Do you have to retake the test to renew a card?

No. The rules reserve it for first applications for a multi-year card, a resident card and naturalisation. A renewal requires no new sitting.

How many times can you resit?

As often as needed, paying for each sitting. Only cheating brings a ban, lasting two years.

Does the pass certificate expire?

No. It carries no end date, so you can produce it several months after obtaining it.

Does the spouse of a French national have to sit it?

Not for the nationality declaration through marriage, which nevertheless requires level B2. Their first resident card, in contrast, does require the exam, save exemption.

French civic exam: registration and price

Many foreign nationals discover the civic exam at the moment of filing their application. Yet without a pass certificate, the prefecture refuses the multi-year card or the resident card applied for. Here is what the reform changes for you. A lawyer reviews your situation in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

Civic exam: what the 2024 law provides

Law no. 2024-42 of 26 January 2024, known as the immigration law, created this new civic exam. Its article 20 rewrote articles L.413-3 and L.413-7 of the CESEDA, the French immigration code. It also amended article 21-24 of the Civil Code for naturalisation.

Two decrees of 15 July 2025 then set out the rules. Decree no. 2025-647 covers residence permits, and decree no. 2025-648 naturalisation. Finally, an order of 10 October 2025 fixes the syllabus, the tests and the organisation. The whole package has applied since 1 January 2026.

In practice, this civic exam comes on top of the language requirement. The two conditions add up: a good level of French does not exempt you from the test, and the other way round.

Who has to sit a civic exam?

The requirement covers three first applications. It affects neither renewals nor the one-year temporary card.

Application	Level of French	Civic exam
First multi-year residence card	A2	Yes, "multi-year residence card" version.
First resident card	B1	Yes, "resident card" version.
Naturalisation by decree	B2	Yes, "naturalisation" version.
One-year temporary card	No level required	No.
Renewal of a card already held	No new test	No.
Nationality declaration through marriage	B2	No.

You choose the version when you register, according to your application. A "multi-year card" certificate therefore does not count for naturalisation. If you are aiming for the ten-year resident card, register directly under that version.

How the test runs

The order of 10 October 2025 describes a single format for the whole of France.

40 multiple-choice questions, in French, with four answers and only one correct.
45 minutes at most, on a tablet or computer, in an approved centre.
28 knowledge questions and 12 everyday scenarios.
32 correct answers at least, that is an 80 % pass mark.

The questions also cover five themes, in fixed proportions.

Theme	Number of questions
Principles and values of the Republic	11
Rights and duties	11
History, geography and culture	8
Institutional and political system	6
Living in French society	4

On the day, you sit your civic exam under direct supervision, with phones banned. Any cheating brings immediate exclusion. It also bars you from resitting for two years.

Registration, price and results

Where to register

Two bodies run this civic exam: the Paris Île-de-France chamber of commerce, through its "Le français des affaires" network, and France Éducation international. You register with one of their approved centres. Keep your AGDREF number to hand: it appears on your residence permit.

How much it costs

Each centre sets its own price, following the Interior Ministry's recommendations. In February 2026, InfoMigrants reported fees of €70 to €150 per sitting. Official preparation, by contrast, stays free. Many websites confuse the two.

Results and resits

France Éducation international posts the result in the candidate's account within a few hours. The pass certificate then carries no expiry date. You can therefore sit your civic exam well before filing your application.

The number of attempts stays unlimited. Each new sitting has to be paid for again, however. For naturalisation, the certificate belongs to the documents in the file, so sit the test before filing.

The exemptions

Some people do not have to sit a civic exam. The rules provide in particular for:

Age: from 65, for residence permits, with an exemption from the language test as well.
Health: a disability or a chronic illness opens an exemption or an adjustment, on a medical certificate.
International protection: refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.
Bilateral agreements: Algerian nationals, governed by the 1968 agreement, for their residence permit only.

For nationality, an order of 30 December 2025 sets the model medical certificate. The administration may also require a second opinion from an approved doctor. For naturalisation, no age-related exemption appears clearly in the published texts. So have your case checked before giving up on the test.

What happens if you fail?

Failing closes no door for good. Without a certificate, however, the prefecture issues neither a first multi-year card nor a first resident card. If you meet the conditions, you then stay on a one-year temporary card. You try again afterwards, as often as needed.

For naturalisation, a file without the certificate is incomplete, and may be inadmissible. Keep an eye on the calendar of your current permit as well. Failing the test does not push back the date by which you must apply for residence permit renewal.

Finally, if the prefecture refuses a permit although you passed the test, the decision can be challenged. Our article on residence permit refusal sets out the remedies and their deadlines.

Preparing properly

The Interior Ministry publishes free resources on its civic training website. Start with the heaviest themes, the values of the Republic and rights and duties. Together they carry 22 questions out of 40.

Practise the scenarios too. They ask you to reason about a concrete case, at school, at work or at the town hall. Candidates often find the history questions harder, so set aside time for them.

When to consult a lawyer

A lawyer becomes useful when the reform blocks a file. A prefecture demanding the test for a simple renewal, for instance, is making a mistake. Likewise, a medical exemption refused or a plan for French naturalisation deserves an outside view.

An immigration lawyer checks the documents, the right permit to apply for and the deadlines running. Twenty minutes are often enough to know whether your civic exam really is a problem.