A 30-second answer for anyone preparing for the US naturalization interview in 2025 or 2026.
Your N-400 filing date. Not the year you interview. Not the study materials you bought. The date USCIS received your application.
Find it on the receipt notice (Form I-797C) USCIS mailed after you filed. Look for "Received Date."
That single date decides which of two very different tests you'll sit for at your interview.
You take the 2008 civics test.
✓ 100 possible questions in the study pool
✓ Up to 10 asked at your interview
✓ Need 6 correct to pass
✓ Officer stops asking once you've hit 6 right
Study the 100-question set. Ignore the 128 questions if that's your version — you will not be asked them.
You take the 2025 civics test.
✓ 128 possible questions in the study pool
✓ Up to 20 asked at your interview
✓ Need 12 correct to pass
✓ Fail at 9 wrong
✓ Officer stops asking once you've hit 12 right or 9 wrong
Study all 128 questions. The new test asks twice as many, so plan on studying twice as long.
Both test versions share the same English and speaking evaluations:
✓ English reading test — read 1 of 3 sentences correctly. Same 2008 vocabulary list, both versions.
✓ English writing test — write 1 of 3 dictated sentences correctly. Same 2008 vocabulary list.
✓ Speaking test — you're evaluated on your English throughout the entire interview.
✓ N-400 form review — the biggest chunk of your interview. Same for everyone.
Most people who fail don't fail civics — they fail one of the other three. Our Complete Pass Kit covers all four.
"My interview is in 2026 — doesn't that mean I take the new test?"
No. Filing date decides, not interview date. Someone who filed in September 2025 and interviews in April 2026 still takes the old 100-question test.
"What if the officer asks me questions from the wrong test?"
It happens. Politely mention which version applies to you based on your filing date. Bring your I-797C to the interview so you can show your Received Date if needed.
"I'm not sure when I filed. How do I check?"
Log into your USCIS online account. Your case will show the receipt date. Or look at the Form I-797C receipt notice USCIS mailed you shortly after filing.
"Are the current officeholder answers on my flashcards up to date?"
Answers for questions like "Who is the President?" and "Who is your governor?" change with elections. Always check the USCIS test-updates page below in the week before your interview.
Officeholder answers change with elections. Always check the latest before your interview:
→ USCIS Test Updates page:
uscis.gov/citizenship/find-study-materials-and-resources/check-for-test-updates
Everything on this page is drawn directly from public USCIS materials. Verify anything at these links:
→ 2025 test — 128 questions and answers:
Download PDF
→ 2008 test — 100 questions and answers:
Download PDF
→ Reading Vocabulary List:
Download PDF
→ Writing Vocabulary List:
Download PDF
→ 65/20 exemption questions (age 65+ and 20 years as an LPR):
Download PDF
Our US Citizenship Flash Cards 2026 cover all 128 questions of the new test — bilingual on every card, numbered so you know exactly what you've mastered, hard cardstock that won't fray from months of study.
Bundle it with the Interview Day Playbook and audio review, and you cover all four parts of the interview — not just civics.
Five minutes a day. Twenty days. Everything the officer will ask you.
This page is educational and based on public USCIS sources. It is not legal advice. USCIS rules can change — check the links above before your interview.
