Proposed Amendments: Where They Stand
Only 27 amendments have ever been ratified. Thousands have been proposed. Here is the current status of every significant amendment effort, from proposals stuck in committee to the decades-long battle over the Equal Rights Amendment.
How the Amendment Process Works
Amending the Constitution is intentionally difficult. The Framers wanted the Constitution to be durable and resistant to momentary popular passions, while not being so rigid that genuine reform was impossible. Article V sets out the process, and it requires extraordinary consensus at every step.
Since 1789, Congress has considered approximately 12,000 proposed amendments. Only 33 have ever been approved by Congress and sent to the states. Of those, 27 have been ratified. That is a ratification rate of roughly one amendment every eight years across the entire history of the republic.
Two Ways to Propose an Amendment
Congressional Proposal
Two-thirds of both the House and the Senate must approve the proposed amendment text. This is a supermajority: with a 100-member Senate, that means 67 votes. With a 435-member House, that means 290 votes.
Used for all 27 ratified amendments
Article V Convention
Two-thirds of state legislatures (34 of 50) may apply to Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments. Congress must then call the convention. The convention proposes amendments, which must still be ratified by three-fourths of states.
Never used in American history
Two Ways to Ratify an Amendment
Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states, currently 38 of 50. Congress chooses which ratification method to use.
State Legislatures
The legislature of each state votes to ratify. This is the method used for 26 of the 27 ratified amendments, with the only exception being the 21st Amendment (Prohibition repeal).
State Ratifying Conventions
Each state holds a special convention to vote on ratification. Used only once, for the 21st Amendment in 1933. Congress chose this method specifically because it believed state legislators might not vote to repeal Prohibition even if their constituents wanted it.
The Full Process, Step by Step
Step 1
Introduction in Congress
A member of the House or Senate introduces a joint resolution proposing an amendment. In a typical Congress, approximately 200 such resolutions are introduced. The vast majority die in committee without a vote.
Step 2
Committee Review
The resolution is referred to the relevant committee, usually the Senate or House Judiciary Committee. The committee may hold hearings, mark up the text, vote it out of committee, or simply let it die without action. Most proposals end here.
Step 3
Floor Vote in Both Chambers
If a committee reports the resolution favorably, it goes to the full chamber for a vote. Both the House and Senate must approve the identical text by a two-thirds supermajority. No presidential signature is required. The president has no formal role in the constitutional amendment process.
Step 4
Sent to the States
Once both chambers approve the text, the Office of the Federal Register transmits the proposed amendment and its congressional resolution to the governors of all 50 states, who pass it to their state legislatures. Congress may set a deadline for ratification, typically seven years, but this is not required by the Constitution.
Step 5
State Ratification
Each state legislature votes on the proposed amendment. States may ratify in any order. There is no deadline for action unless Congress set one. A state that votes no may later vote yes. Whether a state that votes yes may later rescind its ratification is legally unsettled, though historically, rescissions have generally not been recognized by Congress.
Step 6
Archivist Certification
Once 38 states have ratified, the Archivist of the United States certifies that the amendment has been ratified and publishes it in the Federal Register. The amendment immediately becomes part of the Constitution upon certification.
Did You Know?
The 27th Amendment, which prevents Congress from giving itself an immediate pay raise, was proposed in 1789 alongside the Bill of Rights. It was not ratified until 1992, 203 years later, after a University of Texas student named Gregory Watson discovered it and launched a grassroots campaign.
The president has no formal role in the amendment process. Presidents may advocate for or against proposed amendments, but their signature is not required and their veto does not apply.
Congress has only set ratification deadlines since the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) in 1917. Four amendments pending with the states have no deadline at all and are technically still open for ratification.
Only 33 proposed amendments have ever been approved by Congress and sent to the states. Of those, 27 were ratified and 6 were not. The six failed amendments cover the Congressional Apportionment Amendment (1789), Titles of Nobility (1810), the Corwin Amendment on slavery (1861), Child Labor (1924), the ERA (1972), and D.C. Voting Rights (1978).