The citizenship test
Citizenship test pass mark: is 15 out of 20 enough?
Type the number of right answers from a mock test or from the real one: the result, your margin and the next step appear at once.
Did I pass the citizenship test?
Result
Pass
| Pass mark | 15 of 20 (75%) |
| Your score | 80% |
| Margin | 1 answer above the mark |
The pass mark of the Canadian citizenship test is 15 correct answers out of 20, which is 75%. IRCC does not grade on a curve and does not weigh one chapter more than another: every question is worth the same, and a question left blank is simply a wrong answer. With 15 you pass; with 14 you do not, whatever the chapter of the questions you missed. The online test shows a score as soon as you submit it, but that score is not yet official: an officer reviews the session, which can take from a few days to a few weeks, and the final result reads Pass, Fail or Invalidated. You have 3 attempts within the 30-day period your invitation opens. If all of them fail, IRCC schedules a hearing with a citizenship official, 30 to 90 minutes long, where the same knowledge is checked orally. A pass at that stage keeps the application alive; a failure ends it.
How many attempts do I have left?
Attempts left
2
| Days left in the test period | 20 |
| If all three fail | a 30- to 90-minute hearing with an official |
| Next step | retake the test within the period |
Questions, counts and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How questions and dates are built
What each score means
| Correct answers | Outcome | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| 15 to 20 | Pass | officer review, then possibly an interview and the ceremony |
| 14 | Fail by one answer | another attempt within the test period, if one is left |
| 0 to 13 | Fail | revise the weak chapters, then another attempt |
| Any score | Invalidated | the session broke the online rules |
The test does not separate questions into sections with their own minimum. One chapter can cost you three points as long as the others make up for them. That is different from the hearing described below, where knowledge and language are each scored on their own.
Three attempts, one period
When IRCC invites you to the online test, the invitation opens a period of 30 days. Inside it you can take the test up to 3 times. The calculator under the summary counts what is left: attempts and days. Use the days between two attempts to work on the chapter that failed you, not to sit the next test the same evening. The practice sets by chapter take ten questions from a single chapter and correct each answer immediately.
If you miss the online test altogether, IRCC sends a new invitation the first time, with a fresh period and the same three chances; a second miss requires a written reason, or the application can be treated as abandoned. The online test page covers the device rules that cause most problems.
After three failures: the hearing
A third failed attempt does not end the application. It leads to a hearing with a citizenship official that lasts 30 to 90 minutes. The official checks your knowledge with 20 spoken questions, of which 15 must be right, reviews your residence and assesses your language with up to 9 questions, of which 6 must be passed. Failing the hearing means the application is refused, and a new one has to be filed and paid for. The interview and hearing page explains how to prepare for both.
Is there an official pass rate?
No. The IRCC pages on the test, its results and the next steps publish the pass mark, the number of attempts and the hearing rules, but no share of candidates who pass, and we found none on canada.ca on October 25, 2026. Figures that circulate online without an IRCC source are not repeated here. What IRCC has published is qualitative: its evaluation of the Citizenship Program for 2013 to 2018 found that the language and knowledge requirements can be hard to meet, particularly for refugees and for people with less education or a weaker command of English or French, and it recommended better study tools.
Reading your mock test scores
A single mock test is a small sample: 20 questions drawn from 150. Two draws can differ by several points for the same person. Sit at least three timed mock tests on different days and look at the lowest score, not the best one. If the lowest is 15 or above, you are ready; if not, the explanation under each wrong answer tells you which chapter to reread in Discover Canada, the only guide IRCC uses to write its questions.
The real test also runs against a 45-minute clock that cannot be paused. Our timed mock test uses the same limit, starting at your first answer, so you learn how long 20 questions take you and whether you have time to check your answers at the end.