Exam draw, marking and date calculations

Every page and every tool reads the same files: one question bank and one parameter file holding the official rules and fees, read on 25 October 2026. No pass mark, fee or period is typed into a page: when a rule changes, the file changes and every page follows.

1. The question bank

It holds 434 questions: 366 knowledge questions whose stems come from the official lists (190 for the multi-year permit, 209 for the resident card, many shared by both), and 68 scenario questions written by us. Each question has four options, one correct, an explanation and the reference of the text to check. The position of the correct answer is spread at random, equally across the four places. The English version is our translation; the real exam is in French only.

Questions about people in office today name nobody: an answer that depends on an election or an appointment would go out of date without warning.

2. Drawing the mock exam

Article 3 of the order of 10 October 2025 sets, theme by theme, how many questions each notion gets. The mock exam applies that grid: 11 questions on the principles and values of the Republic, 6 on institutions, 11 on rights and duties, 8 on history, geography and culture, 4 on daily life in France. At the multi-year permit or resident card level it draws from the matching official list; at naturalisation level it favours the stems the ministry also uses there. The draw depends on a number (the seed) kept in the page address: the same address gives back the same exam.

3. Marking

A correct answer scores one point, a wrong or blank one zero, and the exam is passed at 32 out of 40, as the order provides. The 45-minute timer starts with the first answer and ends the paper at zero. In practice mode the site shows an indicative pass at 80% of the set.

4. Date calculations

The filing date adds to the start date the period the application requires: 5 years of residence for naturalisation as a rule, 2 with a reduction, 4 years of marriage for nationality through marriage (5 without 3 years living in France since the marriage), 3 years for the resident card of a French citizen's spouse. For naturalisation the date cannot fall before the applicant's 17th birthday. For the EU long-term card the tool tests the absence rule day by day: at most 6 months in a row and 10 months in total over 5 years, an absence running from the day after departure to the day before return. Other conditions (valid permit, income, integration, criminal record) are not assessed: the date only says when the period is met.

5. Costs

Only amounts set by a text are filled in: the €255 tax stamp for naturalisation and nationality through marriage, €350 for a first permit, €300 for the regularisation visa. The civic exam and the French test have no national price, so you type in the price you find at your centre.

6. Updates

The rules are re-read by hand on Légifrance and service-public.gouv.fr; the date of the last check is at the foot of every page. There is no automatic update: if a text changes between two checks, tell us through the Contact page.