Since 1 January 2026, a first multi-year residence card, a first resident card and naturalisation all come with a new condition: passing the examen civique, a 40-question test on France's values, institutions, rights and history. Renewals are not concerned. Here is who has to take it, what the test looks like, how to register and how to prepare, with every point taken from the official texts.
The exam is a condition for three things, each time for a first application made from 1 January 2026:
Renewals are not concerned: Service-public says it plainly, « Les demandes de renouvellement ne le sont pas. »
Not every multi-year card is concerned. Cards that do not go through the republican integration contract (CIR), beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and stateless people, with their families, do not take it for that card. The Ministry also states that some nationals covered by bilateral agreements are not concerned, without listing them on its page: check your own case with your préfecture before booking.
Nationality by declaration (through marriage, as the parent or sibling of a French national) is not concerned either: only naturalisation by decree is.
If you are unsure, ask the préfecture before you pay for a session.
The order of 10 October 2025 sets the programme. The exam has three versions, called « mentions »: carte de séjour pluriannuelle, carte de résident and naturalisation. All three follow the same format:
The themes are the principles and values of the Republic, the institutions, rights and duties, history, geography and culture, and living in French society. The level of difficulty depends on the card: a pass for the resident-card version also counts for the multi-year card.
The civic exam does not replace the French-language requirement, which you prove separately: A2 for a multi-year card, B1 for a resident card, B2 for naturalisation applications made from 1 January 2026.
You cannot book on the Ministry's own site. You book with one of the two approved bodies:
No official text sets a national price, and the official pages state none: each centre shows its fee when you book. Applicants for naturalisation who live abroad go through an Institut français, an Alliance française or the consulate.
Your certificate is issued digitally, usually within two days, and it has no expiry date. If you fail, you can sit it again whenever you want and as many times as you need. Fraud, on the other hand, means a two-year ban.
Preparation can be entirely free. The Ministry's formation civique site publishes the official lists of knowledge questions for the multi-year card and the resident card, with revision sheets by theme. It also warns that paid sites claiming to be official are not run by the Ministry.
Two free pages in English by Thibaud Lepan (Éditions Au Texte) are worth a look. The registration guide explains booking, exam day and the exemptions, quoting the official page for each point. The official questions answered in English take one question per page.
If you want a structured guide on top of that, the same author sells one in English and in French. Its situation questions are practice scenarios written by the author, based on the official themes: the Ministry does not publish the situation questions, so no guide can reproduce them. Get the English guide, or the French version. The code EXPATADMINHUB takes 10 % off both.
Disclosure: these two links are affiliate links. If you buy through them, ExpatAdminHub receives a commission, at no extra cost to you. The free resources above are enough to pass, and the guide is a convenience, not a requirement.
Passing the exam is one condition among several. The application for the card, with its documents, deadlines and the préfecture's own steps, is the real next step. AdminLanding, the platform behind ExpatAdminHub, explains French administrative procedures in English and helps you keep track of the dates that matter.
No. The exam is required for a first multi-year card, a first resident card and naturalisation. Renewals are not concerned.
32 out of 40, in 45 minutes at most. The test has 28 knowledge questions and 12 situation questions.
No national price is set by the official texts. Each approved centre shows its own fee when you book with France Éducation International or the CCI Paris Île-de-France.
The certificate has no expiry date, and you can retake the exam whenever you want, as many times as you need.
Not for a multi-year card or a resident card: people aged 65 and over are exempt, and the language requirement is waived too. The official texts state no such exemption for naturalisation.
For more practical insights on this topic, explore our related articles:
Conclusion: The civic exam is a short test with clear rules: 40 questions, 32 to pass, no expiry and unlimited retakes. Start with the Ministry's free question lists, check whether your card is concerned, then book with an approved centre. Sources: loi n° 2024-42 du 26 janvier 2024; CESEDA L. 413-3, L. 413-7, L. 433-4, R. 413-15; arrêté du 10 octobre 2025; Service-public F39530 (checked 10/02/2026) and F39426; formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr. Read on 02/11/2026.
Julien Maurice is the founder of AdminLanding and writes the editorial guides on ExpatAdminHub covering European expat life, France-Switzerland cross-border work, and French administrative procedures. Contact: [email protected]
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