How to Amend the U.S. Constitution

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In the United States, there is a specific procedure for making changes to its founding legal document, the Constitution.

Step 1: Get elected
Get elected to Congress or to a state legislature. The U.S. Congress or the state legislatures must vote in order to propose a constitutional amendment.

Tip
Your best bet is Congress. Even though the state legislature option is articulated in Article V of the Constitution, it has never been used.

Step 2: Get through committee
Get the amendment through committee, otherwise known as the behind-the-scenes legislative wrangling that occurs before an amendment is ever presented to the full Congress.

Step 3: Win a two-thirds majority
Win a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate in favor of your amendment.

Step 4: Send it to the Archivist
From Congress, the amendment is sent to the National Archivist who, with help from the Federal Register, will print and send a copy of the legislation to all 50 governors. They, in turn, pass them on to the state legislatures for a vote.

Step 5: Win a three-quarters majority
Win approval from three-quarters of the states, and you have successfully amended the U.S. Constitution.

Did You Know?
The 18th Amendment prohibited the sale or manufacture of alcohol. Fourteen years later, the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th.