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On September 18, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provided notice that it would make changes to the Naturalization Civics Test administered to applicants for U.S. citizenship. The Naturalization Civics Test is designed to test applicants' knowledge of U.S. history, principles, and government. Currently, applicants receive a version of the test first introduced in 2008. Going forward, applicants with naturalization applications filed on or after October 20, 2025, will receive a version of the test based on questions first introduced in 2020.
2008 Naturalization Civics Test
Presently, USCIS administers the 2008 Naturalization Civics Test to naturalization applicants. The 2008 Naturalization Civics Test consists of 10 questions chosen randomly from a 100-question bank, with six correct answers required for passing. USCIS officers orally ask questions until the applicant either passes or fails the test, stopping the test once a sufficient number of questions have been asked.
The 2008 Naturalization Civics Test was in place from 2008 through November 31, 2020, at which time it was briefly replaced by the 2020 Naturalization Civics Test. The Biden administration reinstated the 2008 Naturalization Civics Test and began to administer it again on May 1, 2021.
2020 Naturalization Civics Test
Announced on November 13, 2020, and administered from December 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, the 2020 Naturalization Civics Test consisted of 20 questions drawn randomly from a bank of 128 questions. Besides expanding on the number of available questions, USCIS revised the test to reword questions and ensure that the questions were adequate to test familiarity with U.S. history, principles, and government. Three-quarters of the questions in the test were taken from the 2008 Naturalization Civics Test, with some taken verbatim and others being revised.
Unlike the 2008 (and 2025) Naturalization Civics Test, officers administering the 2020 Naturalization Civics Test were required to orally ask all questions, regardless of whether a sufficient number had already been answered for the applicant to pass or fail the test.
2025 Naturalization Civics Test
Going forward, USCIS will administer the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test, which is essentially a reintroduction of the 2020 Naturalization Civics Test. The 2025 Civics Test will consist of 20 questions and will draw from the same bank of 128 questions that were used for the 2020 Naturalization Civics Test. However, USCIS is modifying the process from 2020 so that officers are only required to ask questions until enough questions have been asked for the applicant to pass or fail. This means that officers will conclude the test once 12 questions have been answered correctly or once nine questions have been answered incorrectly.
Next Steps and Preparing for the Test
Individuals who file applications for naturalization on or after Monday, October 20, 2025, will be administered the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test. Meanwhile, applicants with pending applications or applications filed by Friday, October 17, 2025, will receive the 2008 Naturalization Civics Test. USCIS has created this implementation timeline in order to address any reliance that current applicants may have on the 2008 Naturalization Civics Test.
In advance of implementation, USCIS is providing study guides online for both the 2008 Naturalization Civics Test and 2025 Naturalization Civics Test. USCIS has indicated that it will temporarily retain the 2008 Naturalization Civics Test study materials to help those who will receive the 2008 Naturalization Civics Test.
Finally, note that applicants who are 65 years or older, and who have been living in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident for 20 or more years, will continue to receive a test with 10 questions from a specially selected bank of 20 questions from either the 2008 or 2025 Naturalization Civics Test, dependent on the date of their filing. These specially-selected questions are marked with an asterisk in the USCIS study materials.
Please reach out to your Pryor Cashman attorney if you have any questions about the changes to the Naturalization Civics Test, including which test will apply to your case, or for any questions on the naturalization process as a whole.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
