The key facts about the German naturalisation test (Einbürgerungstest) and the “Leben in Deutschland” test – format, pass mark, cost, question catalogue and how to prepare.
The Einbürgerungstest consists of 33 questions: 30 general questions and 3 questions about the federal state where you take the test.
You need at least 17 of the 33 questions correct, which is about 52 percent.
You have 60 minutes to answer the 33 questions.
The official BAMF catalogue contains 300 general questions plus 10 additional questions for each of the 16 federal states, 460 questions in total. All 460 can be practised free on this site.
Every question is multiple choice with four options, exactly one of which is correct.
Both use the same question catalogue and the same format. The “Leben in Deutschland” (LiD) test is the final exam of the orientation course within the integration course. Passing it with at least 17 correct answers produces a certificate that is also accepted for naturalisation.
The fee is usually 25 euros per attempt. Exact terms are set by the individual test centre.
You can retake it as often as you need. The fee applies again for each attempt.
At test centres licensed by the BAMF, such as adult education centres (Volkshochschulen) and recognised education providers. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees publishes a directory at bamf.de.
Each federal state has 10 questions in the catalogue, and 3 of them appear in your test. What counts is the state where you sit the test. All 10 questions for your state are on the state pages of this site.
Exemptions include people holding a German school leaving certificate and people unable to take part due to illness, disability or age. The responsible naturalisation authority decides on exemptions.
Passing the citizenship test is one of the requirements for naturalisation. The others usually include several years of lawful residence, sufficient German language skills, being able to support yourself financially, and a commitment to the free democratic constitutional order. You submit the application for naturalisation to the naturalisation authority responsible for where you live; the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) explains the full requirements.
It is considered very manageable, because all 460 possible questions and their answers are public. If you work through the catalogue you will have seen every question that can appear. Only 17 correct answers out of 33 are needed to pass.
Work through the full catalogue chapter by chapter, learn the 10 questions for your state, then practise with a timed 33-question mock exam. Focus your repetition on the questions you got wrong.
Yes. All 300 general questions and all 160 state questions are free and need no sign-up.
Questions and answers are available in German, English, Hindi, French, Italian, Ukrainian, Arabic and Russian. The official test is taken in German only; the translations are there to help you understand while studying.
Yes. The Android and iOS apps contain all questions offline, so you can study without an internet connection.
Yes. The app assembles 33 questions under realistic conditions with a 60-minute timer, matching the real test.