United Kingdom
Life in the UK Test: free mock exam
Twenty-four questions drawn from the five chapters of the official handbook, 45 minutes, 18 correct answers to pass. Answer below; the panel tells you where you stand after each question.
Your score · United Kingdom: Life in the UK
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| Pass mark: 18 of 24 |
Practice questions written by Radif Partners from the facts of the official guide. Not the official test.
The Life in the UK Test is a computer test of 24 multiple-choice questions on British history, institutions, laws and customs, taken in 45 minutes at one of the approved test centres. You need it for indefinite leave to remain and for British citizenship by naturalisation, unless you are under 18, aged 65 or over, have passed it before, or have a long-term condition confirmed by a form or a doctor's letter. It costs £50 each time you sit it, you book online at least 3 days ahead with an accepted ID, and you can rebook as often as you need after a fail. GOV.UK says you must score 75% or more to pass, which is 18 correct answers out of 24. Every question comes from the official handbook, Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents (3rd edition). The mock exam on this page draws 24 of our 200 practice questions, spread over the handbook's five chapters, and marks them with the same rule.
Do I need to take the Life in the UK Test?
Life in the UK Test
You need to pass the test
| Age band exempt | under 18, 65 or over |
| Test fee if you sit it | £50 |
| Book at least | 3 days ahead |
Questions, dates and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the questions and dates are built
How the real test is built
The test is a single sitting of 24 multiple-choice questions on a computer. Only the number of right answers counts, so an unanswered question is simply a lost point: it is always worth giving your best guess. The mock above lets you go back to an earlier question before you submit, so you can leave a hard one and return to it.
With 45 minutes for 24 questions you have almost two minutes per question, which is plenty for a question you know. The difficulty is the breadth of the handbook, which runs from the Stone Age to the devolved parliaments, and its love of precise facts: dates, numbers of members, the patron saint of each nation, which sport was invented where.
| Rule | Figure | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 24 | gov.uk test page |
| Time allowed | 45 minutes | gov.uk test page |
| Correct answers to pass | 18 (75%) | gov.uk test guide |
| Fee per sitting | £50 | gov.uk test page |
| Booking | online, at least 3 days ahead | gov.uk test page |
| Attempts | no limit, paid each time | gov.uk test page |
The five chapters you are tested on
Questions can come from any part of the handbook's five chapters. Our bank follows the same division, with 40 questions on values and principles, 40 on what the UK is, 40 on history, 40 on modern society and 40 on government, the law and your role. The history chapter is the longest in the handbook and usually weighs most in a real sitting, so the chapter-by-chapter practice is the best place to work on it.
- The values and principles of the UK: the fundamental principles of British life (democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, tolerance, participation) and the responsibilities that come with living in the UK.
- What is the UK?: the four nations, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, the Crown dependencies and the overseas territories.
- A long and illustrious history: from early Britain and the Romans to the Tudors, the Civil War, the Empire, both world wars and the post-war period.
- A modern, thriving society: religion, festivals, sport, the arts, literature, leisure and places of interest.
- The UK government, the law and your role: the constitution, Parliament, elections, the devolved administrations, the courts, taxes, driving and how to help your community.
Booking: what you need
You book on the official service at gov.uk, at least 3 days before the date you want. You need an email address, a debit or credit card and an accepted form of ID. If you have an eVisa, gov.uk asks you to use a share code from your UK Visas and Immigration account; otherwise a valid passport, an EU, Swiss, Icelandic, Liechtenstein or Norwegian identity card, or another travel document with a photo can be used. The name on your booking must match your ID exactly. There are over 30 test centres in the UK and you pick one when you book. £50 is charged for every sitting, including a retake.
How to use this mock exam
Choose "At the end" to sit it as in a real centre: answers are recorded without correction and the review comes when you submit. Choose "As I go" to learn: each answer is corrected straight away with a short explanation of the fact behind it. A new draw gives you 24 other questions from the bank; the link in your address bar then replays the same draw, which is handy to compare results with a partner who is preparing too. For a timed sitting with a 45-minute clock, use the timed mock test; to read every question with its answer, open the question bank.
A sensible routine is one chapter a day with the practice mode, then two or three full mocks in the last week. Our own rule of thumb: book the real test once you clear the mark with a few answers to spare on several fresh draws. A score that only just reaches 18 is a reason to wait a little, because a fail costs another £50 and a new booking.
What the test is part of
Passing the test is one condition among several. For citizenship you also need to meet the residence requirement, the good character requirement and the English language requirement, then pay the naturalisation fee of £1,709 and the ceremony fee of £130. The British citizenship page works out the first date you can apply with your trips abroad, and the cost page adds every fee for your household.
If you already passed the test for indefinite leave to remain, you do not take it again for citizenship: you use the same pass. Keep your pass notification letter or reference number, because the application asks for it.
Our questions are not the official ones
No official question bank is published. Every question here was written by Radif Partners from facts covered by the handbook's chapters, checked against official and reference sources, and none is copied from the handbook, from an app or from another site. They train you on the same facts, but the wording on the day will be different. The official handbook, sold by its publisher, remains the only text the real test draws on.