The civic exam: test rules and who has to take it
Enter how many answers you got right in a practice test: the mini-calculator tells you whether you reached the pass mark.
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Since 1 January 2026, the civic exam (examen civique) has been compulsory for a first multi-year residence card, a first resident card (including EU long-term and permanent resident cards) and for naturalisation or reinstatement by decree. It is a multiple-choice questionnaire in French with 40 questions, combining knowledge and real-life scenarios, taken on screen in 45 minutes at most. You need 32 correct answers to pass, which is 80 % of the paper. There are two versions for permits, "multi-year card" and "resident card", the second also counting for the first, and a "naturalisation" version with a different syllabus (French history, principles and institutions of the Republic, exercising citizenship, France in Europe and the world). People aged 65 or over do not take it for the cards; the declaration of citizenship through marriage is not subject to it, and neither are renewals. Cheating brings a two-year ban on retaking it. The Interior Ministry publishes the official list of knowledge questions; this site reproduces none of them.
Who has to take the civic exam
The exam comes from the reform that took effect on 1 January 2026 and rests on article L413-7 of the CESEDA immigration code for the cards. The official page on the civic exam for residence cards sets out its scope:
| Application | Civic exam | Version |
|---|---|---|
| First multi-year residence card | yes, except 65 and over | multi-year card (or resident card) |
| Renewing a multi-year card | no | - |
| First resident card (French national’s spouse, parent of a French child, family reunification) | yes, except 65 and over | resident card |
| First EU long-term or permanent resident card | yes, except 65 and over | resident card |
| Naturalisation or reinstatement by decree | yes | naturalisation |
| Citizenship declaration through marriage | no | - |
For the multi-year card, permits outside the republican integration contract (contrat d’intégration républicaine) are excluded, as are subsidiary-protection holders, stateless people and their families. For the resident card, the grounds affected also include talent-card or EU Blue Card holders after more than five years, refugees, and five years of uninterrupted lawful residence with sufficient income.
The format
For every version, the test is a multiple-choice questionnaire in French with 40 knowledge and scenario questions, taken on a screen. It lasts 45 minutes at most; extra time is only given as a justified medical arrangement. The pass mark is 32 correct answers, 80 %. With 31 correct answers you fail: the official pages provide neither partial credit nor a resit session. The centre explains its rules beforehand, and breaking them can void the exam. The syllabus, papers and organisation are set by the order of 10 October 2025 on the civic exam.
Two different syllabuses
For residence and resident cards, the exam covers five areas: principles and values of the Republic; rights and duties of life in France; history, geography and culture; the institutional and political system; living in French society. The Interior Ministry runs a dedicated website with topic sheets and the official list of knowledge questions.
For naturalisation, the official page on the naturalisation civic exam describes four areas: key landmarks of French history (placing the main events and figures that everyday life refers to); principles, symbols and institutions of the Republic (respect for the law, fundamental freedoms, equality, in particular between women and men, secularism or laïcité, political and administrative organisation); exercising citizenship (the rights and duties in the citizen’s charter); France’s place in Europe and the world. The citizen’s booklet (livret du citoyen), a reference framework and the list of knowledge questions can be downloaded. The exam only concerns the decree procedures: declarations through marriage, as the parent or as the sibling of a French national are not subject to it.
Arrangements and medical exemptions
A disability or health condition can justify adjustments to the test, such as extra time, on a medical certificate setting out what is recommended. If your condition makes any assessment impossible, you can be exempted from providing the pass certificate, again on a medical certificate. The administration, or for citizenship the case officer, may order a new medical assessment.
Signing up and preparing
You register at a centre approved by the Interior Ministry. Two networks publish maps of their centres: the Paris Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce and France Éducation international, which also offers online pre-registration for the naturalisation version. If you live abroad and are preparing a naturalisation application, the French institute, the Alliance française or the consulate in your country of residence will tell you how to sit the exam. To practise, use the official documents rather than paid question banks: the ministry’s list of knowledge questions is free. The mini-calculator at the top of this page only tells you whether a practice score reaches the pass mark; it contains no questions.
Reading a practice score
Because the pass mark is fixed at 32 out of 40, every wrong answer counts: you can afford 8 mistakes, not one more. A practice score of 30 means you are two answers short; 36 leaves a margin of 4. The questions mix pure knowledge (dates, institutions, symbols) and scenario questions, where you choose the right behaviour in an everyday situation at work, at school or with the authorities; people who live in France often find the second kind easier than the first. Practise both, and practise in French, since the questionnaire is only offered in French and reading speed matters within the 45 minutes. If you fail, nothing in the official pages limits how many times you may sit it again, apart from the two-year ban after a fraud; the only cost is the delay to your application and any fee charged by the centre, which the official pages do not set.
Where the exam fits in your timetable
The pass certificate is one of the documents in your file: without it, a first multi-year or resident card application, or your naturalisation file, is incomplete, and for citizenship the receipt that starts the response deadline is not issued. Sit it before your filing window opens, together with the language test at the required level (A2, B1 or B2), which is a separate test. Cheating costs a two-year ban. This is information, not legal advice.