- Amending the Constitution requires two-thirds of both chambers of Congress (290 House + 67 Senate) plus ratification by 38 states — one of the highest bars in any democracy
- Only 27 amendments have ever been ratified; the first 10 (the Bill of Rights) came in 1791, and just 17 more have passed in the 235 years since
- The Equal Rights Amendment, passed by Congress in 1972 and ratified by 38 states in 2020, remains legally unresolved due to missed deadlines and rescissions — its status may reach the Supreme Court
- A second path — a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of states — has never been used in US history, though some conservatives have pushed for an Article V convention
The Article V Process: Two Paths, One Rarely Used
Article V of the Constitution establishes two methods for proposing amendments and two methods for ratifying them. In practice, only one proposal method has ever been used.
Congressional Proposal (used all 27 times): Two-thirds of both the House of Representatives (290 out of 435 members) and the Senate (67 out of 100 senators) must vote to propose an amendment. This alone is a formidable barrier — in today's partisan environment, achieving two-thirds support in both chambers simultaneously would require extraordinary bipartisan consensus.
Constitutional Convention (never used): Two-thirds of state legislatures (34 states) can call a constitutional convention. Article V does not specify what scope such a convention could take — whether it would be limited to the subject that triggered the call or could propose wholesale changes to the Constitution. This uncertainty has deterred its use even when enough states have called for one on specific issues. As of 2026, conservative groups pushing for a balanced budget convention claim 34 state applications, but legal scholars dispute whether those applications are valid and concurrent enough to trigger the process.
Once an amendment is proposed by either method, it goes to the states for ratification. Congress may specify whether ratification occurs by state legislature (the standard method) or by state ratifying convention (used only once, for the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition). Three-quarters of states — 38 out of 50 — must ratify. Congress has historically set deadlines for ratification; the validity and enforceability of those deadlines is disputed in the ERA context.
All 27 Amendments: What They Cover
| Amendment | Year Ratified | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1791 | Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, petition |
| 2nd | 1791 | Right to bear arms |
| 3rd | 1791 | No quartering of soldiers in private homes |
| 4th | 1791 | Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures |
| 5th | 1791 | Due process, self-incrimination, double jeopardy, grand jury |
| 6th | 1791 | Right to speedy trial, jury, counsel |
| 7th | 1791 | Civil jury trials |
| 8th | 1791 | No cruel or unusual punishment; no excessive bail |
| 9th | 1791 | Rights not listed are still retained by the people |
| 10th | 1791 | Powers not given to federal government reserved to states |
| 13th | 1865 | Abolition of slavery |
| 14th | 1868 | Equal protection, due process, citizenship, Section 3 insurrection bar |
| 15th | 1870 | Voting rights regardless of race |
| 16th | 1913 | Federal income tax |
| 17th | 1913 | Direct election of senators (previously chosen by state legislatures) |
| 19th | 1920 | Women's right to vote |
| 22nd | 1951 | Presidential two-term limit |
| 24th | 1964 | Abolished poll taxes in federal elections |
| 26th | 1971 | Voting age lowered to 18 |
| 27th | 1992 | Congressional pay raises take effect only after the next election |
The 27th Amendment was originally proposed in 1789 as part of the original Bill of Rights but was not ratified until 1992 — over 200 years later — when Michigan became the 38th state to ratify. No deadline had been attached to the original proposal.
The Equal Rights Amendment: 50 Years of Unfinished Business
The Equal Rights Amendment states simply: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." Congress passed it in 1972 with a seven-year ratification deadline. By 1979, 35 of the required 38 states had ratified. Congress extended the deadline to June 1982. No additional states ratified in time, and the ERA appeared dead.
Then the process restarted. Nevada ratified in 2017, Illinois in 2018, and Virginia in 2020 — becoming the putative 38th state. But three states (Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho) that had previously ratified voted to rescind their ratifications. The legal question of whether states can rescind has never been definitively resolved by the Supreme Court.
The Biden administration's Department of Justice issued a legal opinion in 2022 saying the ERA's ratification deadline was legally binding and the Archivist could not certify it. The Trump administration's DOJ has maintained that position. Federal courts have ruled against ERA proponents, largely on grounds that the ratification deadline expired. As of 2026, the ERA is not considered part of the Constitution by any federal authority, though advocacy groups continue to press for recognition or a new congressional resolution removing the deadline.
Notable Failed Amendments: What Nearly Made It
Thousands of constitutional amendments have been proposed in Congress; only 33 have ever been sent to the states for ratification. Beyond the ERA, notable failed amendments include:
- Balanced Budget Amendment: Passed the House multiple times (most recently 1995); fell one vote short in the Senate in 1995. Republicans have pressed it repeatedly since.
- Flag Desecration Amendment: Passed the House six times between 1995 and 2005; repeatedly fell one or two votes short of two-thirds in the Senate.
- Federal Marriage Amendment (2004): Would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman; failed to reach two-thirds in either chamber. Became moot after Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).
- DC Voting Rights Amendment: Passed Congress in 1978 but ratified by only 16 of the required 38 states before its 1985 deadline. DC statehood legislation, which would not require an amendment, has also repeatedly failed.
- Corwin Amendment (1861): Would have permanently protected slavery from federal interference; ratified by only three states before the Civil War rendered it politically impossible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a state un-ratify a constitutional amendment?
The legal answer is genuinely unsettled. Several states attempted to rescind their ratifications of the 14th Amendment during Reconstruction; Congress rejected those rescissions. States that tried to rescind ERA ratification have not been definitively ruled on by the Supreme Court. The prevailing scholarly view is that ratification is irreversible, but the Court has never directly decided the question.
What is Article V's "entrenchment clause"?
Article V contains one provision that is explicitly unamendable: "no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate." This means no constitutional amendment can take away a state's two Senate seats without that state's agreement. It is the only truly unamendable provision in the Constitution as written — though scholars debate whether even this provision could be amended if Article V itself were first amended.
How does the amendment process compare to other countries?
The US Constitution is among the hardest to amend in the world. Germany's Basic Law has been amended over 60 times since 1949. India's constitution has been amended over 100 times. Australia requires a national referendum with a majority of voters nationally AND majorities in at least four of six states. Most parliamentary democracies can amend their constitutional documents through legislative supermajorities alone, without state ratification requirements.
