Amendment 3 of 27 · Bill of Rights · 1791
Third Amendment
Housing soldiers
The one-line version
In peacetime, the government cannot make you house soldiers in your home without your consent.
The Third Amendment in plain English
The government cannot force you to house soldiers in your home during peacetime. During wartime, it can only do so under rules set by law.
Original text, 1791
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Phrase by phrase
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house
- In peacetime, soldiers cannot be given a place to live in anyone's home.
without the consent of the Owner
- The only exception in peacetime is if the owner agrees.
nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law
- In wartime, it can happen only by following rules set by law.
Picture it
Example. Not legal advice.
Imagine the army sends a soldier to your family's home in peacetime and says he will live there. Your family can say no. The government cannot force you to give him a room.
What this means for you
Your home in peacetime
In peacetime, the government cannot make you house soldiers without your consent. The amendment exists because British soldiers were housed in the colonies before the Revolution. The writers wanted to make sure the new government could not do the same.
Your home in wartime
In wartime, soldiers could be housed in homes only by following rules written into a law. The military could not decide on its own.
Why it rarely comes up
The Supreme Court has never decided a case mainly about this amendment. Courts and scholars sometimes point to it as part of a larger idea: that your home is private and protected from the government.
Myth check
MythThe government can use your home for the military whenever it wants.
FactIn peacetime, soldiers cannot be housed in your home without the owner's consent. In wartime, it can happen only under rules set by law.
MythThe Third Amendment has been used in many Supreme Court cases.
FactThe Supreme Court has never decided a case mainly about the Third Amendment.
Common questions
What does the Third Amendment say in simple terms?
It means the government cannot force you to let soldiers live in your home during peacetime without your consent. In wartime, soldiers can be housed in homes only under rules set by law.
Has the Third Amendment ever been used in court?
Rarely. The Supreme Court has never decided a case mainly about it. In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Court named it as one source of a right to privacy. A federal appeals court applied it in Engblom v. Carey (1982).
Why is the Third Amendment in the Constitution?
Because colonists objected to British troops living among them. In the 1760s and 1770s, British laws called the Quartering Acts required the colonies to house and supply soldiers. The Declaration of Independence listed quartering troops as a complaint against the King.
Can the military use my house during a war?
Only under rules set by law. In wartime, the text allows quartering only "in a manner to be prescribed by law." The military cannot simply decide this on its own.
Go deeper
The scene · 1791
In the 1760s and 1770s, British laws called the Quartering Acts required the colonies to house and supply British soldiers. Many colonists saw troops living among them in peacetime as a threat. The Declaration of Independence listed "Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us" as a complaint against the King.
Back then
Colonists had seen British soldiers stationed among them in peacetime. Housing troops cost colonists money and privacy. The writers wanted homes protected from this kind of government demand.
Words that changed
- “quartered”
ThenGiven a place to sleep and live, usually with meals.
NowThe word is rare today. The idea is the same: housing soldiers.
- “Owner”
ThenThe person who owned the house.
NowOne federal appeals court has said it can also cover people who rent their homes.
Key cases
- 1965
Griswold v. Connecticut
Married couples have a right to use birth control; the Court named the Third Amendment as one source of a right to privacy.
More history and context
The Third Amendment was ratified in 1791. It is the least-litigated part of the Bill of Rights, meaning it has been the subject of the fewest court cases. The Supreme Court has never decided a case mainly on Third Amendment grounds.
The best-known case is Engblom v. Carey (1982), decided by a federal appeals court, not the Supreme Court. Striking prison guards in New York were removed from their staff housing, and National Guard members were housed there. The court said National Guard members count as "soldiers" and that renters can count as "owners."
The amendment answers a specific complaint in the Declaration of Independence: that the King had been "Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us." In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Supreme Court named the Third Amendment as one of several sources of a right to privacy.
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