Study American government, history, rights, responsibilities, symbols, and holidays for the civics portion of your naturalization interview. Each question includes an answer and a short explanation.
Take a free practice testThis bank is for the 2025 civics test, generally used for Form N-400 applications filed on or after October 20, 2025. Earlier applications use the 2008 test. The 2025 test is spoken: up to 20 questions, with 12 correct needed to pass. Our multiple-choice quizzes are learning exercises, not the official interview.
Some questions require more than one answer. Learn the number requested and review the accepted alternatives. There are special considerations for eligible older applicants; check USCIS guidance for your situation.
Official USCIS question bank · Current-answer updates · Find your representative
Independent study resource. Not affiliated with USCIS. Study guide updated October 8, 2026; officeholder answers checked October 2, 2026.
Answer: Republic
A republic lets people choose representatives to govern. The Constitution sets the rules and limits their power.
Answer: U.S. Constitution
All other U.S. laws must agree with the Constitution. That is why it is called the supreme law.
Answer: Forms the government
The Constitution creates the national government and explains its powers, while protecting people’s rights.
Answer: Self-government
Government gets its authority from the people. “We the People” expresses the idea of self-government.
Answer: Amendments
An amendment is a formal change to the Constitution. Article V establishes how amendments are proposed and ratified.
Answer: The basic rights of Americans
The first ten amendments are the Bill of Rights. They protect basic freedoms and limit government interference.
Answer: Twenty-seven 27
The first ten amendments form the Bill of Rights; seventeen more have been added, making twenty-seven total.
Answer: It says America is free from British control.
The Declaration announced separation from Britain and described equality and inherent rights.
Answer: Declaration of Independence
The Declaration announced the colonies’ independence in 1776. The Constitution later established the government.
Answer: Equality and liberty
Both documents reflect ideals such as liberty, equality, and government based on the people’s consent.
Answer: Declaration of Independence
These words appear in the Declaration’s statement of unalienable rights.
Answer: Capitalism
In a capitalist or free-market economy, private individuals and businesses own property and trade goods and services.
Answer: Everyone must follow the law.
The law applies to people and government officials alike. No leader is above the law.
Answer: Declaration of Independence
The framers drew ideas from earlier documents, including the Declaration, which emphasized rights and consent.
Answer: So one part does not become too powerful
Separating power among three branches helps prevent any one branch from controlling the whole government.
Answer: Legislative, executive, and judicial
Congress makes laws, the executive enforces them, and courts interpret them.
Answer: Executive branch
The president leads the executive branch, which carries out and enforces federal laws.
Answer: U.S. Congress
Congress is the legislative branch. Its two chambers consider and pass federal legislation.
Answer: Senate and House of Representatives
Congress has two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Answer: Writes laws
The Constitution gives Congress legislative powers, including writing laws, declaring war, and funding the government.
Answer: One hundred 100
Each of the fifty states has two senators: 50 × 2 = 100.
Answer: Six 6 years
A senator serves a six-year term. Senate elections are staggered so about one-third of seats are contested every two years.
Answer: Depends on where you live. Use the current official or capital for your state or congressional district.
Senators represent an entire state. This answer must match a senator serving your state at your interview.
Local answers entered in the quiz are not independently verified. Find your representative using your home address.
Answer: Four hundred thirty-five 435
The House has 435 voting seats. Seats are divided among states based on population.
Answer: Two 2 years
House members face elections every two years, keeping them closely accountable to voters.
Answer: To more closely follow public opinion
Frequent elections allow House members to respond more closely to changes in public opinion.
Answer: Two 2
Every state has two senators, regardless of how many people live there.
Answer: Equal representation for small states
Equal representation in the Senate was part of the Great Compromise. Population determines House representation.
Answer: Depends on where you live. Use the current official or capital for your state or congressional district.
A House member represents your congressional district. Look up your home address to identify the correct representative.
Local answers entered in the quiz are not independently verified. Find your representative using your home address.
Answer: Mike Johnson
The Speaker leads the House of Representatives and is elected by House members. The person holding this office can change.
Officeholder checked October 2, 2026. Verify current answers before your interview.
Answer: Citizens of their state
A senator represents people throughout the entire state, not just one congressional district.
Answer: Citizens from their state
Voters in a state elect that state’s senators. Direct election is established by the 17th Amendment.
Answer: Citizens in their congressional district
House districts are geographic areas within states. Representatives serve the people in their own district.
Answer: Citizens from their congressional district
Eligible voters in each congressional district choose their House member.
Answer: Because of the state’s population
House seats are apportioned by population. States with more people generally receive more representatives.
Answer: Four 4 years
A presidential term lasts four years. The 22nd Amendment limits election to the presidency to two terms.
Answer: Because of the 22nd Amendment
The 22nd Amendment created the two-term election limit to constrain presidential power.
Answer: Donald Trump
The answer is the person serving as president at your interview. The president leads the executive branch.
Officeholder checked October 2, 2026. Verify current answers before your interview.
Answer: JD Vance
The vice president is first in the presidential line of succession and also serves as president of the Senate.
Officeholder checked October 2, 2026. Verify current answers before your interview.
Answer: The Vice President of the United States
The vice president succeeds the president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office.
Answer: Signs bills into law
The president has executive powers, including signing or vetoing bills and enforcing federal laws.
Answer: The President of the United States
The Constitution names the president as Commander in Chief, placing the military under civilian leadership.
Answer: The President of the United States
After Congress passes a bill, the president can sign it into law or veto it.
Answer: The President of the United States
A veto is the president’s rejection of a bill. Congress can override it with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
Answer: The President of the United States
The president nominates federal judges, and the Senate confirms them. Appointment is an executive power.
Answer: President of the United States
The executive includes the president, the Cabinet, and federal departments and agencies that administer laws.
Answer: Advises the President of the United States
Cabinet members lead executive departments and advise the president on policy and administration.
Answer: Attorney General and Secretary of Agriculture
Cabinet-level officials advise the president. The Attorney General and Secretary of Agriculture are two examples.
Answer: It decides who is elected president.
Electors formally choose the president. The system was a compromise between direct popular election and selection by Congress.
Answer: Supreme Court
The judicial branch includes the Supreme Court and other federal courts that decide legal cases.
Answer: Reviews laws
Courts interpret laws, resolve legal disputes, and can determine whether laws violate the Constitution.
Answer: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judiciary.
Answer: Nine 9
The Court has nine seats: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.
Answer: Five 5
A majority of the nine-member Court is usually five justices. Some cases involve fewer participating justices.
Answer: For life
Federal justices have lifetime appointments during good behavior; they may retire, resign, or be removed by impeachment.
Answer: To be independent of politics
Lifetime tenure helps shield judges from election pressures and political retaliation for their rulings.
Answer: John Roberts
The Chief Justice leads the Supreme Court. Use the name of the officeholder serving at your interview.
Officeholder checked October 2, 2026. Verify current answers before your interview.
Answer: Print paper money
National powers include issuing currency and conducting foreign affairs, helping the country act as one nation.
Answer: Provide schooling and education
States exercise powers over local matters, including education and driver licensing. Schooling is an accepted example.
Answer: It states that the powers not given to the federal government belong to the states or to the people.
The 10th Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the federal government, or prohibited to states, to states or people.
Answer: Depends on where you live. Use the current official or capital for your state or congressional district.
A governor leads a state’s executive branch. Use your state’s current governor at the time of your interview.
Local answers entered in the quiz are not independently verified. Find your representative using your home address.
Answer: Depends on where you live. Use the current official or capital for your state or congressional district.
A state capital is the seat of its state government. It is not necessarily the state’s largest city.
Local answers entered in the quiz are not independently verified. Find your representative using your home address.
Answer: Citizens eighteen 18 and older can vote.
Voting amendments expanded and protected voting rights. The 26th Amendment protects voting for citizens age eighteen and older.
Answer: Citizens
These are citizenship responsibilities and opportunities. Other qualifications still apply, especially for elected office.
Answer: Freedom of speech, assembly, and religion
Basic freedoms such as speech, assembly, and religion protect people living in the U.S., including noncitizens.
Answer: The United States
The pledge expresses loyalty to the United States and its flag, a symbol of the nation.
Answer: Defend the Constitution and obey U.S. laws
The oath includes commitments to defend the Constitution, obey U.S. laws, and be loyal to the United States.
Answer: Be born in the United States, under the conditions set by the 14th Amendment
Naturalization is the process by which an eligible noncitizen becomes a U.S. citizen. Birth and derivation are other pathways.
Answer: Vote and run for office
Voting and running for office are ways to participate in democratic government. Community and campaign work also count.
Answer: Vote
Citizens can serve their country through voting, taxes, lawful conduct, public service, or military service.
Answer: Required by law
Taxes fund federal services and programs. Paying legally required taxes is a civic responsibility.
Answer: Required by law
Selective Service registration is required by law for most men ages eighteen through twenty-five and supports a fair draft if needed.
Answer: Freedom
Different colonists sought religious or political freedom, opportunity, or escape from persecution.
Answer: American Indians
Indigenous peoples lived in America long before European colonization.
Answer: Africans
Africans were forcibly transported and enslaved through the transatlantic slave trade.
Answer: American Revolution
The Revolutionary War was fought between the colonies and Britain over American independence.
Answer: High taxes
Colonists opposed British taxes and other restrictions, especially taxes imposed without colonial representation in Parliament.
Answer: Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author, working with a committee and revisions by Congress.
Answer: July 4, 1776
The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776. This date is celebrated as Independence Day.
Answer: Battle of Bunker Hill
Bunker Hill was an early Revolutionary War battle in 1775. Other accepted events include Trenton and Yorktown.
Answer: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York
These five states were among the original thirteen colonies on the Atlantic coast.
Answer: U.S. Constitution
Delegates wrote the Constitution at the Philadelphia convention in 1787, replacing the Articles of Confederation.
Answer: James Madison
Madison, Hamilton, and Jay wrote these essays under the pen name Publius to support ratification.
Answer: They helped people understand the U.S. Constitution.
The essays explained the proposed Constitution and argued that states should ratify it.
Answer: Founded the first free public libraries
Franklin was an inventor, diplomat, and Founding Father. His work included libraries and the Declaration.
Answer: “Father of Our Country”
Washington led the Continental Army and became the first president, earning the title “Father of Our Country.”
Answer: Writer of the Declaration of Independence
Jefferson wrote the Declaration and later became the third president. He also oversaw the Louisiana Purchase.
Answer: “Father of the Constitution”
Madison played a central role in drafting and promoting the Constitution, earning this nickname.
Answer: First Secretary of the Treasury
Hamilton was the first Treasury Secretary and helped shape the young nation’s financial system.
Answer: Louisiana Territory
The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 acquired a vast territory from France and roughly doubled the nation’s size.
Answer: War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought in the nineteenth century, as were the Civil War and Mexican-American War.
Answer: The Civil War
The Civil War, fought from 1861 to 1865, was between the Union and the Confederacy.
Answer: Battle of Fort Sumter
The attack on Fort Sumter in 1861 marked the start of the Civil War. Gettysburg and Appomattox are other accepted events.
Answer: Freed the slaves Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln led the Union during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Answer: Freed enslaved people in Confederate areas in rebellion
Lincoln’s proclamation declared enslaved people in areas in rebellion free. It did not abolish slavery everywhere; the 13th Amendment did that.
Answer: The Civil War
The Union victory and the 13th Amendment ended slavery in the U.S. in 1865.
Answer: 14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause addresses citizenship by birth or naturalization, subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
Answer: 1870, with the 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibited denying the vote based on race. Discriminatory barriers nevertheless persisted for decades.
Answer: Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony advocated women’s voting rights. Other accepted leaders include Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth.
Answer: World War I
World War I occurred from 1914 to 1918, with the U.S. joining in 1917. Other twentieth-century wars are also accepted.
Answer: Because Germany attacked U.S. civilian ships
German attacks on shipping and support for the Allies contributed to the U.S. decision to enter World War I in 1917.
Answer: 1920, with the 19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, prohibiting denial of voting rights based on sex. Other discriminatory barriers still remained.
Answer: Longest economic recession in modern history
The Great Depression was a prolonged economic crisis with severe unemployment and hardship during the 1930s.
Answer: The Great Crash 1929
The stock market crash of 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression.
Answer: Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt served from 1933 to 1945, leading during the Depression and most of World War II.
Answer: Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The U.S. entered World War II the next day.
Answer: General during World War II
Eisenhower commanded Allied forces in Europe during World War II and later became the 34th president.
Answer: Soviet Union
The U.S. and Soviet Union competed for influence during the Cold War, including a nuclear arms race.
Answer: Communism
U.S. leaders feared the spread of communism and the possibility of nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union.
Answer: To stop the spread of communism
The U.S. fought in Korea under a U.N. command to repel North Korea’s invasion and contain communism.
Answer: To stop the spread of communism
Containing communism was a major U.S. policy goal behind involvement in the Vietnam War.
Answer: Fought to end racial discrimination
The movement challenged racial segregation and discrimination and pressed for equal rights under law.
Answer: Fought for civil rights
King promoted racial equality and civil rights, using nonviolent protest and advocacy.
Answer: To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait
Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. A U.S.-led coalition fought to expel Iraqi forces in 1991.
Answer: Terrorists attacked the United States
Terrorists hijacked aircraft on September 11, 2001, attacking New York and the Pentagon; another plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
Answer: Global War on Terror
U.S. military operations in Afghanistan began after the September 11 attacks. The Iraq War is another accepted example.
Answer: Apache
The Apache are one of many Indigenous tribes in the U.S. The official list accepts numerous other tribe names.
Answer: Light bulb
The light bulb is an accepted example. American innovators helped develop practical electric lighting and many other technologies.
Answer: Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., is the seat of the federal government and is separate from any state.
Answer: New York Harbor
The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, near New York City and New Jersey.
Answer: Because there were 13 original colonies
The thirteen stripes represent the thirteen original colonies that became the first states.
Answer: Because there is one star for each state
Each star represents a state. The flag has fifty stars for the fifty states.
Answer: The Star-Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key wrote the words that became “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem.
Answer: Out of many, one
This Latin motto means “Out of many, one,” expressing unity among many states and people.
Answer: A holiday to celebrate U.S. independence from Britain
Independence Day celebrates the Declaration of Independence and separation from Britain on July 4.
Answer: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day
These are three national holidays. USCIS also accepts other listed holidays such as Thanksgiving and Veterans Day.
Answer: A holiday to honor soldiers who died in military service
Memorial Day remembers military members who died in service. Veterans Day honors those who have served.
Answer: A holiday to honor people in the U.S. military
Veterans Day honors people who served in the U.S. armed forces. It is observed on November 11.
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