Amendment 22 of 27 · 1951
Twenty-second Amendment
Presidential term limits
The one-line version
No one can be elected President more than twice.
The Twenty-second Amendment in plain English
Section 1. No person can be elected President more than twice. If a person has held the office of President, or served as Acting President, for more than two years of a term to which someone else was elected, that person can only be elected President once. This rule did not apply to the President in office when the amendment was proposed.
Section 2. This amendment will not take effect unless ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures within seven years.
Original text, 1951
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.
Phrase by phrase
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice
- No one can win the presidency more than two times.
for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President
- If you serve more than two years of someone else's term,
shall be elected to the office of the President more than once
- you can be elected President only once after that.
this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress
- The limit did not apply to the President in office in 1947, Harry Truman.
Picture it
Example. Not legal advice.
A President resigns with 18 months left in the term, and the Vice President takes over. Because the new President served less than two years of someone else's term, they can still run and win twice. That could add up to about nine and a half years as President. The most this amendment allows is 10 years.
Myth check
MythA President can serve 8 years at most.
FactA person could serve up to 10 years. They would first finish two years or less of another President's term, then win two elections.
MythThe two-term limit has always been in the Constitution.
FactIt was only a tradition until 1951. Franklin Roosevelt won four elections before the limit existed.
Common questions
What does the 22nd Amendment say in simple terms?
No one can be elected President more than twice. A person who serves more than two years of someone else's term can be elected only once. It was ratified in 1951.
Can a president serve three terms?
No, not by election. The 22nd Amendment says no person shall be elected President more than twice. Franklin Roosevelt won four elections before the limit existed. He is the only President to serve more than two terms.
What is the longest a president can serve?
About 10 years. A Vice President who takes over with two years or less left in someone else's term can still win two elections. Serving more than two years of that term allows only one election.
Why was the 22nd Amendment passed?
Franklin Roosevelt won four elections, from 1932 to 1944. Before him, Presidents followed George Washington's two-term tradition, but no law required it. After Roosevelt died, Congress proposed the limit in 1947, and it was ratified in 1951.
Could a two-term president become president another way?
This is debated, and no court has decided it. The 22nd Amendment bars being elected more than twice. Some argue a two-term President could still take over through succession. Others point to the 12th Amendment, which bars anyone constitutionally ineligible to be President from being Vice President.
Go deeper
The scene · 1951
George Washington stepped down after two terms in 1797. Later Presidents followed his example for almost 150 years. Franklin Roosevelt broke that tradition by winning four elections, from 1932 to 1944, and died in office in 1945. Congress proposed a two-term limit in 1947, and it was ratified in 1951.
Back then
Roosevelt led the country through the Great Depression and most of World War II. His supporters said voters should be free to keep a leader they trusted. After his death, many in Congress argued that no President should hold power that long. The amendment turned Washington's tradition into a rule.
More history and context
The Twenty-Second Amendment was ratified on February 27, 1951. It limits Presidents to two elected terms. It was a response to Franklin D. Roosevelt's four election wins in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944. Before him, no President had served more than two terms, following George Washington's tradition. No law required it.
The "more than two years" rule covers a Vice President who takes over during someone else's term. If that person serves two years or less of that term, they can still be elected twice. If they serve more than two years, they can be elected only once.
The amendment did not apply to Harry Truman, who was President when Congress proposed it. Truman ran in the 1952 New Hampshire primary, then decided not to seek another term.
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