The citizenship test questions about current officials, and how to answer them
Vishwen Labs
Seven questions on the 2025 civics test have no printed answer because the answer changes: question 23, your state's U.S. senators; 29, your U.S. representative; 30, the Speaker of the House; 38, the President; 39, the Vice President; 57, the Chief Justice; and 61, your governor. USCIS's instruction: “You must answer the question with the name of the official serving at the time of your naturalization interview.” It keeps the federal answers current at uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates; the state and district ones depend on where you live.
The seven on the 2025 list, and the eight on the 2008 list
USCIS's test-updates page explains: “On the civics test, some answers may change because of federal or state elections, certain judicial appointments, or due to statutory changes or updates.” For the 2025 test it lists questions 23 (senators), 29 (representative), 30 (Speaker), 38 (President), 39 (Vice President), 57 (Chief Justice) and 61 (governor). For the 2008 test, still used by anyone who filed before 20 October 2025, the list is 20 (senators), 23 (representative), 28 (President), 29 (Vice President), 40 (Chief Justice), 43 (governor), 46 (the President's political party) and 47 (Speaker). The printed lists show “Answers will vary” or point to the updates page for each.
Where the answers live
For the President, the Vice President, the Speaker and the Chief Justice, USCIS's own updates page, which it revises after each change; it was last reviewed on 18 September 2025 when this guide was written. For your two senators, senate.gov lists them by state. For your representative, house.gov finds the district from a ZIP code. For your governor, your state's website. Residents of the District of Columbia answer that D.C. has no governor; USCIS prints that note under question 61, and its list carries similar notes for residents of D.C. and the territories on the senators and representative questions.
How the app looks them up
Enter a five-digit ZIP code, or let the app use your location, and it maps the ZIP to its congressional district and shows the two senators for the state, the representative for the district and the governor, from data files shipped with the app and refreshed in its updates. The federal officers are shown the same way. After an election or an appointment there is a gap until the next app update, so treat the app as the everyday answer and USCIS's updates page as the final check in the week of the interview.
Answering them in the interview
The officer wants a name. Question 23 asks for one of your state's senators, so one name is enough; question 29 asks for your representative, one name; the Speaker, the President, the Vice President and the Chief Justice, one name each; the governor, one name. Surnames are accepted. If the answer changed between your study and your interview, the name in office on the day is the right one, and an officer will not accept a predecessor. On the 65/20 test, four of the 20 asterisked questions are officials: the Speaker, the President, the Vice President and your governor.
Changes without an election
The Chief Justice changes by appointment and confirmation, not on a schedule. A governor or a representative can change after a resignation and a special election. The Speaker can change mid-Congress. None of these are announced to applicants, which is why USCIS keeps a page rather than a printed answer, and why the answer key you memorised in the spring may be wrong by the autumn.
USCIS Interview Practice (US Citizenship Test 2026 App, called Citizen Pro inside) is an independent study aid from Vishwen Labs and is not affiliated with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or any U.S. government agency. The civics questions, the reading and writing vocabulary and the test rules are USCIS's published study materials, free at uscis.gov/citizenship; the interview practice, hints, cultural context and translations are the app's own. Nothing on these pages is legal advice.
Questions people also ask
What if an official changes between my filing and my interview?
Answer with the person in office on the interview day. That is USCIS's rule, and the officer will not accept the name that was current when you filed or when you studied.
Do I need to know both of my state's senators?
Question 23 asks you to name one of your state's U.S. senators, so one is enough. Residents of the District of Columbia and the territories answer that they have no U.S. senators, as USCIS's list notes.
