American Civics Prep

The 65/20 test: 20 designated questions

If you are 65 years or older and have lived in the United States as a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) for 20 years or more, you qualify for special consideration on the civics test. USCIS administers specially selected test forms to 65/20 applicants: every question comes from the short list of 20 designated questions on this page, so this list is all you need to study.

How the 65/20 test is scored

The 65/20 test is shorter than the standard test in every way, and the numbers are not the ones most study sites quote:

These are not the standard numbers. A standard 2025 applicant is asked up to 20 questions drawn from the full bank of 128 and needs 12 correct — see which test you take. The 65/20 mechanics are the same under the older bank: 20 designated questions, 10 asked, 6 to pass. Only the contents of the designated list differ between the 2025 and 2008 tests.

No English test at all

Because 20 years as a permanent resident at age 65 more than meets the 55/15 threshold, 65/20 applicants are exempt from the entire English requirement — reading, writing and speaking. You do not take any part of the English test. The civics test is the only test you take, and you may take it in the language of your choice, with an interpreter selected by you or by USCIS.

Both requirements, together

Miss either number and you may still qualify under a lower threshold: at 50 with 20 years, or 55 with 15, the English test drops away and you take the full civics bank in your own language instead of this short list. Our page on the age-based exemptions — 50/20, 55/15 and 65/20 sets the three rules side by side.

The 20 designated questions

Shown in large type for easier study. The numbers are the questions' official numbers in the 128-question bank of the 2025 test. If your N-400 was filed before October 20, 2025, you fall under the 2008 test and its own designated list — check which test you take.

  1. What is the supreme law of the land?

    • The Constitution

  2. How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have?

    • Twenty-seven (27)

  3. What is the economic system of the United States?

    • Capitalism
    • Free market economy

  4. Name one power of the U.S. Congress.

    • Writes laws
    • Declares war
    • Makes the federal budget

  5. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?

    • Mike Johnson

  6. The President of the United States is elected for how many years?

    • Four (4) years

  7. What is the name of the President of the United States now?

    • Donald Trump
    • Donald J. Trump

  8. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?

    • JD Vance
    • J.D. Vance

  9. Who vetoes bills?

    • The President (of the United States)

  10. What is the highest court in the United States?

    • The Supreme Court

  11. Who is the governor of your state now?

    Answers will vary — check your state.

  12. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?

    • The United States
    • The flag

  13. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?

    • American Indians
    • Native Americans

  14. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

    • (Thomas) Jefferson

  15. George Washington is famous for many things. Name one.

    • "Father of Our Country"
    • First president of the United States
    • General of the Continental Army
    • President of the Constitutional Convention

  16. Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things. Name one.

    • 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

  17. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one.

    • 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"

  18. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States?

    • 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

  19. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

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

  20. Name three national U.S. holidays.

    • 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

Source: USCIS 128 Civics Questions and Answers (2025 version), form M-1778 (09/25) — the "65/20 Special Consideration" note on its first page, which designates these 20 questions and sets out the 10-asked, 6-to-pass rule.

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