Civics test answers for California

How do you answer these questions in California?

California has two U.S. senators, Adam B. Schiff and Alex Padilla. You only need to name one of them. A seat can change after an election, a resignation, or an appointment, so check the names again shortly before your interview.

California is divided into 52 congressional districts. Your answer depends on the district your home address is in, so two neighbors in different districts can have different answers. Look up your address with our tool, or find your district in the list above.

No state has more House seats than California.

The governor of California is Gavin Newsom. Governors change after elections, so name the person in office on the day of your interview.

The capital of California is Sacramento.

The governor question is also on the shorter list for the 65/20 special consideration, which is for applicants who are 65 or older and have been permanent residents for 20 years or more when they file. They study 20 questions instead of 128.

How do these questions fit into the civics test?

On the 2025 civics test, the officer asks up to 20 questions from the list of 128, and you pass by answering 12 correctly. The four questions on this page are part of that list, so any of them may come up. If one does, answer for the place where you live at the time of your interview.

Officeholders can change at any time, after an election, a resignation, or an appointment. We update this page from official sources and show the date of the last check at the top.