CCSE questions on Security and defence
Practice questions on Security and defence for the CCSE. This topic belongs to task 1 (Government, law and civic participation).
Which of these police forces belongs to a comunidad autónoma?
- ALa Policía NacionalThe Policía Nacional
- BLa Guardia CivilThe Guardia Civil
- CLa Policía Foral de NavarraThe Policía Foral de Navarra
Show answer and explanation
✓ La Policía Foral de Navarra
The Policía Foral is the police force of Navarra itself, that is, a regional one. Other regional forces are the Mossos d'Esquadra (Cataluña) and the Ertzaintza (País Vasco). The Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional depend on the State and work across the whole country, while the local police depend on the ayuntamientos (town councils). Trick: if the name of the police reminds you of a specific region, it is almost surely a regional one.
Which police force has authority across the whole Spanish territory and in the cities?
- ALa Policía NacionalThe Policía Nacional
- BLa ErtzaintzaThe Ertzaintza
- CLos Mossos d'EsquadraThe Mossos d'Esquadra
Show answer and explanation
✓ La Policía Nacional
The Policía Nacional (the national police), formerly called the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía, depends on the State and works across the whole country, above all in the cities. It takes care, for example, of the DNI (national identity card), the passport and the police stations. The Mossos d'Esquadra (Cataluña) and the Ertzaintza (País Vasco) are police forces of comunidades autónomas, and the local police depend on the ayuntamiento (town council). An easy way to remember: national equals the whole territory, regional equals one comunidad.
Which of these institutions is a branch of the Fuerzas Armadas?
- AEl cuerpo de bomberosThe fire brigade
- BLa Policía ForalThe Policía Foral
- CEl Ejército del Aire y del EspacioThe Ejército del Aire y del Espacio
Show answer and explanation
✓ El Ejército del Aire y del Espacio
The Fuerzas Armadas (the armed forces) are the Ejército de Tierra (the army), the Armada (the navy) and the Ejército del Aire y del Espacio (the air and space force; this is the name since 2022 of the former Ejército del Aire). Their mission is to defend Spain and its territorial integrity. The Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional are security forces of the State, and the Policía Foral is a regional force, not a military one. Firefighters are not military either. Although the Guardia Civil is an armed institute of a military nature, it does not belong to the Fuerzas Armadas.
11 practice questions on this topic
- Which of these police forces belongs to a comunidad autónoma?
- Which police force has authority across the whole Spanish territory and in the cities?
- Which of these institutions is a branch of the Fuerzas Armadas?
- Who is responsible for defending the territorial integrity of Spain?
- Since 1989, the Spanish Army has taken part in peace missions of a world organisation. Which one?
- Which force watches the coasts, borders, ports and airports?
- Which force does passport control at airports and borders?
- Which police force depends on the Catalan government?
- What is the País Vasco's own police force called?
- Who is in charge of directing traffic inside cities and towns?
- Which force is in charge of traffic control on the roads?
Other topics in task 1
Free official material
The Instituto Cervantes publishes a manual and an app with the official questions. We write new questions on the same facts, with explanations: use them together.
Frequently asked questions
How many CCSE questions are about Security and defence?
Security and defence is part of task 1 (Government, law and civic participation), which has 10 of the 25 questions in the exam. Here are 11 original practice questions on this topic.
Are these the official CCSE questions?
No. They are original questions that test the same facts as the Instituto Cervantes' official 2026 manual, with our own explanations. The official manual can be downloaded free from the Instituto Cervantes website.
How do I practise this topic?
Read each question, pick an option and check the explanation. When you feel confident, take a timed 25-question mock test and see which task you miss most.