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CivicPrep

All 128 civics questions and answers (2025 test)

For applicants whose Form N-400 was filed on or after October 20, 2025. In the interview, the officer asks up to 20 of these questions out loud, and you need 12 correct to pass. Questions and accepted answers are from the official USCIS list; words in parentheses are optional.

65/20marks the 20 questions for the 65/20 test.

Study one at a timeTake a practice testSee the 2008 test questions

American Government

Principles of American Government

  1. 1. What is the form of government of the United States?

    Republic
    Constitution-based federal republic
    Representative democracy

  2. 2. What is the supreme law of the land?65/20

    (U.S.) Constitution

  3. 3. Name one thing the U.S. Constitution does.

    Forms the government
    Defines powers of government
    Defines the parts of government
    Protects the rights of the people

  4. 4. The U.S. Constitution starts with the words “We the People.” What does “We the People” mean?

    Self-government
    Popular sovereignty
    Consent of the governed
    People should govern themselves
    (Example of) social contract

  5. 5. How are changes made to the U.S. Constitution?

    Amendments
    The amendment process

  6. 6. What does the Bill of Rights protect?

    (The basic) rights of Americans
    (The basic) rights of people living in the United States

  7. 7. How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have?65/20

    Twenty-seven (27)

  8. 8. Why is the Declaration of Independence important?

    It says America is free from British control.
    It says all people are created equal.
    It identifies inherent rights.
    It identifies individual freedoms.

  9. 9. What founding document said the American colonies were free from Britain?

    Declaration of Independence

  10. 10. Name two important ideas from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

    Equality
    Liberty
    Social contract
    Natural rights
    Limited government
    Self-government

    Give 2 of these answers.

  11. 11. The words “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” are in what founding document?

    Declaration of Independence

  12. 12. What is the economic system of the United States?65/20

    Capitalism
    Free market economy

  13. 13. What is the rule of law?

    Everyone must follow the law.
    Leaders must obey the law.
    Government must obey the law.
    No one is above the law.

  14. 14. Many documents influenced the U.S. Constitution. Name one.

    Declaration of Independence
    Articles of Confederation
    Federalist Papers
    Anti-Federalist Papers
    Virginia Declaration of Rights
    Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
    Mayflower Compact
    Iroquois Great Law of Peace

  15. 15. There are three branches of government. Why?

    So one part does not become too powerful
    Checks and balances
    Separation of powers

System of Government

  1. 16. Name the three branches of government.

    Legislative, executive, and judicial
    Congress, president, and the courts

  2. 17. The President of the United States is in charge of which branch of government?

    Executive branch

  3. 18. What part of the federal government writes laws?

    (U.S.) Congress
    (U.S. or national) legislature
    Legislative branch

  4. 19. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?

    Senate and House (of Representatives)

  5. 20. Name one power of the U.S. Congress.65/20

    Writes laws
    Declares war
    Makes the federal budget

  6. 21. How many U.S. senators are there?

    One hundred (100)

  7. 22. How long is a term for a U.S. senator?

    Six (6) years

  8. 23. Who is one of your state’s U.S. senators now?

    The answer depends on where you live.

  9. 24. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?

    Four hundred thirty-five (435)

  10. 25. How long is a term for a member of the House of Representatives?

    Two (2) years

  11. 26. Why do U.S. representatives serve shorter terms than U.S. senators?

    To more closely follow public opinion

  12. 27. How many senators does each state have?

    Two (2)

  13. 28. Why does each state have two senators?

    Equal representation (for small states)
    The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

  14. 29. Name your U.S. representative.

    The answer depends on where you live.

  15. 30. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?65/20

    Mike JohnsonSpeaker of the House of Representatives
    Johnson
    James Michael Johnson (birth name)

  16. 31. Who does a U.S. senator represent?

    Citizens of their state
    People of their state

  17. 32. Who elects U.S. senators?

    Citizens from their state

  18. 33. Who does a member of the House of Representatives represent?

    Citizens in their (congressional) district
    Citizens in their district
    People from their (congressional) district
    People in their district

  19. 34. Who elects members of the House of Representatives?

    Citizens from their (congressional) district

  20. 35. Some states have more representatives than other states. Why?

    (Because of) the state’s population
    (Because) they have more people
    (Because) some states have more people

  21. 36. The President of the United States is elected for how many years?65/20

    Four (4) years

  22. 37. The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?

    (Because of) the 22nd Amendment
    To keep the president from becoming too powerful

  23. 38. What is the name of the President of the United States now?65/20

    Donald J. TrumpPresident of the United States
    Donald Trump
    Trump

  24. 39. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?65/20

    JD VanceVice President of the United States
    Vance

  25. 40. If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?

    The Vice President (of the United States)

  26. 41. Name one power of the president.

    Signs bills into law
    Vetoes bills
    Enforces laws
    Commander in Chief (of the military)
    Chief diplomat
    Appoints federal judges

  27. 42. Who is Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?

    The President (of the United States)

  28. 43. Who signs bills to become laws?

    The President (of the United States)

  29. 44. Who vetoes bills?65/20

    The President (of the United States)

  30. 45. Who appoints federal judges?

    The President (of the United States)

  31. 46. The executive branch has many parts. Name one.

    President (of the United States)
    Cabinet
    Federal departments and agencies

  32. 47. What does the President’s Cabinet do?

    Advises the President (of the United States)

  33. 48. What are two Cabinet-level positions?

    Attorney General
    Secretary of Agriculture
    Secretary of Commerce
    Secretary of Education
    Secretary of Energy
    Secretary of Health and Human Services
    Secretary of Homeland Security
    Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
    Secretary of the Interior
    Secretary of Labor
    Secretary of State
    Secretary of Transportation
    Secretary of the Treasury
    Secretary of Veterans Affairs
    Secretary of War (Defense)
    Vice-President
    Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
    Administrator of the Small Business Administration
    Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
    Director of the Office of Management and Budget
    Director of National Intelligence
    United States Trade Representative

    Give 2 of these answers.

  34. 49. Why is the Electoral College important?

    It decides who is elected president.
    It provides a compromise between the popular election of the president and congressional selection.

  35. 50. What is one part of the judicial branch?

    Supreme Court
    Federal Courts

  36. 51. What does the judicial branch do?

    Reviews laws
    Explains laws
    Resolves disputes (disagreements) about the law
    Decides if a law goes against the (U.S.) Constitution

  37. 52. What is the highest court in the United States?65/20

    Supreme Court

  38. 53. How many seats are on the Supreme Court?

    Nine (9)

  39. 54. How many Supreme Court justices are usually needed to decide a case?

    Five (5)

  40. 55. How long do Supreme Court justices serve?

    (For) life
    Lifetime appointment
    (Until) retirement

  41. 56. Supreme Court justices serve for life. Why?

    To be independent (of politics)
    To limit outside (political) influence

  42. 57. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?

    John RobertsChief Justice of the United States
    John G. Roberts, Jr.
    Roberts

  43. 58. Name one power that is only for the federal government.

    Print paper money
    Mint coins
    Declare war
    Create an army
    Make treaties
    Set foreign policy

  44. 59. Name one power that is only for the states.

    Provide schooling and education
    Provide protection (police)
    Provide safety (fire departments)
    Give a driver’s license
    Approve zoning and land use

  45. 60. What is the purpose of the 10th Amendment?

    (It states that the) powers not given to the federal government belong to the states or to the people.

  46. 61. Who is the governor of your state now?65/20

    The answer depends on where you live.

  47. 62. What is the capital of your state?

    The answer depends on where you live.

Rights and Responsibilities

  1. 63. There are four amendments to the U.S. Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.

    Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).
    You don’t have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.
    Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)
    A male citizen of any race (can vote).

  2. 64. Who can vote in federal elections, run for federal office, and serve on a jury in the United States?

    Citizens
    Citizens of the United States
    U.S. citizens

  3. 65. What are three rights of everyone living in the United States?

    Freedom of expression
    Freedom of speech
    Freedom of assembly
    Freedom to petition the government
    Freedom of religion
    The right to bear arms

    Give 3 of these answers.

  4. 66. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?65/20

    The United States
    The flag

  5. 67. Name two promises that new citizens make in the Oath of Allegiance.

    Give up loyalty to other countries
    Defend the (U.S.) Constitution
    Obey the laws of the United States
    Serve in the military (if needed)
    Serve (help, do important work for) the nation (if needed)
    Be loyal to the United States

    Give 2 of these answers.

  6. 68. How can people become United States citizens?

    Be born in the United States, under the conditions set by the 14th Amendment
    Naturalize
    Derive citizenship (under conditions set by Congress)

  7. 69. What are two examples of civic participation in the United States?

    Vote
    Run for office
    Join a political party
    Help with a campaign
    Join a civic group
    Join a community group
    Give an elected official your opinion (on an issue)
    Contact elected officials
    Support or oppose an issue or policy
    Write to a newspaper

    Give 2 of these answers.

  8. 70. What is one way Americans can serve their country?

    Vote
    Pay taxes
    Obey the law
    Serve in the military
    Run for office
    Work for local, state, or federal government

  9. 71. Why is it important to pay federal taxes?

    Required by law
    All people pay to fund the federal government
    Required by the (U.S.) Constitution (16th Amendment)
    Civic duty

  10. 72. It is important for all men age 18 through 25 to register for the Selective Service. Name one reason why.

    Required by law
    Civic duty
    Makes the draft fair, if needed

American History

Colonial Period and Independence

  1. 73. The colonists came to America for many reasons. Name one.

    Freedom
    Political liberty
    Religious freedom
    Economic opportunity
    Escape persecution

  2. 74. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?65/20

    American Indians
    Native Americans

  3. 75. What group of people was taken and sold as slaves?

    Africans
    People from Africa

  4. 76. What war did the Americans fight to win independence from Britain?

    American Revolution
    The (American) Revolutionary War
    War for (American) Independence

  5. 77. Name one reason why the Americans declared independence from Britain.

    High taxes
    Taxation without representation
    British soldiers stayed in Americans’ houses (boarding, quartering)
    They did not have self-government
    Boston Massacre
    Boston Tea Party (Tea Act)
    Stamp Act
    Sugar Act
    Townshend Acts
    Intolerable (Coercive) Acts

  6. 78. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?65/20

    (Thomas) Jefferson

  7. 79. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

    July 4, 1776

  8. 80. The American Revolution had many important events. Name one.

    (Battle of) Bunker Hill
    Declaration of Independence
    Washington Crossing the Delaware (Battle of Trenton)
    (Battle of) Saratoga
    Valley Forge (Encampment)
    (Battle of) Yorktown (British surrender at Yorktown)

  9. 81. There were 13 original states. Name five.

    New Hampshire
    Massachusetts
    Rhode Island
    Connecticut
    New York
    New Jersey
    Pennsylvania
    Delaware
    Maryland
    Virginia
    North Carolina
    South Carolina
    Georgia

    Give 5 of these answers.

  10. 82. What founding document was written in 1787?

    (U.S.) Constitution

  11. 83. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

    (James) Madison
    (Alexander) Hamilton
    (John) Jay
    Publius

  12. 84. Why were the Federalist Papers important?

    They helped people understand the (U.S.) Constitution.
    They supported passing the (U.S.) Constitution.

  13. 85. Benjamin Franklin is famous for many things. Name one.

    Founded the first free public libraries
    First Postmaster General of the United States
    Helped write the Declaration of Independence
    Inventor
    U.S. diplomat

  14. 86. George Washington is famous for many things. Name one.65/20

    “Father of Our Country”
    First president of the United States
    General of the Continental Army
    President of the Constitutional Convention

  15. 87. Thomas Jefferson is famous for many things. Name one.

    Writer of the Declaration of Independence
    Third president of the United States
    Doubled the size of the United States (Louisiana Purchase)
    First Secretary of State
    Founded the University of Virginia
    Writer of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom

  16. 88. James Madison is famous for many things. Name one.

    “Father of the Constitution”
    Fourth president of the United States
    President during the War of 1812
    One of the writers of the Federalist Papers

  17. 89. Alexander Hamilton is famous for many things. Name one.

    First Secretary of the Treasury
    One of the writers of the Federalist Papers
    Helped establish the First Bank of the United States
    Aide to General George Washington
    Member of the Continental Congress

1800s

  1. 90. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

    Louisiana Territory
    Louisiana

  2. 91. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.

    War of 1812
    Mexican-American War
    Civil War
    Spanish-American War

  3. 92. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.

    The Civil War

  4. 93. The Civil War had many important events. Name one.

    (Battle of) Fort Sumter
    Emancipation Proclamation
    (Battle of) Vicksburg
    (Battle of) Gettysburg
    Sherman’s March
    (Surrender at) Appomattox
    (Battle of) Antietam/Sharpsburg
    Lincoln was assassinated.

  5. 94. Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things. Name one.65/20

    Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
    Saved (or preserved) the Union
    Led the United States during the Civil War
    16th president of the United States
    Delivered the Gettysburg Address

  6. 95. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

    Freed the slaves
    Freed slaves in the Confederacy
    Freed slaves in the Confederate states
    Freed slaves in most Southern states

  7. 96. What U.S. war ended slavery?

    The Civil War

  8. 97. What amendment says all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are U.S. citizens?

    14th Amendment

  9. 98. When did all men get the right to vote?

    After the Civil War
    During Reconstruction
    (With the) 15th Amendment
    1870

  10. 99. Name one leader of the women’s rights movement in the 1800s.

    Susan B. Anthony
    Elizabeth Cady Stanton
    Sojourner Truth
    Harriet Tubman
    Lucretia Mott
    Lucy Stone

Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information

  1. 100. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.

    World War I
    World War II
    Korean War
    Vietnam War
    (Persian) Gulf War

  2. 101. Why did the United States enter World War I?

    Because Germany attacked U.S. (civilian) ships
    To support the Allied Powers (England, France, Italy, and Russia)
    To oppose the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria)

  3. 102. When did all women get the right to vote?

    1920
    After World War I
    (With the) 19th Amendment

  4. 103. What was the Great Depression?

    Longest economic recession in modern history

  5. 104. When did the Great Depression start?

    The Great Crash (1929)
    Stock market crash of 1929

  6. 105. Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?

    (Franklin) Roosevelt

  7. 106. Why did the United States enter World War II?

    (Bombing of) Pearl Harbor
    Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
    To support the Allied Powers (England, France, and Russia)
    To oppose the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan)

  8. 107. Dwight Eisenhower is famous for many things. Name one.

    General during World War II
    President at the end of (during) the Korean War
    34th president of the United States
    Signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (Created the Interstate System)

  9. 108. Who was the United States’ main rival during the Cold War?

    Soviet Union
    USSR
    Russia

  10. 109. During the Cold War, what was one main concern of the United States?

    Communism
    Nuclear war

  11. 110. Why did the United States enter the Korean War?

    To stop the spread of communism

  12. 111. Why did the United States enter the Vietnam War?

    To stop the spread of communism

  13. 112. What did the civil rights movement do?

    Fought to end racial discrimination

  14. 113. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one.65/20

    Fought for civil rights
    Worked for equality for all Americans
    Worked to ensure that people would “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”

  15. 114. Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War?

    To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait

  16. 115. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States?65/20

    Terrorists attacked the United States
    Terrorists took over two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City
    Terrorists took over a plane and crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia
    Terrorists took over a plane originally aimed at Washington, D.C., and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania

  17. 116. Name one U.S. military conflict after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

    (Global) War on Terror
    War in Afghanistan
    War in Iraq

  18. 117. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

    Apache
    Blackfeet
    Cayuga
    Cherokee
    Cheyenne
    Chippewa
    Choctaw
    Creek
    Crow
    Hopi
    Huron
    Inupiat
    Lakota
    Mohawk
    Mohegan
    Navajo
    Oneida
    Onondaga
    Pueblo
    Seminole
    Seneca
    Shawnee
    Sioux
    Teton
    Tuscarora

    For a complete list of tribes, please visit bia.gov.

  19. 118. Name one example of an American innovation.

    Light bulb
    Automobile (cars, internal combustion engine)
    Skyscrapers
    Airplane
    Assembly line
    Landing on the moon
    Integrated circuit (IC)

Symbols and Holidays

Symbols

  1. 119. What is the capital of the United States?

    Washington, D.C.

  2. 120. Where is the Statue of Liberty?

    New York (Harbor)
    Liberty Island

    Also acceptable are New Jersey, near New York City, and on the Hudson (River).

  3. 121. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?65/20

    (Because there were) 13 original colonies
    (Because the stripes) represent the original colonies

  4. 122. Why does the flag have 50 stars?

    (Because there is) one star for each state
    (Because) each star represents a state
    (Because there are) 50 states

  5. 123. What is the name of the national anthem?

    The Star-Spangled Banner

  6. 124. The Nation’s first motto was “E Pluribus Unum.” What does that mean?

    Out of many, one
    We all become one

Holidays

  1. 125. What is Independence Day?

    A holiday to celebrate U.S. independence (from Britain)
    The country’s birthday

  2. 126. Name three national U.S. holidays.65/20

    New Year’s Day
    Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
    Presidents Day (Washington’s Birthday)
    Memorial Day
    Juneteenth
    Independence Day
    Labor Day
    Columbus Day
    Veterans Day
    Thanksgiving Day
    Christmas Day

    Give 3 of these answers.

  3. 127. What is Memorial Day?

    A holiday to honor soldiers who died in military service

  4. 128. What is Veterans Day?

    A holiday to honor people in the (U.S.) military
    A holiday to honor people who have served (in the U.S. military)

Answers about officeholders change after elections and appointments. Always confirm the current answers on the USCIS test updates page.