Civic exam
French civic exam mock test: 40 questions, real conditions
Pick the level that matches your application and answer the 40 questions: the timer starts with your first answer and you are marked at the real pass mark of 32.
Independent site, not linked to the French Interior Ministry, the préfectures or the exam centres.
Your score · Resident card
0 / 40
0 / 40 answered
Pick an answer to start
| Pass mark: 32 of 40 |
| Time left: 45:00 |
Knowledge questions: French Interior Ministry, Licence Ouverte 2.0, translated by us. Options, explanations and scenarios: Radif Partners. The real exam is in French only. Not the official exam.
The French civic exam (examen civique) is a multiple-choice test of 40 questions, in French only, to be answered in 45 minutes. Each question has 4 options and one correct answer; a correct answer scores one point, a wrong or blank one scores nothing. You need 32 correct answers, 80%, to get the certificate. The paper holds 28 knowledge questions and 12 scenario questions over five themes: the principles and values of the Republic, institutions, rights and duties, history and geography, and daily life in France. There are three levels, one per application: multi-year residence permit, resident card and naturalisation. Since 1 January 2026, the certificate is required for a first multi-year permit, a first resident card and every naturalisation application. The mock test above draws 40 questions from our bank of 434 using the mix set by the decree of 10 October 2025, starts the timer at your first answer and shows, theme by theme, where you lose points. The questions are in English here to help you learn; the real exam is in French.
How much time per question?
Time per remaining question
66 s
| Questions left | 30 |
| Minutes left | 33 |
| Average pace of the exam | 67 s a question |
Answers, dates and costs by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The exam in figures
| Rule | Figure |
|---|---|
| Questions | 40 |
| Options per question | 4 |
| Time | 45 minutes |
| Correct answers to pass | 32 (80%) |
| Knowledge questions | 28 |
| Scenario questions | 12 |
| Language | French only |
| Certificate validity | no time limit |
The margin is tight: 8 mistakes at most. A blank answer costs as much as a wrong one, so it is better to answer everything, guessing if you must, than to leave boxes empty at the end.
How the 40 questions are drawn
The decree does not leave the themes to chance. It sets, theme by theme, how many questions on each notion appear in the paper, and our draw follows the same grid.
| Theme | Questions | Of which scenarios |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Principles and values of the Republic | 11 | 6 |
| 2. Institutions and politics | 6 | 0 |
| 3. Rights and duties | 11 | 6 |
| 4. History, geography and culture | 8 | 0 |
| 5. Living in French society | 4 | 0 |
The two heaviest themes, the principles and values of the Republic and rights and duties, carry 22 of the 40 questions and hold every scenario question. That is where the exam is won. The scenario questions can be practised on their own: each describes an everyday case and asks for the response that complies with French law.
How many questions on this theme?
Questions in the exam
11 / 40
| Motto and symbols | 3 |
| Secularism | 2 |
| Scenarios | 6 |
Reading your result
At the end the tool shows your score out of 40, the verdict against the mark of 32 and a breakdown by theme. A theme below three quarters correct points to the notion to revise: open the practice set by theme, which corrects each answer at once, then come back to the full mock test. The "New exam" button draws another set of questions; the page address keeps the draw, so you can sit the very same paper again later.
On the day
The exam is taken on a computer in a centre approved by one of the two authorised bodies, the Paris Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce (Le français des affaires) and France Éducation international. You show an identity document at the door, and cheating bars you from sitting again for 2 years. Each centre sets its own price: our price and booking page explains how to compare them. If you fail, nothing stops you from booking another session.
Where our questions come from
The knowledge stems are those of the ministry's official lists, reused under the Licence Ouverte (Open Licence) and translated by us for this English version. Answer options, explanations and scenarios are written by Radif Partners from the guidance sheets on formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr and the legal texts on Légifrance. Every explanation names the text to check. We copy no question from any private site or app.