Citizenship Test Changes 2025: What Changed in the Civics Test

How to use the comparison

1. Read the guide text for the question you came with.
2. Use the table of USCIS statements under the tool: each row gives the statement, a link to the USCIS page it comes from, and the date we checked it.
3. Open the link when a number matters to your case, such as a pass mark, a deadline or an exception.
4. Use the related tools to practise the part you need.
5. Check the source page again close to your interview, because USCIS can update its pages.

Statements are quoted from USCIS pages and the Policy Manual and kept short; the explanations around them are ours. The page is information and not legal advice.

Rows in the table are quoted statements, kept short. When a page below the table explains a rule in our own words, the matching row shows the exact USCIS wording so that you can compare the two. USCIS updates these pages from time to time, which is why each row carries a checked date. Say each answer aloud once. Check the source link when a number matters to your case. Come back to anything you were unsure about the next day. Nothing you do here is sent to a server. Keep a note of any question you have to look up twice.

How is the 2025 USCIS civics test different from the previous version?

The 2025 test has 128 questions instead of 100, and the officer asks up to 20 instead of up to 10. You need 12 correct answers to pass, up from 6, and the test ends after 9 wrong answers instead of 5. The 60 percent pass mark stays the same in both versions, and the English reading and writing parts were not changed.

Only 38 of the 128 questions in the 2025 list use exactly the same wording as a 2008 question. Do not assume that studying the old list covers the new one. The 65/20 option still exists in both versions: 10 of 20 marked questions, with 6 correct needed.

Which civics test applies to my N-400?

The filing date decides which test you take. Applicants who filed before 20 October 2025 take the 2008 test, and those who filed on or after that date take the 2025 test.

1. Find the date USCIS received your N-400. Use the filing date, not your interview date.
2. Compare that date with 20 October 2025.
3. If you filed before 20 October 2025, study the 100-question list and use the 2008 practice test.
4. If you filed on or after 20 October 2025, study the 128-question list and use the 2025 practice test.

What stayed the same?

Three things did not change. The pass threshold is still 60 percent in both versions; the Policy Manual says it “remains at 60 percent”. The test is still oral. And the English parts are untouched: reading one sentence out of three, writing one sentence out of three, and the officer judging your speaking during the interview. The 65/20 special consideration also continues in both versions, with 10 questions from a bank of 20 and 6 correct.

How does the stop rule read in each version?

The USCIS wording for the 2008 test is “Officers will stop asking questions when an alien answers 6 questions correctly or 5 questions incorrectly.” For the 2025 test it is “Officers will stop asking questions when an alien answers 12 questions correctly, or 9 questions incorrectly.” So the 2025 test ends at 12 right or 9 wrong, which lets an applicant miss up to 8 questions and still pass, against 4 on the 2008 test.