128 Civics Questions: The 2026 Test Explained

The 128 civics questions are the current naturalization test. USCIS publishes them as document M-1778, and they replace the old list of 100 for anyone who filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025.

The bank grew by 28 questions, but that is the smaller half of the change. The officer now asks 20 questions instead of 10, and the pass mark moved from 6 correct to 12. This page covers what is on the list, how it is scored, and how to work through it without drowning.

The 128 civics questions form the 2025 test, for anyone who filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025. A USCIS system picks 20 at random and an officer asks them out loud. You pass at 12 correct. Twenty questions carry a star for the 65/20 exemption. USCIS publishes the list free as M-1778.

What’s New in 2026 About the 128 Civics Questions

This list is the change.

USCIS is implementing the 2025 naturalization civics test to align with Executive Order 14161. Applications filed before October 20, 2025 keep the 2008 test, drawn from 100 questions with 6 correct out of 10 to pass. Applications filed on or after that date use the 128 questions, with 12 correct out of 20 to pass.

Three things moved at once. The bank got bigger, the test got longer, and the pass mark got higher in absolute terms.

The questions were also rewritten rather than simply added to. Some carry over word for word. Others were reworded, and a number of the new ones ask you to reason about how government works rather than recall a fact.

How the 128 Civics Questions Are Scored

The mechanics decide how you should study, so they are worth knowing exactly.

The civics test is oral. A USCIS system randomly selects 20 questions from the bank of 128, and an officer asks them out loud across the desk. There is no multiple choice and nothing in front of you.

You pass by answering at least 12 correctly. The officer stops once you reach 12, which is why some people report a 12-question test and others report a full 20.

Because the selection is random, no part of the list is safe to skip. A gap of ten questions is a real chance of four wrong answers arriving in a row.

Many questions accept several answers. When a question says “name one”, one correct answer is enough. USCIS notes there may be additional correct answers but asks you to use the ones it publishes, because that is the sheet the officer is working from.

What the 128 Civics Questions Cover

The list runs in three parts, and knowing the shape helps you plan.

American Government covers questions 1 to 72. Principles of American government, the system of government, and rights and responsibilities. The Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the three branches, Congress, the presidency, the courts, federal and state powers, and voting.

American History covers questions 73 to 115. Colonial period and independence, the 1800s, then recent American history including the World Wars, the Cold War, the civil rights movement, and September 11, 2001.

Symbols and Holidays covers questions 116 to 128. Geography, the flag, national symbols, and the national holidays.

More than half the bank sits in American Government, so that is where most of your 20 questions will come from. It is also the section where the 2025 test added the most new material.

The 20 Starred Questions for the 65/20 Exemption

Twenty of the 128 carry an asterisk, and they matter to a specific group of applicants.

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. The officer asks 10 of those 20 and you pass at 6 correct, which is 60 percent. You may also take the civics test in a language of your choice.

Here is the starred set from the 2025 list.

• 2. What is the supreme law of the land? (U.S.) Constitution
• 7. How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have? Twenty-seven (27)
• 12. What is the economic system of the United States? Capitalism / Free market economy
• 20. Name one power of the U.S. Congress. Writes laws / Declares war / Makes the federal budget
• 30. 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
• 36. The President of the United States is elected for how many years? Four (4) years
• 38. 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
• 39. 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
• 44. Who vetoes bills? The President (of the United States)
• 52. What is the highest court in the United States? Supreme Court
• 61. 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.]
• 66. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance? The United States / The flag
• 74. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? American Indians / Native Americans
• 78. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? (Thomas) Jefferson
• 86. George Washington is famous for many things. Name one. “Father of Our Country” / First president of the United States / General of the Continental Army
• 94. Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things. Name one. Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation) / Saved (or preserved) the Union / Led the United States during the Civil War
• 113. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one. Fought for civil rights / Worked for equality for all Americans / Worked to ensure that people would “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”
• 115. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States? Terrorists attacked the United States / Terrorists took over two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City / Terrorists took over a plane and crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia
• 121. Why does the flag have 13 stripes? (Because there were) 13 original colonies / (Because the stripes) represent the original colonies
• 126. Name three national U.S. holidays. New Year’s Day / Martin Luther King, Jr. Day / Presidents Day (Washington’s Birthday)

If you do not meet both the age and residence thresholds, these 20 are not a shortcut. They are simply 20 of your 128.

What Changed When 100 Civics Questions Became 128

The new questions are not filler. They ask for a different kind of thinking.

The 2008 list leaned on recall of single facts. Who was the first President. How many amendments the Constitution has. What the two major political parties are.

The 2025 list keeps that kind of question and adds ones that ask why the system is built the way it is. Why representatives serve shorter terms than senators, with the accepted answer being to more closely follow public opinion. Why each state has two senators, which comes down to equal representation and the Great Compromise. Why there are three branches at all.

Several familiar questions were reworded. The old test asked “what does the Constitution do” and accepted “sets up the government”. The 2025 version asks you to name one thing the U.S. Constitution does and lists forming the government, defining its powers, defining its parts, and protecting the rights of the people.

History went wider too. The 2025 list asks what founding document said the colonies were free from Britain, what the Emancipation Proclamation did, and what major event happened on September 11, 2001.

The practical effect is simple. Answers memorised from a 2008 study sheet will often be close enough to feel right and worded differently from what the officer has in front of them.

What the Test Feels Like in the Room

The exchange is plainer and faster than most people picture.

The officer says a question once, in a normal voice, and waits. You answer. They mark something and move on, with no discussion and no sign of whether you were right.

Short answers win. Give the answer and stop talking, because extra detail is not scored and it gives you more room to contradict yourself.

If you did not hear a question clearly, ask the officer to repeat it. That is ordinary and it costs nothing. Guessing at a question you half heard is far more expensive than asking.

The civics test also sits inside a longer appointment. The officer puts you under oath and reviews your Form N-400 first, then runs the civics questions, then the reading and writing test. You leave holding Form N-652, the notice that records your result.

The Six Answers Nobody Can Print For You

Some of the 128 civics questions have no fixed answer on the sheet.

Your senators, your representative and your state capital depend on where you live. The published answer for those is “answers will vary”, and the officer expects the answer for your own address.

Questions about the President, the Vice President, the Speaker of the House and the Chief Justice depend on when your interview happens. USCIS handles these by pointing you to its civics test updates page, and expects the name of the person serving at the time of your naturalization interview.

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

Write your own answers on a card in week one. They are among the cheapest marks on the test and the easiest to arrive without.

A Four-Week Plan for 128 Civics Questions

A hundred and twenty-eight questions sounds worse than it is. That is about six new questions a day for three weeks, with a week left over.

Week 1: American Government, in blocks. Take a dozen questions a day from questions 1 to 72. Cover the answer, say yours out loud, then check.

Week 2: History, symbols and holidays. Work questions 73 to 128 the same way. Start each session with five questions from last week so nothing goes cold.

Week 3: Shuffle everything. Random draws from the whole bank, spoken answers, no topic grouping. Start writing down every question you drop.

Week 4: Mock tests and misses. Run 20 random questions most days and score honestly. Treat 17 out of 20 as ready. Spend the rest of the time only on your miss list.

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

If your interview is closer than four weeks, keep the same order and shorten every stage. Covering the whole bank thinly beats covering half of it well, because the draw does not care which half you studied.

Three Mistakes That Cost People the 2025 Test

The bigger bank makes old habits more expensive than they used to be.

Mistake 1: Studying a shortlist. Lists of “the 20 most common questions” circulate widely and describe nothing real. Your 20 are selected at random by a USCIS system from all 128, so a shortlist leaves more than a hundred questions untested.

Mistake 2: Using 2008 answers on the 2025 test. The wording moved. An answer that would have passed two years ago can be close enough to sound right and different enough to be marked wrong.

Mistake 3: Practising in silence. The test is spoken. An answer you can think but cannot say smoothly under mild pressure is not finished yet, and the gap only shows up when someone is watching.

FAQ

How many of the 128 civics questions will I be asked?

Up to 20. A USCIS system picks them at random from the whole bank of 128, and you pass by answering at least 12 correctly. The officer stops asking as soon as you reach 12 correct answers.

Do I take the 128-question test or the 100-question test?

Your Form N-400 filing date decides. Filed on or after October 20, 2025 means the 2025 test with 128 questions. Filed before that date means the 2008 test with 100 questions. Your receipt notice shows the date.

Where can I download the official 128 civics questions?

USCIS publishes them free as document M-1778, titled 128 Civics Questions and Answers (2025 version). The Citizenship Resource Center also offers flash cards, MP3 audio, and practice tests for the 2025 version.

Do I have to memorise all 128 questions?

Yes, if you want a safe margin. The 20 you are asked are drawn at random, so any block you skip is a block that can appear. Only applicants who qualify for the 65/20 exemption may study the shorter starred list.

Is the 2025 test harder than the old one?

It is longer and the bank is bigger, so it takes more study. The pass rate needed is similar in percentage terms: 12 of 20 is 60 percent, and 6 of 10 was also 60 percent.

Verdict: Working Through the 128 Civics Questions

The 128 civics questions are public, free, and published in full by USCIS as M-1778. Nothing about the content is hidden, which means the work is recall rather than research.

Confirm your filing date first, because studying the 100-question list by mistake wastes weeks. Then split the bank into daily blocks, say every answer out loud, and shuffle the order once you have been through it once. Keep a written list of the questions that keep beating you.

Twenty of these will be chosen for you at random. That is the whole argument for learning all 128.