If you're applying for your first multi-year residence card, your first 10-year card or French citizenship, there's a new step in your file since 1 January 2026: the examen civique. It's a short multiple-choice test about France, and you take it in French.
The facts are easy to learn. What trips people up is the French the questions are written in, and the twelve scenario questions you can't memorise. Here's who has to take it, what's on it, and how to prepare without paying for practice tests.
Who has to take the civic exam?
According to service-public.fr and the Interior Ministry's civic training site, you need a pass if you're applying for:
- your first carte de séjour pluriannuelle, the 2-to-4-year card ("CSP" version);
- your first carte de résident, EU long-term resident card or permanent resident card ("CR" version);
- French citizenship by naturalisation or reintegration by decree ("naturalisation" version).
You don't need it for a first one-year card, for renewing a card you already hold, or for citizenship by declaration, such as marriage to a French citizen. For residence cards, applicants over 65 are exempt, and so are beneficiaries of international protection and nationals covered by some bilateral agreements. A disability or health condition can get you adjusted conditions, or an exemption with a medical certificate.
The language rules follow the same cards: A2 French for the multi-year card, B1 for the 10-year card and B2 for citizenship. Our guides to the French you need for a residence card and the citizenship language requirement explain them.
What's on the civic exam?
Every version has the same shape, set by an arrêté of 10 October 2025: 40 questions, four answer choices each, one right answer, and no points taken off for a wrong one. The questions are spread across five themes from the state's civic training course:
| Theme | Questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Principles and values of the Republic | 11, including 6 scenarios | The motto and symbols, laïcité |
| Institutions and politics | 6 | Democracy and voting, how the Republic is organised, EU institutions |
| Rights and duties | 11, including 6 scenarios | Fundamental rights, the obligations of people living in France |
| History, geography and culture | 8 | Key periods and figures, territories, heritage |
| Living in French society | 4 | Settling in France, healthcare, work, parental authority and school |
Read that table as a study plan. Twenty-eight knowledge questions come from an official list you can download. The twelve scenarios all sit in two themes, values and rights, and put you in a situation where you have to pick what's allowed or expected. With 32 to pass, you can afford eight mistakes, so get the knowledge questions close to perfect and the scenarios will have room to breathe.
The three versions differ in difficulty and in their question lists, matched to the card or status you're applying for. A pass in the CR version also counts for a multi-year card.
How do you register, and what does it cost?
Two organisations run the exam for the Interior Ministry: the CCI Paris Île-de-France, through Le français des affaires, and France Éducation international. Each publishes a map of its approved centres, and you register with a centre directly, not with the préfecture. Each centre sets its own fee, so compare a few near you. If you live abroad and are applying for naturalisation, service-public says to ask an Institut français, an Alliance Française or the consulate.
On the day, you'll take the test on a computer or tablet. Follow the centre's rules carefully: cheating cancels your result and bans you from the exam for two years.
How should you prepare?
Start with the free official material. The Interior Ministry publishes the knowledge questions for the CSP and CR versions, with theme sheets for each part of the course, and a separate list for naturalisation along with the livret du citoyen. The ministry's own site says you don't need to pay for practice questions to prepare.
Then work on the French, because every question is in French. The language is pitched at the level of the card you're applying for, but it's still exam French: short, precise, and full of words like laïcité, mairie, préfecture, Assurance maladie and autorité parentale. A good way in is to hear the same ideas in everyday conversation. Two of our French lessons cover topics straight from the exam's themes. In an A2 lesson about a wedding at the town hall, a friend explains:
« Oui, la cérémonie civile est obligatoire en France. »
"Yes, the civil ceremony is required in France."
And in a B1 lesson about the healthcare system, someone who just twisted an ankle explains how the bill works:
« En fait, en France, j'ai payé une trentaine d'euros sur place. […] Oui, et l'Assurance maladie rembourse une grande partie ensuite. »
"Actually, in France, I paid around thirty euros on the spot. […] Yes, and the public health insurance reimburses a large part afterward."
For the symbols, our guide to La Marseillaise is a good read, and our guide to the French school system covers the education questions.
Our app, Copycat Cafe, is built around conversations like these. You hear each one at normal or slow speed and rebuild each line by ear, say the lines aloud and get a 0–100 pronunciation score on every word, then use the same French with Copy, your AI conversation partner. Keep the official lists for the syllabus, and use Copycat Cafe for the everyday French behind the scenario questions and your préfecture appointments. The French course has 50 lessons at each level from A1 to B2, which lines up with the A2, B1 and B2 your card or citizenship needs. Copycat Cafe costs $174 a year ($14.50 a month) or $29 a month in the US, with a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee on your first payment.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on France's civic exam?
Forty multiple-choice questions: 28 knowledge questions and 12 scenarios. You need 32 correct answers, and you have 45 minutes at most.
Does the civic exam pass expire?
No. The pass certificate has no expiry date, and a pass in the carte de résident version also counts for a multi-year card.
Can I retake the civic exam if I fail?
Yes. You can take it at any time and as many times as you need. Only cheating leads to a ban, for two years.
Do I need the civic exam to renew my residence card?
No. It applies only to your first multi-year card, your first 10-year card and naturalisation. Renewals and first one-year cards don't need it.