How to fill out Form N-400 (citizenship), line by line

Before you begin, gather your Green Card and identity records, address and activity history, travel records, family records, and any documents that may be needed for a disclosure or fee request. If you need a different government document, the government form instructions hub can help you locate it.

• Start with your filing basis and Form N-400 setup

• Parts 2 and 3: identity, name history, testing, and biographic information

• Parts 4, 7, and 8: address, work, school, and travel history

• Parts 5, 6, and 10: family details and a fee-reduction request

• Part 9: answer disclosure, offense, Selective Service, military, and Oath questions carefully

• Parts 11-16: signatures, additional information, and final checks

Start with your filing basis and Form N-400 setup

Use the current Form N-400 and instructions, type or print legibly in black ink, answer every question, and include every page when filing—even blank pages. Put your A-Number, if any, at the top right of each page. If it has fewer than nine digits, add leading zeros. Use “N/A” for an inapplicable question and “None” for a required numeric answer of zero unless the form directs otherwise.

Choose only one Part 1 eligibility box

Part 1 is the form's organizing decision, not just a first-page label. Select one box only: general provision; spouse of a U.S. citizen; VAWA; spouse of a U.S. citizen in qualified employment outside the United States; military service during hostilities; at least one year of honorable military service; or another reason. That selection changes the history periods for Parts 4, 7, and 8 and can trigger spouse or military fields later in the form.

If you are filing under Part 1.D and your residential address is outside the United States, select the USCIS field office where you want the naturalization interview. Separately, if a parent was a U.S. citizen by birth or naturalized before you turned 18, USCIS says you may already be a U.S. citizen; review the official Form N-600 information rather than assuming N-400 is the right application. Applicants using the five-year or marriage-to-a-U.S.-citizen route may generally file up to 90 days early, but must meet all other requirements at filing; USCIS states a too-early filing will be rejected.

Complete the form cleanly before adding details

Use Part 14 when an answer does not fit. For each continuation page or separate sheet, put your name and A-Number at the top, identify the page, part, and item being continued, then sign and date it. For substantial corrections, USCIS recommends starting a new form rather than using correction tape or fluid, because scanners can capture the wrong information.

• government form instructions

Parts 2 and 3: identity, name history, testing, and biographic information

Names, dates, A-Number, and nationality fields

Enter your current legal name, not a nickname. Then list all other names used since birth, including aliases, maiden or birth names, assumed names, nicknames, alternate spellings, and names used in prior immigration matters or criminal proceedings. Your USCIS Online Account Number is not your A-Number. Use mm/dd/yyyy for your date of birth and lawful-permanent-resident date. Put other dates of birth, extra names, and additional nationalities in Part 14 if needed.

A requested name change in Item 3 is optional. It is not final until the court naturalizes you. For country of birth, use the country name at the time of birth; for nationality, use the current country name under the instructions. Part 3 then records biographic details used for background checks: select one ethnicity, all applicable race boxes, and one eye and hair color. Enter height in feet and inches and weight in pounds.

Testing exception and Social Security update choices

Item 11 is a medical testing-exception route. If a qualifying physical or developmental disability or mental impairment prevents compliance with the English and/or civics requirements, answer Yes and file a completed Form N-648 with Form N-400. Filing N-648 does not itself guarantee an exemption. Age-and-years-as-an-LPR testing exceptions have separate conditions, so do not treat them as the same route.

The Social Security Administration option is separate and optional. To ask USCIS to transmit authorized information for an original or replacement Social Security card and a status update, answer Yes to both Items 12.a. and 12.c. If you want a replacement card, enter your SSN in Item 12.b. If Item 12.a. is No, move on to Part 3.

Parts 4, 7, and 8: address, work, school, and travel history

These three parts are one connected timeline. USCIS uses the address, employment/school, and travel information in part to assess continuous residence, physical presence, and three-month residence in a USCIS district or U.S. state. Determine the reporting window from Part 1 before entering any rows.

Use the right history period for your filing basis

Reporting periods for the connected history sections

Record every activity and trip the instructions require

List every required physical address and provide a current, valid mailing address for notices. A person who is homeless may enter “homeless” but still provides the remaining location details. USCIS provides separate protections for shelter or safe-house addresses and allows a safe mailing address where mail can be received. In Part 7, cover the full required period without unexplained gaps: enter self-employed, unemployed, or retired when those labels apply, as well as schools and foreign government employment. In Part 8, list reportable trips most recent first; do not include trips completed within 24 hours.

When an absence changes the evidence you need

Continuous residence and physical presence are related but different. For common routes, USCIS lists 30 months (913 days) of physical presence in the past five years for the general provision and 18 months (548 days) in the past three years for spouse-of-a-U.S.-citizen filing; military and other exceptions can change the rule. An absence of more than six months but less than one year requires evidence that you maintained U.S. residence. An absence of one year or more during the required period generally breaks continuous residence without USCIS approval; qualified overseas employment may require an approved Form N-470. A Reentry Permit or Refugee Travel Document does not preserve continuous residence for naturalization purposes.

Parts 5, 6, and 10: family details and a fee-reduction request

Marital history and spouse fields

Count marriages broadly: current and prior marriages, marriages inside or outside the United States, annulled, civil, customary, religious, registered or unregistered marriages, and repeated marriages to the same person. Current-spouse details in Items 4.a.-8 apply only to the spouse-of-a-U.S.-citizen and qualified-employment-outside-the-United-States routes; Item 8 applies only to Part 1.D. Marriage-based filing has its own USCIS requirements and evidence, including records of terminated prior marriages where applicable.

Children and support information

Part 6 asks for all children under 18 in the categories USCIS lists—not only children living with you. This includes children born in or outside the United States, stepchildren, legally adopted children, missing children, and children in the described marital circumstances. Use the printed residence and relationship options. For a child who does not live with you, provide the address in Part 14; use Part 14 for more rows. USCIS also directs applicants with dependent children living apart to provide support evidence.

When Part 10 can support a fee-reduction request

A fee reduction is optional. At filing, compare household income with 400% of the current Federal Poverty Guidelines for the household size. If requesting it, complete Items 1-5.b. and submit the required household documentation. The head of household is generally the person who claimed you as a dependent on the most recent federal tax return or who provides most household income. Current guideline values and filing fees belong to the official current sources, not this static form walkthrough.

Part 9: answer disclosure, offense, Selective Service, military, and Oath questions carefully

Part 9 is a disclosure-and-documentation section, not a single yes/no checklist. USCIS uses these answers in reviewing good moral character, national security, constitutional attachment, and other naturalization requirements. Read every question literally and keep the explanation, table, and evidence instruction that follows the specific item together.

The EVER questions and required Part 14 explanations

When Part 9 uses “EVER,” USCIS generally asks about conduct anywhere in the world at any time unless the question gives a different limit. A Yes to Items 1-14 requires an explanation and additional information in Part 14. Other ranges have their own triggers: Yes answers to Items 17.a.-19 require Part 14 explanations and supporting evidence, while Items 20-21 require the explanation and information USCIS specifies. Do not make an individualized conclusion from the question; provide the requested facts and records.

Crime or offense reporting: what the table and evidence do

For Items 15.a.-16, disclose required crimes and offenses even if a matter was sealed, expunged, cleared, pardoned, or occurred before age 18. Complete an incident row with the place, date, offense, result or disposition, conviction or plea date if applicable, and sentence. USCIS says failure to disclose can lead to denial even when the original offense would not itself cause denial.

Examples of record categories USCIS connects to an incident outcome

Selective Service, military, and Oath branches

If Item 22.b is No, the next step depends on age and filing basis. Under age 26, USCIS instructs the applicant to register before applying, then answer Items 22.b and 22.c. Ages 26 through 31—or ages 26 through 29 for applicants filing as spouses of U.S. citizens—require a Part 14 explanation and a Selective Service status information letter. At age 31 or older, or age 29 or older for the spouse route, USCIS says neither is required under this instruction. Military-based applicants should use the official military eligibility section; current service members applying on that basis submit Form N-426.

For the Oath questions, Item 33 Yes means skip Items 34-37 and use the Legal Guardian, Surrogate, or Designated Representative instructions. A religious or conscientious objection may support a requested modification to the bear-arms or noncombatant-service portions of the Oath, but not the civilian-work portion. An applicant may ask to affirm rather than take an oath for any reason, without documentation.

Parts 11-16: signatures, additional information, and final checks

Who signs Parts 11, 12, and 13

Part 11 is the applicant’s certification and filing-time signature. USCIS does not accept a stamped or typewritten name in place of a signature. If an interpreter read the instructions and questions in a language in which you are fluent, that person completes, signs, and dates Part 12. If someone other than you prepared the application, that person completes, signs, and dates Part 13. One person serving in both roles completes both parts.

Use Part 14 correctly and leave Parts 15-16 blank

Part 14 connects overflow information to the exact question it continues. Label each entry or attachment with the referenced page, part, and item; include the required name, A-Number, signature, and date details. Do not complete Part 15, Signature at Interview, or Part 16, Oath of Allegiance, before filing. A USCIS officer will instruct you to complete those parts at the interview.

1. Confirm that one Part 1 filing basis is selected and that Parts 4, 7, and 8 use its reporting period.

2. Check that every page is present, every required answer is complete, and each Part 14 continuation identifies its source item.

3. Attach the initial evidence required for the answers you gave, including any triggered medical, family, offense, military, or fee-reduction records.

4. Verify the applicant, interpreter, and preparer signatures that apply, and use USCIS's current information for filing location, payment, and fees.

Review the completed application before the biometrics appointment as well as before filing. USCIS states that knowingly falsifying or concealing a material fact, or submitting a false document, can lead to denial, other immigration-benefit consequences, severe penalties, and possible criminal prosecution.

Sources and how this page was made

This guide explains the official sources listed below in plain language. Displayed amounts, limits, percentages, and timing rules come from that material.

Source revision reflected in this guide: Form: 01/20/25; Instructions: 01/20/25.

• Official form: Form N-400, Application for Naturalization — USCIS

• Official form instructions: Form N-400, Instructions for Application for Naturalization — USCIS