How many seats are on the Supreme Court?

Why this is the answer

The Supreme Court has nine seats. One belongs to the Chief Justice of the United States and the other eight to the remaining justices; "justice" is the word used for a judge on that Court. The number nine is not written in the Constitution. Article III says the judicial power belongs to "one supreme Court" and to lower courts Congress creates, and it stops there, without saying how many justices the Court should have. The 2008 version of the civics test did not give a number either: its answer to the same kind of question told applicants to check the USCIS test updates page. The 2025 version sets a fixed answer, nine. Every seat is filled the same way. The President nominates a candidate, the Senate has to approve the nomination, and the new justice holds the office "during good Behaviour," the Constitution's phrase for a term with no set end. Federal judges are not elected, so a seat is filled only through this process. The nine work as a single body. After the Court reviews a case, the justices meet, discuss it and vote, and a decision needs a majority, meaning more than half. With nine justices hearing a case, at least five have to vote the same way. Wrong answers are usually other numbers from the federal courts. Thirteen is the number of federal courts of appeals, organized by circuit, not the number of justices. Five is the number of votes a decision needs when all nine sit, which answers a different question on the list. Seven and twelve are plain guesses. Anyone who studied with the older 2008 materials may remember being sent to a website for this figure. On the 2025 test there is nothing to look up. Say "nine" clearly and you have answered: nine seats, and five votes to decide a case.