What is the Canadian citizenship test?
After IRCC accepts your citizenship application, applicants aged 18–54 are invited to a 30-minute test — today usually written online — of 20 multiple-choice and true/false questions. Every question comes from the official study guide, Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship, which is free from IRCC.
Before the test comes the count: you need 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada to apply at all. Check yours in 60 seconds with our free Physical Presence Calculator — no IRCC account needed.
What the test covers
- Rights and responsibilities — the Charter, voting, jury duty, helping your community.
- History — Indigenous peoples, New France, Confederation, the World Wars, modern Canada.
- Government — constitutional monarchy, federal/provincial/municipal levels, how elections work.
- Symbols, geography and economy — provinces and capitals, the flag, anthem, regions and industries.
How to prepare (the smart way)
- Read Discover Canada once, front to back — it's shorter than it looks.
- Take Practice Test 1 cold to find your weak areas.
- Re-read only the weak chapters, then test again until you consistently score 18+/20.
Frequently asked questions
Is the real test in English or French?
Your choice — either official language. The test doubles as part of your language assessment, alongside your documents.
How long after applying is the test?
It varies with IRCC's workload — typically several months after your acknowledgement of receipt. You'll get an invitation with a date and a window to complete it.
What if I fail twice?
You're not refused automatically — IRCC schedules a hearing with a citizenship official who assesses your knowledge orally.
Are these real exam questions?
No one outside IRCC has the real questions. Ours are original questions written from the same Discover Canada facts the real test draws on — master these and the real wording won't surprise you.