German Citizenship Test 2026: Questions, Process, Cost, and Who's Exempt

You've lived in Germany for years, you have the naturalization application mapped out in your head — and then there's this one item that many people respect more than the entire rest of the procedure: the naturalization test (Einbürgerungstest). From a distance, it sounds like an exam on history, politics, and society where you have little control over the outcome.

In reality, it's the most predictable hurdle in the whole procedure. You're given 33 questions, have 60 minutes, and have passed as soon as 17 of them are answered correctly. And every question that could possibly come up is public in advance — 310 in total. This guide sorts out what applies in 2026: which topics the catalog covers, how registration and test day work, what the €25 fee covers, and who doesn't have to take the test at all.

What the test checks — and why it's only the standard form of proof

For naturalization you must, under Section 10 (1) sentence 1 no. 7 StAG, possess "knowledge of the legal and social order and the living conditions in Germany."1§ 10 StAG — Einbürgerung von AusländernBundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) That's one of several requirements; the others — five years of residence, B1 German, secure means of subsistence — are covered in our guide to naturalization in Germany.

The naturalization test is the standard proof of this knowledge, not the only one. The law deliberately phrases this loosely in Section 10 (5) StAG: the requirement is "as a rule evidenced by a successfully completed naturalization test."1§ 10 StAG — Einbürgerung von AusländernBundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) Those two words — "as a rule" — are why some people never take the test and are still naturalized. More on that below.

Preparation courses exist too: the legislator mentions them explicitly, but is equally explicit that attendance is optional — it's not mandatory. The exact procedure for the test isn't set out in the law itself, but in the Naturalization Test Ordinance (Einbürgerungstestverordnung, EinbTestV) issued under it, whose full text and question catalog you can read at gesetze-im-internet.de.2Verordnung zu Einbürgerungstest und Einbürgerungskurs (EinbTestV)Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de)

Which questions come up? 310 in the catalog, 33 in the test booklet

The full catalog is public — the actual test booklets are not. Annex 1 of the Naturalization Test Ordinance contains all approved exam questions: 310 questions, 300 of which are general and 10 relate to each federal state. The 300 general questions are spread across three subject areas — "Living in a democracy," "History and responsibility," and "People and society."2Verordnung zu Einbürgerungstest und Einbürgerungskurs (EinbTestV)Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de)

From this catalog, 100 test booklets have been compiled, each with 33 questions, including three questions about your federal state. These finished booklets are not published — so you can't memorize the one booklet, but you can memorize the pool it's drawn from.2Verordnung zu Einbürgerungstest und Einbürgerungskurs (EinbTestV)Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) Incidentally, what matters for the three state-specific questions is the federal state where you're registered with your primary residence — not where you work.3Naturalization in GermanyBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)

In terms of content, the catalog stays at an everyday level but covers a wide field. Typical examples from the current edition:

• Fundamental rights and the rule of law — for example, question 3: What does it mean that Germany is a state governed by the rule of law?
• Democracy and elections — for example, question 117: What minimum percentage of second votes does a party need for the Bundestag?
• History and responsibility — for example, question 163: In which year did the National Socialists destroy synagogues and Jewish businesses?
• Jewish life, antisemitism, and Israel — the current edition of the catalog includes a whole series of questions on this, for example question 149 (What is an example of antisemitic behavior?), question 96 (How is Holocaust denial punished?), and question 288 (What is the basis of Germany's special responsibility toward Israel?).
• Everyday life and society — for example, question 287: What do you need to consider when terminating an employment relationship?

That last point is no coincidence: since the reform of the Nationality Act, Section 10 (1) sentence 1 no. 1a StAG has required an explicit commitment to Germany's special historical responsibility and to the protection of Jewish life.1§ 10 StAG — Einbürgerung von AusländernBundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) The question catalog reflects that.

How to prepare — with the official material instead of trainer apps

If you've honestly worked through all 310 questions once, your preparation is done. There's no hidden extra material: whatever isn't in the catalog can't come up either. That's exactly why it pays to practice straight from the source instead of through commercial providers who only repackage the same catalog.

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees provides three things free of charge:

• the interactive question catalog in the Online Test Center, which shows you the correct answer with brief background information after every question5Online Test Center — Question Catalog for the Naturalization TestBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)
• a sample test booklet in the format of the real test booklet, which lets you go through it once under realistic conditions6Sample Test Booklet for the Naturalization TestBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)
• the full question catalog as a printable PDF

How difficult the test actually is can't seriously be expressed as a pass rate: the Federal Office does not publish reliable nationwide figures on this. The examination regulations expressly permit statistical analysis of exam participation and success only in anonymized form and only for the scientific development of the question pool.4Examination Regulations for the Naturalization TestBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF) So the pass rates circulating on commercial practice sites have no official basis. What can be documented, though, is the design of the exam: 17 out of 33 correct answers sit slightly above half, every question has exactly four options, and the complete question pool is viewable in advance. The test is designed so that you pass, not so that you're filtered out.

Registration and process: from the naturalization authority to the test center

You don't register with the Federal Office, but with a licensed test center. Your local naturalization authority is your starting point — they'll tell you which test centers near you are licensed. Test centers are providers the Federal Office has already licensed for the orientation course — in many cities these are the adult education centers (Volkshochschulen).2Verordnung zu Einbürgerungstest und Einbürgerungskurs (EinbTestV)Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) At that test center, you register with the "participant registration form" and pay the flat fee right at registration.4Examination Regulations for the Naturalization TestBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)

There's a gap between registration and test day, for an organizational reason: the test center must register every exam with the Federal Office's responsible regional office at least three weeks before the date, so that the personalized question booklets can be sent from there. Conversely, it's required to give you a slot no later than twelve weeks after your registration.4Examination Regulations for the Naturalization TestBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF) An appointment from one day to the next is therefore ruled out — three months of lead time is the binding framework the examination regulations set for test centers.

On test day, only an official photo ID document is accepted for identity verification. Every person at the appointment gets a different question booklet; on the cover sheet, you confirm with your signature that your personal details are correct. Then the 60-minute working time under supervision begins.4Examination Regulations for the Naturalization TestBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)

You don't learn your result on test day. The booklets go back to the Federal Office's regional office and are evaluated centrally there; the certificate then arrives by post, signed and sealed, with your total score and one of two ratings: "successfully participated" or "participated."4Examination Regulations for the Naturalization TestBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF) This certificate remains valid nationwide, even if you later move to a different federal state.2Verordnung zu Einbürgerungstest und Einbürgerungskurs (EinbTestV)Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de)

What the test costs: €25 — and what this fee doesn't cover

The €25 fee is fixed nationwide and not negotiable. The Naturalization Test Ordinance sets a flat fee of €25 per test participant; the Federal Office settles it with the test center.2Verordnung zu Einbürgerungstest und Einbürgerungskurs (EinbTestV)Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) It becomes due at registration, not on test day: with the participant registration form, you commit to paying it.4Examination Regulations for the Naturalization TestBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)

What this flat fee doesn't cover:

• The naturalization fee itself. The fee is €255 per adult and €51 for minor children naturalized together with their parents. A reduction or installment payment is possible if income is very low or if several children are naturalized together.3Naturalization in GermanyBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)
• Preparation courses. Naturalization courses are voluntary; what a course place costs depends on the provider and the federal state.
• A second attempt. The flat fee is tied to registration — if you retake the test, you register again and pay it again.

Naturalization test or Leben in Deutschland test? One catalog, two paths

Many people trip over two names for what seems to be the same thing. The "Leben in Deutschland" test is the final test of the orientation course within the integration course; the naturalization test is the proof required for the naturalization procedure. Both draw on the same question catalog — but they're administered through different channels, and the course test only counts for naturalization under one condition.

Who doesn't have to take the test — exemption and alternative proof

This is worth a close look, because official portals lump two legally distinct things into one shared list of "exceptions." A statutory exemption removes the requirement altogether; alternative proof satisfies it a different way.

Genuine exemption — Section 10 (6) and (1) sentence 2 StAG. Here the requirement itself falls away. Where the law says "is dispensed with," the authority has no discretion; where an intermediate step does involve discretion, that's noted below:1§ 10 StAG — Einbürgerung von AusländernBundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de)

• Illness, disability, or age (paragraph 6, sentence 1). Anyone who cannot meet the requirements because of a physical, mental, or psychological illness, a disability, or their age is exempt from both the language proof and the knowledge proof. The law names no fixed age threshold — "age-related" is a case-by-case decision by the naturalization authority, not a number at which it kicks in automatically.
• The guest-worker and contract-worker generation (paragraph 6, sentence 2, in conjunction with paragraph 4, sentence 3). Anyone who entered the Federal Republic under a recruitment agreement by June 30, 1974, or entered the GDR as a contract worker by June 13, 1990 — or joined such a person as a spouse within a reasonably contemporaneous period — does not have to take the naturalization test. For this group, it's enough for the German-language proof that they can communicate orally in everyday situations without significant difficulty.
• Hardship case for language acquisition (paragraph 4a, then paragraph 6, sentence 2). This is two steps: anyone who proves that, despite serious and sustained efforts, acquiring sufficient German is not possible or is permanently and substantially impeded can be limited to oral communication — this first step is at the authority's discretion. If it applies, the naturalization test is then mandatorily waived.
• Children under 16 (paragraph 1, sentence 2, not paragraph 6). Anyone not yet capable of legal action within the meaning of the Nationality Act — which begins at age 16 — doesn't need to prove the knowledge required under no. 7 at all.

Alternative proof instead of exemption. The second case looks the same from the outside but is legally something different. Because the test is only required "as a rule" under Section 10 (5) StAG, naturalization authorities accept equivalent evidence. Two are practically relevant:

• A German school-leaving certificate. The Federal Office lists it as an exception; the requirement itself doesn't disappear, though — you satisfy it with a different document.3Naturalization in GermanyBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)
• A passed "Leben in Deutschland" test, specifically with 17 of 33 points or more.3Naturalization in GermanyBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)

Quick check: exemption, alternative proof, or exam date?

The following self-assessment sorts your case into one of three groups. This quick check is informational and doesn't replace legal advice — the binding decision is made by your naturalization authority.

Didn't pass? Retaking costs time, not your entitlement

A failed test doesn't exclude you from naturalization. Anyone who answers fewer than 17 questions correctly can retake the test.3Naturalization in GermanyBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF) Neither the Nationality Act nor the Naturalization Test Ordinance names a maximum number of attempts. The certificate then carries the rating "participated" instead of "successfully participated" — so you get it either way, along with your total score.4Examination Regulations for the Naturalization TestBundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)

What a second attempt costs is therefore mainly time: a new registration, another €25, the lead time of up to twelve weeks until the appointment again, and then several more weeks until the certificate. If you narrowly failed the first time, it's best to work through the catalog by topic rather than at random — the three subject areas and the ten state-specific questions can be practiced separately.

Once you have the proof, it's only one building block among several. How the other requirements fit together and how the application process works is covered in our guide to naturalization in Germany. And whether you're allowed to keep your current passport is a separate question with its own legal framework — we've written the guide to dual citizenship on that.

Frequently asked questions about the naturalization test