangled Banner C: Holidays

99. When do we celebrate Independence Day? ★

July 4

100. Name two national U.S. holidays.

New Year's Day / Martin Luther King, Jr. Day / Presidents' Day

The 20 Starred Questions for the 65/20 Exemption

Twenty of the 100 carry a star in the list above, and they exist for a specific group.

If you are 65 or older and have been a lawful permanent resident for 20 years or more, you may study just the starred questions. You may also take the civics test in a language of your choice.

The starred set from the 2008 list is questions 6, 11, 13, 17, 20, 27, 28, 44, 45, 49, 54, 56, 70, 75, 78, 85, 94, 95, 97 and 99. A few of them accept more answers than the three shown above: question 6 also accepts press and petition the government, question 13 also accepts executive, the courts and judicial, and question 78 also accepts Vietnam War and Gulf War.

If you do not meet the 65/20 thresholds, these 20 are not a shortcut. They are simply 20 of your 100.

The Answers That Depend on You

Six questions have no printed answer, and they are the easiest to leave until too late.

Your senators, your representative, your governor, and your state capital depend on your address. The official sheet marks these “answers will vary” and expects you to know your own.

Questions about the President, the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the Chief Justice depend on when your interview happens. USCIS publishes the current answers on its civics test updates page, and expects the name of the official serving at the time of your eligibility interview.

Residents of the District of Columbia and of U.S. territories have their own answers. The District has no U.S. senators and no governor, and the official notes say so directly.

Look yours up once, write them on a card, and test them in every session alongside the rest.

How the 100 Civics Questions Differ From the 128

If you have seen both lists, the differences are larger than the headline number suggests.

The 2008 list asks what the supreme law of the land is and gets one answer: the Constitution. The 2025 list keeps that question and adds ones the older test never asked, like what the rule of law means and why representatives serve shorter terms than senators.

Answer style changed too. The 2008 list often gives a short phrase, sometimes a single word, like “speech” for a First Amendment freedom. The 2025 list tends to give several fuller answers for the same kind of question.

The scoring is different in a way that matters more than the content. On the 2008 test you can miss 4 of 10 and pass. On the 2025 test you can miss 8 of 20 and pass, but you face twice as many questions from a bank that is 28 questions larger.

None of that helps you if you are on the 2008 test. Study the list that matches your filing date and ignore the other one entirely, because mixing them produces answers in the wrong wording.

What the 100 Civics Questions Feel Like in the Room

The exchange is shorter and plainer than people expect.

The officer says the question once, in a normal voice. You answer. They write something down and move to the next one. There is no discussion, no follow-up, and no hint about whether you got it right.

That pace is why short answers win. Say the answer and stop. Extra sentences are not scored, and they give you more chances to talk yourself out of a correct answer you had already given.

If you did not hear the question properly, ask the officer to repeat it. That is normal and it costs you nothing. Guessing at a question you half heard is much more expensive.

If a question stumps you, say so and move on. With 6 correct out of 10 needed, one miss is survivable and sitting in silence hunting for the answer burns the calm you need for the next question.

The civics test also sits inside a longer appointment. Before it, the officer places you under oath and walks through your Form N-400 with you. After it comes the reading and writing test. You leave holding Form N-652, which records the result of the appointment. Granted, continued or denied are the three outcomes.

Learning All 100 in Three Weeks

Short daily sessions beat long weekend ones by a wide margin.

Week 1: Cover the list once. One block of a dozen questions a day, answers spoken aloud, answers covered. Do not worry about retention yet.

Week 2: Shuffle and repeat. Mix American Government, American History, and Integrated Civics into every session. A block studied in order feels easy because the topic tells you what kind of answer to give. Start a written list of the questions you keep dropping.

Week 3: Run 10-question mock tests. Random draws, spoken answers, honest marks. Treat 9 out of 10 as ready rather than 6. Spend the rest of each session only on your miss list. Most people close the gap by working 15 stubborn questions rather than rereading all 100.

Add the English portion two or three times a week. You read one sentence out of three aloud and write one out of three by hand, both from the official USCIS vocabulary lists.

Four Mistakes People Make With the 100 Civics Questions

The list is short enough that people get casual with it.

Mistake 1: Studying a “most asked” subset. Your 10 questions are drawn from all 100. A popular shortlist leaves 70 questions you have never said out loud.

Mistake 2: Learning three answers per question. Where a question says “name one”, one answer is enough. Learning three answers badly is worse than learning one well.

Mistake 3: Reading instead of reciting. The test is oral. If your study session has no moment where you struggle to remember and then succeed, it was reading.

Mistake 4: Leaving your own state answers to the end. The questions about your own senators, your representative and your state capital are among the easiest marks on the test, and the easiest to walk in without.

FAQ

Are these the official 100 civics questions and answers?

Yes. They come from the USCIS list for the 2008 naturalization test, published free in pocket study guide M-1122 along with the reading and writing vocabulary lists. USCIS notes there may be other correct answers, but asks applicants to use the published ones, and officers work from that sheet. The Citizenship Resource Center also offers flash cards, MP3 audio, and practice tests for the 2008 version.

Do I take the 100 civics questions or the 128?

Your Form N-400 filing date decides. Filed before October 20, 2025 means the 2008 test with 100 questions. Filed on or after that date means the 2025 test, which draws 20 questions from a bank of 128 and requires 12 correct. The date is printed on your receipt notice, so check it before you study anything.

How many questions do I have to get right?

Six out of 10. The officer asks up to 10 questions from the 100 and stops as soon as you have answered 6 correctly, so a test that ends early means you have already passed.

Do I need to memorize every accepted answer?

No. Where a question lists several answers, one correct answer is enough. Learn a single answer well for each question rather than trying to hold three versions of it.

Can I study only the 20 starred questions, or take the test in my own language?

Only under the 65/20 exemption, for applicants aged 65 or older who have been lawful permanent residents for 20 years or more. Applicants who meet both thresholds may study just the 20 starred questions and may take the civics test in a language of their choice.

What happens if I miss more than four questions?

You do not pass that portion, and USCIS generally schedules a second interview within 60 to 90 days. You are retested only on the part you did not pass, so a civics miss does not mean redoing the English test.

Verdict: 100 Civics Questions and Answers, Learned Properly

The 100 civics questions and answers above are the whole civics test for anyone who filed Form N-400 before October 20, 2025. Confirm that date first, because studying the wrong list costs you weeks. Nothing is hidden and nothing is secret, which means the work is entirely about recall rather than research.

Cover the answers. Say yours out loud. Shuffle the order so the topic stops giving you clues. Keep a short list of the ones that keep beating you and start each session there. Learn your own senators, representative, governor, and state capital, and check the test updates page in the final week.

Six out of ten passes. You do not get to choose which ten, so learn all one hundred.