The German Citizenship Test (Einbürgerungstest) 2026: 33 Questions, €25, Exemptions

The citizenship test (Einbürgerungstest) consists of 33 multiple-choice questions that are compiled from a pool of 310 questions for the applicant's state of residence (300 general + 10 state-specific). Three of the 33 questions are state-specific. 17 correct answers are enough to pass, the working time is 60 minutes, and the fee is €25 as a nationwide flat fee under § 2 of the Citizenship Test Ordinance (Einbürgerungstestverordnung, EinbTestV). Exempt from the test are persons holding a German school or university qualification, as well as persons who cannot meet the requirement due to a physical, mental, or psychological illness, disability, or on account of age (§ 10 para. 6 StAG). The 2024 and 2025 reforms (StARModG; the Act Amending the Nationality Act and Other Provisions) did not change the substance of the test.

The citizenship test is the formal examination of the eligibility requirement "knowledge of the legal and social order and living conditions in Germany" under § 10 paragraph 1 number 7 of the Nationality Act (StAG). It has been regulated as a nationwide standardized format in the Citizenship Test Ordinance (EinbTestV) since 1 September 2008, and it is designed and evaluated by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).

The examination is not a general-knowledge test about Germany, but a targeted demonstration of the knowledge that the legislator considers to be the basis for informed participation in the democratic order. Its substantive foundation is the framework curriculum in Annex 2 of the Citizenship Test Ordinance, which names three subject areas: politics in a democracy, history and responsibility, and people and society. Questions relating to the applicant's state of residence are added.

The 2024 reform (Nationality Law Modernisation Act, Staatsangehörigkeitsrechts-Modernisierungsgesetz, in force since 27.06.2024) and the 2025 reform (Act Amending the Nationality Act and Other Provisions, BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 256, in force since 30.10.2025) intervened deeply in substantive naturalization law — for example by abolishing the three-year fast-track entitlement in § 10 para. 3 StAG — but left the substance of the test untouched. The number, format, pass mark, and fee have remained unchanged since 2008.

The questionnaire contains 33 questions, of which 30 are general and 3 concern the state of residence (§ 1 para. 1 and 2 EinbTestV). Each question has four answer options, exactly one of which is correct. The 33 questions are drawn at random from a publicly accessible overall catalogue of 310 questions for the respective state — 300 general questions and 10 state-specific questions per state. Under § 1 para. 2 EinbTestV, a total of 100 approved questionnaires are compiled from this catalogue and used on a rotating basis; the individual questionnaire compilations are not made public.

The thematic structure of the general part follows the structure of the framework curriculum:

• Politics in a democracy — constitutional principles of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), fundamental rights, separation of powers, the federal structure, elections, the tasks of the Federal President, Federal Chancellor, Bundestag, Bundesrat, and the constitutional bodies, political parties, and municipal self-government.
• History and responsibility — the Weimar Republic, National Socialism, responsibility towards the Holocaust, divided Germany 1949–1989, the peaceful revolution and reunification in 1990, European integration and the European Union.
• People and society — freedom of religion, gender equality, human dignity, the school and education system, the social order, symbols and national emblems, and social diversity.

The state-related part tests basic knowledge about the state of residence: the capital, the state coat of arms, the tasks of the Minister-President or, in the city-states, the Governing Mayor, the state parliament, and state electoral law. The ten state questions differ from state to state; three of them are randomly included in the 33-question set.

In terms of content and didactics, the questions follow a factual-knowledge format with a single correct answer: constitutional structures, historical key dates, basic social principles, and political functions are tested. Argumentative questions, essay tasks, or multiple answers are not provided for. The narrow format has the methodological effect that preparation for the test can succeed within a foreseeable time even without deep prior knowledge of Germany's political system — the hurdle lies in learning a defined body of material, not in free argumentation.

The full question catalogue is accessible via the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and forms part of the annex to the Citizenship Test Ordinance. The specific question and answer wordings are protected by copyright and are deliberately not reproduced in this article; reference is made to the official preparation materials (see Section 5).

The citizenship test follows a standardized procedure that does not vary by state, examination office, or provider — participants in Hamburg take the same test as those in Munich, with an identical number of questions, evaluation standard, and fee. Only registration routes, waiting times for an appointment, and the state question set vary slightly.

Registration. Registration takes place directly with a test centre (Prüfstelle) designated by the naturalization authority (§ 2 para. 1 EinbTestV). For each of the 16 federal states, the BAMF provides a directory of approved test centres (16 PDF documents, each organized by city or district). The providers are typically adult education centers (Volkshochschulen), district adult education centers, vocational schools, or municipal educational institutions. Anyone attending a naturalization course can often arrange the appointment for the course directly through the course provider with the test centre.

Conduct. On the day of the examination, each participant receives one of the approved questionnaires, which is not identical to those of other people at the same appointment (§ 2 para. 2 EinbTestV). Identity is checked before the start against an official photo ID. The working time is 60 minutes under supervision. Aids are not permitted, mobile phones must be handed in, and individual work without any exchange applies in the room.

Evaluation. The completed questionnaires are sent to the BAMF for evaluation, which settles the examination centrally. The result is communicated to the participant in writing — if passed, in the form of a certificate that serves as proof in the naturalization procedure. The evaluation turnaround is typically four to six weeks; the BAMF provides information on its collective page about the current evaluation status.

Certificate. The BAMF's test certificate is recognized permanently, not on an annual basis; it must be submitted to the naturalization authority in the original or as a certified copy. Anyone who took the test years before filing the application does not have to retake it.

The legislator does not provide for mandatory test preparation. Anyone who wants to prepare essentially has three paths, which can also be combined — the choice depends on available time, learning-format preference, and language level.

The BAMF's official online test center. At oet.bamf.de, the BAMF operates an interactive online test center in which all 310 questions for the respective state can be practised. After selecting the state, full 33-question practice tests can be started or individual questions worked through in a targeted way, with immediate feedback on the correct answer. The test center is accessible free of charge and reproduces the questions in exactly the form in which they also appear in the real test.

Naturalization courses at adult education centers. Across the country, adult education centers (Volkshochschulen) offer multi-day naturalization courses based on the framework curriculum of the EinbTestV, typically comprising 30 to 60 teaching units. The course combines content delivery with test preparation and often ends directly with the citizenship test at the course location. The course fee varies by adult education center and state; social-hardship reductions are frequently granted. An overview is provided by the German Adult Education Association (Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband, DVV).

Materials from the Federal Agency for Civic Education. The Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, BpB) publishes accompanying materials on civic education that cover the subject areas tested in the exam — from interpreting the Basic Law to post-war German history to the party and electoral system. The BpB is not responsible for designing the test, but its materials are substantively compatible with the framework curriculum.

The typical preparation effort depends heavily on prior knowledge. Anyone who has already attended a "Living in Germany" (Leben in Deutschland) integration course can often pass the citizenship test without separate additional preparation — the content overlaps considerably. Anyone entering the procedure without an integration course typically plans, from experience, between 10 and 30 hours of study.

Relationship to the "Living in Germany" test. An important special constellation: the nationally recognized "Living in Germany" (Leben in Deutschland) test, which is often taken at the end of an integration course, is treated as equivalent to the citizenship test in administrative practice. Anyone who has passed the integration-course final test with a minimum score does not have to take a separate citizenship test for naturalization — the certificate is recognized. This recognition does not arise from § 10 para. 6 StAG, but from the fact that the "Living in Germany" test is identical to the citizenship test in format, question pool, and evaluation. Anyone who has therefore already successfully completed the integration course should submit the certificate of this test directly with the naturalization application and forgo a second test registration.

Supplementary preparation via commercial learning apps, test training, or private course providers is widespread; however, the added substantive value over the free BAMF online test center is limited, since the latter reproduces exactly the questions used in the real test. No recommendation for or against a particular provider is made in this article.

Pass mark. The test is passed if at least 17 of 33 questions are answered correctly (§ 1 para. 3 EinbTestV). That corresponds to around 52 percent of the questions. Incorrectly answered or omitted questions are weighted equally — there are no negative points, and each question counts as one point. The individual subject areas are not assessed separately; the sole decisive factor is the total number of correct answers.

Retake. The Citizenship Test Ordinance contains no limit on the number of retake attempts. Anyone who does not pass the test can register again with a test centre, take a new questionnaire, and repeat the examination — against renewed payment of the flat fee. There is no waiting period between attempts; in practice, the next appointment depends on the availability of the test centre and is typically between four and twelve weeks away.

Consequence of failing for the application procedure. As long as the test certificate is missing, the requirement of § 10 para. 1 no. 7 StAG is not proven, and the naturalization authority cannot bring the entitlement case to a decision. The procedure is not thereby rejected, but regularly remains suspended until the proof is submitted. Some authorities set a deadline for submission; if this passes without a certificate, a refusal may be considered. No consequences for future applications arise from a failure.

Statistical background. Reliable nationwide pass rates are not regularly published by the BAMF in a dedicated press release; figures that are accessible in individual cases from state-parliament inquiries lie, depending on the state and reporting year, in the high 90-percent range. Specific figures are deliberately not asserted in this article, as they cannot be cited without a stable primary source.

The fee for the citizenship test is €25 per test participant and is uniform nationwide. It does not derive from the general fee provision § 38 StAG (which sets only the naturalization itself at €255), but directly from § 2 EinbTestV, which assigns to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees the levying of a "flat fee of 25 euros per test participant".

The flat fee is to be paid separately from any course fees of the adult education centers or other providers. Anyone attending an adult education center course regularly pays two separate amounts: a course fee to the adult education center and the €25 test flat fee, which is remitted via the test centre to the BAMF. If the test is repeated, the flat fee is incurred again; it is not refundable if the test was not passed.

Social-hardship reduction and exemption. The EinbTestV itself does not provide for a general social-hardship reduction of the test fee. Individual providers (typically adult education centers) reduce the course fee for recipients of Bürgergeld (citizen's allowance), social assistance, or housing benefit, but the test flat fee regularly remains at €25. The higher-level naturalization fee under § 38 StAG can be reduced in cases of financial need at the authority's discretion — see Costs of Naturalization for details.

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Not everyone who files a naturalization application has to take the test. § 10 paragraph 6 of the Nationality Act names the constellations in which the requirement under paragraph 1 sentence 1 number 7 no longer applies. The provision distinguishes two case groups.

First case group — impossibility due to illness, disability, or age. Under § 10 para. 6 sentence 1 StAG, the test is waived if the applicant "cannot meet it due to a physical, mental, or psychological illness or disability, or on account of age". The exemption is descriptively tied to three conditions: the presence of a named impairment or advanced age, a causal connection to the test requirement, and permanence. The impairment is typically proven by a medical certificate or a public-health-officer's report; after submission, the authority decides on the ground for exemption in its own assessment of the evidence. The law does not name a rigid age limit; in administrative practice, age-related impossibility is examined above all for persons from the age of 70.

Second case group — hardship and language. Through the referencing technique in § 10 para. 6 sentence 2 StAG, the test requirement additionally no longer applies "in the cases of paragraph 4 sentence 3 and paragraph 4a". These references cover above all constellations in which the language requirement is already reduced due to hardship — typically for non-literate persons or in cases of long-standing severe illnesses that do not allow the requirements to be acquired "despite serious efforts" or that make it permanently and substantially more difficult. Anyone who is therefore exempt from the full B1 requirement under paragraph 4a is at the same time exempt from the test via § 10 para. 6 sentence 2.

Practically relevant additional exemption grounds outside § 10 para. 6. In addition to the cases expressly named in paragraph 6, the following applies according to the general administrative interpretation of § 10 para. 1 no. 7: persons with a German school qualification (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, comparable vocational qualifications) are considered to have education equivalent to the test, as are persons with a German university degree in political science, law, social science, or comparable state- and society-related fields of study. The practice of the federal states and individual authorities differs considerably here; there is no nationwide uniform list of "test-exempting qualifications". Anyone submitting a German school or university qualification should raise this early in the procedure so that the authority documents the exemption.

Requirements for the medical certificate. If the exemption is based on illness or disability, the authority regularly requires a qualified medical certificate or a public-health-officer's report. A simple certificate from a family doctor is often not sufficient; what is typically required is a specialist's certificate with a concrete diagnosis, a statement on the permanence of the impairment, and an explicit opinion that the test requirement cannot be met. For psychological illnesses — such as severe post-traumatic stress disorders — the certificate is usually issued by specialists in psychiatry and psychotherapy. In case of doubt, the authority can order a counter-report by a public health officer.

Age-related exemption in practice. § 10 para. 6 StAG does not name a rigid age limit. Administrative practice and the administrative regulations of the states set the threshold inconsistently, regularly between the ages of 65 and 70; what is decisive is not age alone, but the age-typical combination with cognitive limitations, a lack of test experience, and the regularly longer residence in Germany. In some federal states, age-related exemption from the age of 70 is de facto regularly recognized, while in others a test is still required in individual cases even beyond the age of 70. Anyone applying at an advanced age should specifically justify the age-related impossibility — for persons under 70, typically supplemented by a medical certificate.

Procedural aspect. The exemption is not granted automatically, but examined upon application or in the course of the authority's investigation of the facts. It is advisable to submit all relevant evidence (school certificates, university degree certificates, medical certificates) together with the naturalization application in order to avoid follow-up requests and the associated procedural delays — see Processing Time for Naturalization.

No exemption due to good language skills or long residence. § 10 para. 6 StAG does not provide for an express exemption due to particularly good German skills or long residence in Germany. Even someone who has lived in Germany for decades, speaks fluent German, and is professionally successful must take the test, unless they fall under one of the exemption constellations described above.

The providers of the test are the test centres (Prüfstellen) listed in the respective BAMF list. This list is kept separately for each state and can be retrieved on the BAMF's collective page for the citizenship test (16 PDF documents, one per state). The majority of test centres are located at adult education centers, district adult education centers, and vocational schools; in city-states and large conurbations, educational institutions of municipal providers and church-run educational associations are added.

Within a federal state, the test certificate is — regardless of the location of the test — valid nationwide. Anyone living in Munich can take the test in Augsburg; anyone living in Berlin, in Brandenburg an der Havel; what is decisive is the state affiliation of the question combination, which is determined by the registered test centre. If the applicant moves to another federal state after taking the test, the certificate remains valid — a retake due to a change of state is not required under current practice.

Waiting times for an appointment fluctuate between two and ten weeks and depend above all on the provider structure and the volume of applications locally; in large cities with a high density of applications, appointments are often booked out two to three months ahead.

City-state and area-state differences. The structural distribution of test centres differs considerably between city-states and area states. In Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen, the test infrastructure is concentrated on a few large providers, often the state adult education centers as well as municipal educational institutions — the distances are short and the appointment density is high, but the waiting times are often longer due to high application numbers. In area states such as Bavaria, Lower Saxony, or North Rhine-Westphalia, the density of test centres per square kilometre is lower; individual district adult education centers often cover several districts, so that the journey to the test location can take 30 to 60 minutes, but appointment scarcity is often more moderate. Anyone seeking the fastest test appointment can therefore also register with test centres outside their place of residence (within the same federal state).

Three classes of mistakes regularly cost time or money without being substantively related to the test material.

Registering with the wrong state question set. Anyone who lives in one federal state but takes the exam in another (for example, due to a change of residence during the application phase, or because of more easily reachable test centres across the state border) receives the state questions of the state in which the test centre is located — not those of the state of residence. The certificate is nonetheless valid nationwide, but learning the "wrong" state questions is easily avoided if this is clarified in advance.

Preparing with outdated question catalogues. Older question versions circulate on the internet, some of which contain questions that are no longer in the current pool. What is decisive is solely the version that the BAMF reproduces in the online test center. Learning material that has not been reconciled with the current online test center can lead to frustration in the real test.

Registering too late in the application procedure. Anyone who waits with the naturalization application until the test certificate is available extends the procedure duration by months. It is customary to take the test during the ongoing application submission or shortly before; some authorities also accept later submission but insist on a submission deadline. Appointment scarcity in large cities — see Section 8 — makes booking too late the most common cause of delay that does not lie with the authority.

Overlooking a possible exemption. Persons with a German school or university qualification occasionally take the test without first clarifying with the naturalization authority whether an exemption would be recognized. The €25 test fee and the time expenditure then arise unnecessarily. Anyone who can present a German school or university qualification should clarify with the responsible naturalization authority before registering for the test whether the exemption is recognized; the answer depends on the respective administrative practice and is available within a few days.

Wrong choice between the citizenship test and the "Living in Germany" test. Both tests are identical in format and content, but are handled organizationally via different routes — the citizenship test directly through a test centre, the "Living in Germany" (Leben in Deutschland) test as the conclusion of an integration course. Anyone who is completing an integration course anyway, or has recently completed one, should use the test certificate that is included in any case and not book a separate citizenship test. Conversely, an integration course is not worthwhile solely for the purpose of test preparation, unless there is a need for structured language and orientation instruction anyway.

How many questions does the citizenship test have?

33 questions are asked, of which 30 are general and 3 concern the state of residence. They are drawn at random from a pool of 310 questions — 300 general and 10 state-specific.

How many questions do I have to answer correctly to pass?

At least 17 of 33 questions must be answered correctly (§ 1 para. 3 EinbTestV). That corresponds to around 52 percent.

How long does the citizenship test take?

60 minutes under supervision.

What does the citizenship test cost?

€25 as a nationwide flat fee under § 2 EinbTestV. The fee is payable again for each retake.

Who is exempt from the citizenship test?

Exempt from the test are persons who cannot meet it due to a physical, mental, or psychological illness, disability, or on account of age (§ 10 para. 6 sentence 1 StAG). Via the references in para. 6 sentence 2, the exemption also covers hardship constellations under § 10 para. 4 sentence 3 and para. 4a StAG. In administrative practice, persons with a German school qualification or a relevant university degree are additionally considered to have education equivalent to the test.

How can I prepare for the citizenship test?

Three routes are established: the official BAMF online test center at oet.bamf.de, a naturalization course at an adult education center, and supplementary materials from the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

Where can I practise for the citizenship test online for free?

You can practise the citizenship test for free at the official online test center of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) at oet.bamf.de. There, after selecting your state of residence, you work through the full question catalogue of 310 questions interactively — 300 nationwide and 10 state-specific questions — start complete 33-question practice sets, and see the correct solution immediately after each answer. The BAMF test center reproduces the questions in exactly the form in which they also appear in the real test and is the authoritative, currently maintained source. In addition, civitas. offers a free test trainer in the browser: study, practice-test, weak-point, and statistics modes with state selection and progress saving. A preparation course is not required by law.

What happens if I do not pass the test?

Retaking is possible without limit; there is no waiting period between attempts. The flat fee is payable again. As long as the certificate is missing, the naturalization procedure is usually suspended until it is submitted.

Where is the citizenship test offered?

At the test centres listed in the respective state directory of the BAMF — predominantly adult education centers, vocational schools, and municipal educational institutions.

Is the test certificate limited in time?

No. The certificate is permanently valid and does not have to be used in the application procedure within a specific period after the test.

Did the reform of nationality law change the citizenship test?

No. Neither the Nationality Law Modernisation Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsrechts-Modernisierungsgesetz, in force since 27.06.2024) nor the Act Amending the Nationality Act and Other Provisions (BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 256, in force since 30.10.2025) changed the citizenship test in form, scope, pass mark, or fee. The substance of the test continues to follow the Citizenship Test Ordinance in force since 2008.

Does the "Living in Germany" test count as the citizenship test?

Yes. The "Living in Germany" (Leben in Deutschland) test, which is often taken at the end of an integration course, is identical to the citizenship test in format, question pool, and evaluation and is recognized by the naturalization authorities nationwide as proof of the requirement under § 10 para. 1 no. 7 StAG. A separate registration for the citizenship test is not required in this case.

Do I need a preparation course, or is the online test center enough?

There is no course requirement. Anyone who has practised all 310 questions of their state of residence via the BAMF online test center and regularly achieves well over 17 correct answers in the practice run can forgo a course. A course can be useful if a structured explanation of the historical, political, and legal background is desired, or if the language barrier is too high for pure self-study.

With the age-related exemption, are my language skills also exempted?

Yes. § 10 para. 6 StAG uniformly exempts from both requirements at once: the wording of the law reads, "The requirements of paragraph 1 sentence 1 no. 6 and 7 shall be waived if the foreign national cannot meet them due to a physical, mental, or psychological illness or disability, or on account of age." Number 6 is the language requirement, number 7 the test requirement. Anyone who meets the ground for exemption is thereby exempt from both the citizenship test and the language certificate — the requirements are coupled in the same provision. Whether the ground for exemption exists in the individual case is decided by the responsible authority after submission of the evidence. For details on the language requirement, see B1 Language Certificate.

Is there a fixed age limit for exemption from the citizenship test?

No. § 10 para. 6 StAG does not name a numerical age limit, but relies solely on the applicant being unable to meet the requirement "on account of age". What is decisive is therefore not reaching a certain age, but the age-related impossibility of meeting the test requirement. The administrative practice of the states applies inconsistent thresholds here, regularly between the ages of 65 and 70; beyond that, a test is in some cases still required, in others regularly waived. The decision on the ground for exemption is made by the responsible authority in the individual case. Anyone unsure whether an age-related exemption will be recognized should clarify this early with the naturalization authority; in special constellations, a lawyer can advise.

Does a German school qualification replace the citizenship test?

§ 10 para. 6 StAG expressly names only illness, disability, and age-related impossibility as grounds for exemption — a German school qualification is not listed in the law as a separate ground for exemption. In the administrative interpretation of § 10 para. 1 no. 7 StAG, however, persons with a German school qualification (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, or comparable qualifications) are in many cases considered to have education equivalent to the test, so that the test requirement is treated as fulfilled. There is no nationwide uniform list of recognized qualifications; the practice of the states and individual authorities differs. Whether one's own qualification is recognized is decided by the responsible authority — it is advisable to submit the certificate early in the procedure and to clarify recognition before registering for a test. The full catalogue of requirements is available at Check the Requirements.

Is the citizenship test in simple German — do I need B1 to understand it?

The citizenship test and the language certificate are two separate requirements. The citizenship test proves knowledge of the legal and social order (§ 10 para. 1 no. 7 StAG); the language certificate proves sufficient German skills (§ 10 para. 1 no. 6 StAG), which under § 10 para. 4 sentence 1 StAG are met with a language examination at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference. The test itself is not a language test: it consists of 33 multiple-choice questions in standard German, in which the correct answer is to be chosen from four given options (§ 1 EinbTestV). A B1 certificate is not part of the test evaluation — the test is passed solely through the number of correct answers (at least 17 of 33), not through a separate language certificate. In practice, however, sufficient German skills make it easier to understand the questions and answer options, which is why preparation via the official BAMF online test center — which reproduces the questions exactly in the examination form — is recommended. Whether the requirements exist in the individual case is decided by the responsible authority. For details on the language requirement, see B1 Language Certificate.

Can I take the citizenship test in my native language?

No. The "Living in Germany" (Leben in Deutschland) test is conducted uniformly nationwide in German; the 33 questions of the test sheet (§ 1 EinbTestV) are posed in German, and taking it in another language or with translation is not provided for. The 33 questions are, however, formulated in simple, standard German and posed as multiple choice, so that even basic German skills suffice for understanding. The official BAMF online test center serves for practice in the original form. Anyone who cannot take the test due to a physical, mental, or psychological illness, disability, or on account of age is exempt via § 10 para. 6 StAG; the decision is made by the responsible authority.

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