{"id":30976,"date":"2022-07-29T13:06:05","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T18:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/constitution\/amendment22.html"},"modified":"2022-07-29T13:06:05","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T18:06:05","slug":"amendment22","status":"publish","type":"constitution","link":"https:\/\/constitution.findlaw.com\/amendment22.html","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-Second Amendment: Presidential Term Limits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Twenty-Second Amendment: Presidential Term Limits<\/h1>\n
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\n By Samuel Strom, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Edward Maggio, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last reviewed\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

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For over 150 years, the Constitution did not explicitly prohibit presidents from serving more than two terms in office. However, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt won his fourth election in a row, Congress proposed the 22nd Amendment, which prohibits presidents from serving more than two terms.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

The 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution restricts presidents to serving only two terms in office. Historically, presidents voluntarily adhered to this two-term limit for over 150 years. However, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s election for the fourth term prompted Congress to start drafting an amendment to formalize presidential term limits.<\/p>\r\n

The states ratified the 22nd Amendment on February 27, 1951. The constitutional amendment limits the term of the United States president to two four-year terms and establishes several other limits on presidential service time.<\/p>\r\n

This article outlines the 22nd Amendment and the historical context culminating in its ratification.<\/p>\r\n

What the Twenty-Second Amendment Says<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

The 22nd Amendment states the following:<\/p>\r\n

"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.<\/i><\/p>\r\n

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."<\/i><\/p>\r\n

What It Means<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

The main takeaways from the 22nd Amendment are as follows:<\/p>\r\n