Article V: The Amendment Process

Article V provides two ways to propose amendments: by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress, or by a convention called by Congress on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states, now 34. Proposed amendments become part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states, now 38, or by conventions in three-fourths of the states, as Congress chooses. The President plays no formal role. Article V also forbids depriving any state of equal representation in the Senate without its consent.

All 27 amendments have been proposed by Congress, and only the Twenty-first Amendment, repealing Prohibition in 1933, was ratified by state conventions rather than legislatures. Members of Congress have introduced more than 11,000 proposed amendments, but only 33 have been sent to the states. Congress has often set a seven-year deadline for ratification, and the Supreme Court held in Coleman v. Miller in 1939 that questions about the timeliness of ratification are largely for Congress. The Archivist of the United States certifies when an amendment has been ratified.

No Article V convention has ever been called. Campaigns for one, including a balanced budget amendment and the broader Convention of States movement, have won applications from many legislatures, but questions remain about how such a convention would be run and whether its scope could be limited. The Equal Rights Amendment, passed by Congress in 1972, reached 38 ratifications only in 2020, after its deadline and after several states voted to rescind, and in 2025 the Archivist declined to certify it. Supporters of the high bar say it protects the Constitution's stability, while critics say it makes needed change nearly impossible.