Naturalization Test Questions: Every Question You Face in 2026

There are three sets of naturalization test questions, not one. Almost everybody studies the civics list and walks in unprepared for the other two.

The civics questions get the attention because they are published as a numbered list. But the officer also tests your English, and spends more of the appointment on your Form N-400 than on either test. All three are scored, and a problem in any of them can hold up your case.

Naturalization test questions come in three sets. Civics: up to 20 questions from a bank of 128 for filings on or after October 20, 2025, passing at 12 correct. English: read one sentence out of three and write one out of three. And the officer’s review of your Form N-400, which doubles as your speaking test.

What’s New in 2026 for Naturalization Test Questions

The civics half of the test changed, and the change is dated.

USCIS is implementing the 2025 naturalization civics test to align with Executive Order 14161. Applications filed before October 20, 2025 take the 2008 test: up to 10 questions from a list of 100, passing at 6. Applications filed on or after that date take the 2025 test: up to 20 questions from a bank of 128, passing at 12.

The English test did not change. Neither did the Form N-400 questions in any way that affects how you prepare for them.

So one date decides which civics list you learn, and everything else stays as it was. Your receipt notice carries that date. Check it before you download a single study sheet.

The Three Kinds of Naturalization Test Questions

Each set is scored differently, and each needs different practice.

Set 1: Civics questions. Published in advance by USCIS, asked out loud, no options offered. Either 128 questions or 100, depending on your filing date.

Set 2: English reading and writing. One sentence read aloud out of three attempts, and one sentence written by hand out of three. Both are built from official USCIS vocabulary lists.

Set 3: Form N-400 questions. The officer walks through your own application and asks whether each answer is still correct. This is also where your ability to speak and understand English is judged.

The third set is the one people underestimate. It takes up most of the appointment, and the yes or no questions near the end of the form are where honest people give answers they later have to correct.

Sample Naturalization Test Questions From the Official List

These 15 come from the 2025 bank of 128. A star marks a question in the 65/20 set.

• 2. What is the supreme law of the land? ★ The Constitution
• 13. What is the rule of law? Everyone must follow the law / Leaders must obey the law / No one is above the law
• 16. Name the three branches of government. Legislative, executive and judicial
• 20. Name one power of the U.S. Congress. ★ Writes laws / Declares war / Makes the federal budget
• 26. Why do U.S. representatives serve shorter terms than U.S. senators? To more closely follow public opinion
• 28. Why does each state have two senators? Equal representation for small states / The Great Compromise
• 44. Who vetoes bills? ★ The President
• 52. What is the highest court in the United States? ★ The Supreme Court
• 74. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? ★ American Indians / Native Americans
• 78. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? ★ Thomas Jefferson
• 95. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do? Freed the slaves / Freed slaves in the Confederacy
• 113. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one. ★ Fought for civil rights / Worked for equality for all Americans
• 115. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States? ★ Terrorists attacked the United States
• 121. Why does the flag have 13 stripes? ★ Because there were 13 original colonies
• 126. Name three national U.S. holidays. ★ New Year’s Day / Martin Luther King, Jr. Day / Presidents Day

Fifteen is a sample. Your 20 are picked at random from all 128 by a USCIS system, so no subset of the list is safe ground.

How the Civics Questions Are Asked and Scored

The mechanics are simple and they shape everything about how you should study.

The civics test is oral. The officer says a question once and waits. You answer out loud. There is no paper, no screen, and no multiple choice.

You pass the 2025 test at 12 correct out of 20, and the officer stops asking as soon as you reach 12. On the 2008 test it is 6 correct out of 10.

Many questions accept several answers, and any one of them counts. When a question says “name one”, one correct answer is enough. USCIS notes there may be additional correct answers but asks applicants to use the published ones, since that is the sheet in front of the officer.

Answer short and stop. Extra detail is not scored, and a longer answer gives you more chances to talk yourself out of a correct one.

The English Naturalization Test Questions

The English portion has three parts and only two of them look like a test.

For reading, you must read one out of three sentences correctly to show you can read English. For writing, you must write one out of three sentences correctly. Both draw only on the official USCIS reading and writing vocabulary lists, so the words are known in advance.

Speaking has no separate exam. A USCIS officer determines your ability to speak and understand English during the eligibility interview on Form N-400. The ordinary conversation about your own application is the test.

Writing is where people get caught. You write by hand, to dictation, in a second language, with someone waiting. Spelling that never fails on a phone can wobble under those conditions, so practice with a pen in the weeks before.

The Vocabulary Behind the English Questions

The reading and writing sentences are built from short, published word lists.

The reading list covers people, civics terms, places, holidays, question words, verbs and a handful of function words. It includes Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, the American flag and the Bill of Rights, Congress and the White House, and the six question words: how, what, when, where, who, why.

The writing list overlaps but is not the same. It adds months, more places, and content words the reading list leaves out.

• People: Adams, Lincoln, Washington
• Civics: American Indians, capital, citizens, Civil War, Congress, Father of Our Country, flag, free, freedom of speech, President, right, Senators, state, White House
• Places: Alaska, California, Canada, Delaware, Mexico, New York City, United States, Washington, Washington D.C.
• Months: February, May, June, July, September, October, November
• Holidays: Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving
• Verbs: can, come, elect, have, has, is, was, be, lives, lived, meets, pay, vote, want
• Other: and, during, for, here, in, of, on, the, to, we, blue, dollar bill, fifty, first, largest, most, north, one, one hundred, people, red, second, south, taxes, white

Sentences are assembled from those words, which is why a dictated sentence sounds like “Citizens vote in November” rather than anything complicated. USCIS asks you to keep the two lists separate when you practice, because the shared words hide the differences.

The Naturalization Interview in Order

Knowing the sequence removes most of the nerves.

An officer calls your name and introduces themselves, then places you under oath. From that point everything you say is sworn testimony, which in practice means answer honestly even when the honest answer is awkward.

The Form N-400 review comes next, and it is the longest part. The officer confirms your answers are still correct and forms a view on continuous residence and good moral character while doing it.

Then the civics test, then the reading and writing sentences. The whole appointment usually runs 20 to 30 minutes, though the wait beforehand is often longer than the interview.

You leave holding Form N-652, Notice of Interview Results. It records one of three outcomes. Granted means approved and an oath ceremony follows. Continued means the officer needs something more, often a document or a retest. Denied means refused, with the reasons written on the notice.

The Form N-400 Questions the Officer Asks

Most of your appointment is the officer reading your own application back to you.

They confirm the basics first. Where you live, where you work, your marital status, and every trip you have taken outside the United States since you became a permanent resident. Bring every passport you hold. Expired ones count, because they are the record of your absences.

Then come the yes or no questions from Part 9 of the form. Four of them catch people every week:

• Have you EVER claimed to be a U.S. citizen, in writing or any other way
• Do you currently owe any overdue taxes to a federal, state or local authority
• Have you EVER been arrested, cited, detained or confined by any law enforcement officer
• Do you support the Constitution and form of Government of the United States

Read those again the night before. People answer them from memory, and the wording is specific enough that a fast answer is often the wrong one.

Expect a longer interview if your history includes arrests, unpaid taxes, long trips abroad, or Selective Service questions. None of that means denial. It means bring your paperwork and answer plainly.

The Naturalization Test Questions Only You Can Answer

A few of the civics questions have no printed answer.

Your senators, your representative and your state capital depend on where you live, and the official sheet says “answers will vary”. Residents of the District of Columbia and of U.S. territories have their own answers, and the notes on the official list spell those out.

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 on the day you sit the test.

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

How to Study All Three Sets in Four Weeks

Working the civics list is the bulk of it, but the other two need slots on the calendar.

Week 1: Learn the civics list in blocks. About a dozen questions a day, answers covered, spoken out loud.

Week 2: Shuffle, and add vocabulary. Mix questions from every topic in each session. Write out reading and writing vocabulary by hand two or three times this week.

Week 3: Mock tests and the N-400. Twenty random questions most days, scored honestly. Read your own Form N-400 end to end, slowly, at least twice.

Week 4: Drill misses and rehearse the day. Work only the questions you keep dropping. Have someone ask you the civics questions across a table, dictate a sentence for you to write, and hand you one to read aloud.

In the last week, check the USCIS test updates page for the answers about current office holders.

If your interview is closer than four weeks, keep the order and shorten each stage. Thin coverage of everything beats thorough coverage of the civics list alone, because the English test and the application review are not optional.

Who Faces Fewer Naturalization Test Questions

Two exemptions exist, and both have hard criteria.

The age and residence exception is usually called 65/20. Applicants who are 65 or older and have been lawful permanent residents for 20 years or more may take the civics test in a language of their choice. They study only the 20 starred questions, are asked 10 of them, and pass at 6 correct.

The other route is a medical disability exception. It needs Form N-648, completed by a licensed medical professional, certifying a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment. The officer reviews that request along with any request for accommodations as part of your file.

Neither is a soft option. Confirm with USCIS or an attorney well before your interview date, because the paperwork takes time and an assumption here is expensive.

Four Mistakes That Turn Into a Continued Case

None of these are about knowing less history.

Mistake 1: Studying the wrong civics list. Filing date decides it, not the year you are sitting the test. People download the 128 list because it is newer and sit the 100-question exam.

Mistake 2: Leaving the expired passports at home. They are the record of your trips outside the United States, which is how continuous residence gets checked. A missing passport is one of the commonest reasons a case is continued rather than granted.

Mistake 3: Answering Part 9 from memory. The wording of those yes or no questions is precise, and the honest answer is sometimes not the obvious one. Read your own filed application again the night before.

Mistake 4: Practising civics in silence. Speaking is judged across the whole interview, and the civics test is oral. An answer you can only think is not an answer you have got.

If your history includes arrests, tax problems, long absences or Selective Service questions, speak to an immigration attorney before the appointment rather than after it.

FAQ

How many naturalization test questions will I be asked?

For the civics test, up to 20 from the bank of 128 if you filed on or after October 20, 2025, and you pass at 12. Filed earlier, it is up to 10 from the list of 100 with 6 to pass. The officer stops as soon as you reach the pass mark.

Are the naturalization test questions published in advance?

Yes. USCIS publishes all 128 questions and answers as document M-1778, the older 100 in pocket study guide M-1122, and the reading and writing vocabulary lists separately. Nothing on the civics test is secret.

What questions does the officer ask about my application?

They confirm your address, work, marital status and trips outside the country, then work through the yes or no questions in Part 9 of Form N-400 about arrests, taxes, group membership and Selective Service. Reread your own answers beforehand.

What happens if I miss too many questions?

USCIS generally schedules a second interview within 60 to 90 days, and you are retested only on the portion you did not pass. Your case is marked continued rather than denied on Form N-652.

Can I answer the questions in my own language?

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

Verdict: Preparing for Every Naturalization Test Question

The naturalization test questions are public, and that is the useful part. USCIS prints the civics list, the vocabulary lists, and the exact wording of every question on Form N-400.

So build your study around all three sets rather than the famous one. Learn the civics list that matches your filing date, say the answers out loud in random order, write the vocabulary by hand, and read your own application until nothing in it surprises you.

The people who walk out approved are rarely the ones who knew the most history. They are the ones for whom none of the three sets was a surprise.