The German Citizenship Test: 33 Questions, 60 Minutes, 17 to Pass
The Einbürgerungstest is the one exam in the naturalisation file that you can prepare for completely: every question it can ask is published. This guide covers:
- The paper, the pass line and three real questions to try
- Who has to sit it, and who is usually spared
- Booking, the day itself, and what the €25 buys
Not legal advice. The test rules come from the Einbürgerungstestverordnung and § 10 StAG, linked at the bottom. Your Einbürgerungsbehörde decides the application itself, including whether you are spared the test.
EINBÜRGERUNGSTEST · BESCHEINIGUNG
17 von 33 richtig
bestanden
The line the BAMF posts to you after the test (§ 1 Abs. 4 EinbTestV). Everything below is about reaching it.
33
questions per paper: 30 national and 3 from your Bundesland
60 min
to answer them, under supervision
17
correct answers pass; a blank counts as wrong
€25
per attempt, paid to the test centre; unlimited retakes
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Every question it can ask is public. Here are three of them.
Question 1 of 3 · Frage 16 · Democracy and fundamental rights
Wann ist die Meinungsfreiheit in Deutschland eingeschränkt?
When is freedom of expression restricted in Germany?
Wording as in the BAMF catalogue. The real test is in German only; the English is help.
- The BAMF publishes the whole catalogue: 300 national questions and 10 for each of the 16 states, 460 in all. Your paper draws 30 from the first pool and 3 from your state.
- Four options, one key, no penalty for a wrong pick. The wording above is the catalogue wording; the English is there to help you read it, and it is not on the real paper.
33
questions, 30 + 3
60 min
about two minutes a question
17
correct to pass, just over half
460
questions in the published pool
Nearly everyone applying under § 10 StAG. Two groups are usually spared.
You sit it if you apply for naturalisation as an adult without a German school-leaving certificate. The law asks for knowledge of the legal and social order (§ 10 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 7) and names the test as the normal proof (§ 10 Abs. 5).
Usually spared: a German Schulabschluss (the BAMF's own rule), or an illness, disability or age that rules a written test out (§ 10 Abs. 6). The Einbürgerungsbehörde confirms either.
Answer both and the verdict appears here with the paragraph behind it.
Where the test sits in the application
- Naturalisation under § 10 StAG needs, among other things, five years of lawful residence, German at B1 (§ 10 Abs. 4) and knowledge of the legal and social order (Nr. 7). The test proves the last one.
- It is not the language test. B1 is shown with a language certificate; the Einbürgerungstest is a separate, cheaper, shorter paper about Germany itself.
- You can sit it long before you are eligible to apply. The Bescheinigung does not expire, so many people take it early and file it later.
- The same catalogue feeds the "Leben in Deutschland" test at the end of the integration course. If you have that result, ask your Einbürgerungsbehörde whether it accepts it before you book again.
Ten topics carry the 300 national questions. Two of them carry a quarter.
- Politics and the state are the bulk of it: how the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, elections and parties work. History is the second block, the Nazi years and the GDR in particular.
- Each row links to the questions of that topic with their keys and explanations, free to read.
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Democracy and fundamental rights | 20 |
| German state and constitution | 34 |
| Federal institutions and parties | 40 |
| Elections and participation | 34 |
| Law, courts, work and civic duties | 22 |
| National Socialism and post-war Germany | 30 |
| GDR and reunification | 40 |
| European Union and neighbours | 20 |
| Family, education and everyday law | 30 |
| Society, religion, culture and migration | 30 |
Plus your state. Each Bundesland has ten questions of its own: its coat of arms, capital, minister-president, voting age, neighbours. Three of them are on your paper, and they are the easiest 3 points in the room once you have read the ten. See a state's ten
Counts from the BAMF Gesamtfragenkatalog dated 7 May 2025, the edition this site runs on.
Read once, practise until it is routine, then sit it under the clock
Learn the pool
Free, no account.
Read the catalogue with the keys
All 460 questions are on this site with the correct answer marked and an explanation in German and English.
Open the cataloguePractise in German, understand in English
The practice app shows the English under every card. Read the German first; that is what the paper says.
Start practisingDo your state’s ten
Ten minutes, three guaranteed points. Do them again the evening before.
Prove it under the clock
One mock free, then the pass.
Sit a 33-question mock, 60 minutes
Same draw as the real paper, no key until you hand in, blanks count as wrong. Your first sitting is free.
Sit the mockReview what you missed
Every missed question comes back on a schedule until you have answered it right three times in a row.
Pass twice in a row, then book
Two passes at 17 or more, a week apart, and the real one is a formality.
Einbürgerungstest Pass, €9.99 once
- Unlimited timed mock exams
- The wrong-answer review
- Included in Ankommo Pro
Reading and practising every question stays free. The pass is for the exam rehearsal.
A test centre, €25, a photo ID, and a letter from the BAMF
Booking
Weeks before, not days.
Find a test centre
Your Einbürgerungsbehörde names the centres it works with; the BAMF-NAVI search lists them by postcode. Most are Volkshochschulen.
BAMF-NAVIRegister for a date
Centres run the test on fixed dates and fill up before the school holidays. Register early; some want a form and a copy of your ID.
Pay the €25
The flat fee per attempt (§ 2 EinbTestV). Ask the centre how it takes payment; many want a transfer before the date.
The day
Bring one thing.
A valid photo ID
Passport or residence card. Without it you do not sit; there is nothing else to bring.
33 questions, 60 minutes, on paper
Cross one box per question. Answer everything: a blank and a wrong answer score the same.
The Bescheinigung by post
The Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge sends your personal result. Passed, it goes into your naturalisation file.
60 min
is generous: most candidates finish in half of it
17 / 33
passes; there is no grade, only pass or repeat
Repeatable
as often as needed, €25 each time
What the whole thing costs
€25
the test, per attempt, to the centre
€0
the catalogue, published by the BAMF
€0
practising all 460 questions on Ankommo
€9.99
unlimited mock exams and the review, once
Mistakes worth avoiding
Learning the English, not the German
The paper is in German and the options are close paraphrases of each other. Someone who learned "freedom of expression" has to find "Meinungsfreiheit" among "Religionsfreiheit" and "Wahlrecht" under time. Read the German first, every time.
Skipping the state questions
Ten questions, three on the paper, and they are pure recall: the crest, the capital, the voting age. People fail at 16 with those three left blank.
Leaving a question blank
There is no penalty for a wrong answer. A blank scores exactly what a wrong pick scores, so a guess is free points a quarter of the time.
Never sitting a timed run
60 minutes is plenty, but only if you have felt what 33 questions in a row are like. One mock under the clock removes the surprise; the room does the rest.
Underrating the history block
The Nazi years and the GDR are 70 of the 300 national questions, nearly a quarter. Dates, names and which state was East: read them as a set, not as they happen to come up.
Trusting a key that has moved
A few keys depend on today: the largest Bundestag factions, the population, who holds an office. Practise with a bank that names its catalogue edition, and check those few before the day.
Booking the week the file is due
Centres run fixed dates and the Bescheinigung comes by post. Sit the test months before you apply; the certificate keeps.
Guide by
Abdullah
Creator of Ankommo · Based in Germany
I moved to Germany and built Ankommo to help others navigate the same process I went through. We offer 1-on-1 video consultations on visas, Ausbildung applications, citizenship requirements and settling in.
Book a 1-on-1 consultationFrequently asked questions
- How many questions are in the German citizenship test, and how many do I need to pass?
- The paper has 33 multiple-choice questions, each with four options and one correct answer: 30 from the national pool of 300 and 3 from the ten questions of your Bundesland. You have 60 minutes, and 17 correct answers pass (§ 1 Einbürgerungstestverordnung). There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank.
- How much does the Einbürgerungstest cost?
- €25 per attempt, the flat fee the Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge charges every test centre per candidate (§ 2 Einbürgerungstestverordnung). You pay it to the centre when you register. Practising is free: the whole catalogue is public, and the 460 questions with their keys and explanations are readable on this site without an account.
- Who does not have to take the test?
- Two groups, according to the BAMF and § 10 StAG. Anyone with a German school-leaving certificate, because the school already taught the material. And anyone who cannot meet the requirement because of a physical, mental or psychological illness, a disability, or age (§ 10 Abs. 6 StAG). In both cases the Einbürgerungsbehörde confirms it when it checks your file; the checker above tells you what to bring.
- Is the test in German? Can I take it in English?
- German only. The questions are written in plain German at roughly B1 level, and B1 is also the language level § 10 Abs. 4 StAG asks for in the naturalisation itself, so the two requirements meet. Practise the German wording; use English only to understand what a question is getting at. Our practice app shows the English under every card for exactly that reason, and hides it when you sit the mock.
- What happens if I fail?
- You can sit it again, as often as needed, paying the fee each time. The BAMF sends a Bescheinigung with your result after every attempt. Most people who fail were short on the state questions or on the history block; a timed mock before the real day shows you which.
- Where do I register, and what do I bring?
- At a test centre (Prüfstelle) near you; your Einbürgerungsbehörde names them, and the BAMF has a search on bamf-navi.bamf.de. Most centres are Volkshochschulen. You register in advance and pay the €25; on the day you bring a valid photo ID. The centre tells you the date and the room.
- How do I get the result, and what do I do with it?
- The Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge sends you a Bescheinigung with your personal result by post. Once it says you passed, it goes into your naturalisation application as the proof of § 10 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 7 StAG. Keep the original.
- Do the questions change?
- The catalogue is published by the BAMF and changes rarely; the edition behind this site is dated 7 May 2025. A handful of keys depend on current facts (who sits in the Bundestag, how many people live in Germany), and those move after an election or a census. We re-check the keys against the published catalogue when a new edition appears.
Statutes read on gesetze-im-internet.de and the procedure on bamf.de in September 2026. This is a guide, not legal advice: the Einbürgerungsbehörde decides each application, and the test centre sets its own dates and payment.
Sources
Every figure and rule on this page comes from one of these. A statute link lands on the paragraph itself.
Statutes, read on gesetze-im-internet.de
- § 10 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 7 StAGknowledge of the legal and social order as a naturalisation requirement
- § 10 Abs. 4 StAGthe language level: B1
- § 10 Abs. 5 StAGa passed Einbürgerungstest is the normal proof
- § 10 Abs. 6 StAGwaived for illness, disability or age
- § 1 Einbürgerungstestverordnung33 questions, 60 minutes, 17 to pass, the Bescheinigung
- § 2 Einbürgerungstestverordnungthe BAMF runs the test centres and charges €25 per candidate
Official pages the procedure was read from
Related guides
All 460 Questions, Free
The catalogue with every key and explanation, in German and English.
PR & Citizenship Timeline
Your own dates for permanent residence and naturalisation.
B1 German for Citizenship
The language level the law asks for, with a study plan.
Live in Germany
Registration, insurance, permits: the settling-in hub.
Sit the mock before you sit the test
The same 33 questions, the same 60minutes, your state's three included. Practice is free; your first mock is free.
460 questions · English on every card · No subscription