France's New Civic Exam: What It Covers and Who Actually Needs It
France's new civic exam now applies to residence cards, not just citizenship. What it covers, what changed in July 2026, and the free official study guide.
Tia
7/25/20263 min read
July 25, 2026
France's New Civic Exam: What It Covers and Who Actually Needs It
France changed the rules for staying long term this year, and this month the government handed everyone the study guide. If you are researching a move, this is one of those updates worth understanding early, because it now touches far more people than the word "citizenship" suggests.
Who actually needs to take it
Since January 1, 2026, France requires a civic knowledge exam for three things: your first multi-year residence card, the 10-year carte de résident, and citizenship by naturalization. That first item is the one to notice. You can arrive and renew a one-year visitor card without it, but the moment you apply to upgrade to a multi-year card, the exam is part of the file. In other words, if your plan is to settle in France rather than visit it, this exam is likely somewhere on your timeline. Language requirements moved at the same time: citizenship now requires B2 French, up from B1, with lower thresholds for the residence cards. Rules like these evolve and edge cases exist, so always confirm your specific situation with the prefecture or official sources before you build plans around it.
What the exam looks like
It is 40 multiple-choice questions on a tablet at an accredited testing center: 28 knowledge questions and 12 situational ones. You get 45 minutes, you need 32 correct answers to pass (that is 80 percent), and the fee is about €70. One important clarification, because I have seen this confused online: the exam does not ask for your opinions. The situational questions describe an everyday scenario and ask what is consistent with French law and values. The place where open, personal questions happen is the naturalization interview at the prefecture, which is a separate step much further down the road.
What is on it
The whole syllabus is public. The exam draws from five official themes: the principles, values, and symbols of the Republic (yes, including La Marseillaise), the institutions and political system, the rights and duties of residents, French history, geography, and culture, and practical daily life in French society, covering things like healthcare, work, housing, and family.
And here is the July news. The Interior Ministry just released a completely new edition of the Livret du Citoyen, the official study booklet, the first update since 2022. It is now 83 pages organized around those same five exam themes, and it folds in the newest rules of French life: abortion rights written into the Constitution in 2024, the digital majority age of 15, the expanded smoking ban, and the new voluntary military service. If you want a picture of what France expects its future residents to know, this booklet is it.
The best part: studying is free
The official booklet is a free PDF from the Interior Ministry, and the government also publishes the official question pools the exams draw from: 191 questions for the multi-year card level, 209 for the carte de résident, and 258 for naturalization. Between the booklet and those question banks, you can prepare for this exam without spending a centime beyond the test fee. Download the Livret du Citoyen here: Official Page.
My honest take: this exam is very passable for anyone who prepares, and the material is genuinely useful. It is a guided tour of how France works, which is exactly what you want to know before you move anyway.
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Sources: Livret du Citoyen official page, Légifrance arrêté July 3, 2026, Service-Public civic exam guide, PrépaCivique livret breakdown, Fragomen legal summary
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