Constitution
Amendment 25: Presidential Disability and Succession
Text from National Archives. Explanation last updated September 29, 2026. How we check this
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In plain English
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment settles what happens when a President dies, resigns, is removed, or cannot carry out the powers and duties of the office. Section 1 makes the Vice President the President; Section 2 lets the President fill a Vice Presidential vacancy with the approval of Congress; Sections 3 and 4 provide for the Vice President to act as President during a President’s disability.
It was passed by Congress on July 6, 1965 and ratified on February 10, 1967.
The text
As printed by the source cited at the end of this page, with its original spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
Section 1
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Explained section by section
Section 1: the Vice President becomes President
If the President is removed from office or dies or resigns, the Vice President becomes President. This settled a question that arose in 1841, when John Tyler assumed the office after William Henry Harrison’s death, about whether the Vice President actually became President or only acted as President.
Section 2: filling a Vice Presidential vacancy
When the Vice Presidency is vacant, the President nominates a Vice President who takes office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress. It was used in 1973 when Gerald Ford replaced Spiro Agnew, and again in 1974 when Nelson Rockefeller became Vice President after Ford became President.
Section 3: a President declares their own inability
The President may transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House a written declaration that they are unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, and the Vice President then acts as President until the President sends a written declaration that they are able to resume. Presidents have used Section 3 briefly before medical procedures.
Section 4: inability declared by others
The Vice President and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments, or another body Congress creates by law, may declare the President unable to discharge the powers and duties. The President can contest the declaration; if the Vice President and the officers reaffirm it, Congress decides, and a two-thirds vote of both Houses is required to keep the Vice President as acting President. As of this page’s last check, Section 4 has not been invoked.
Context and current status
The amendment was a response to gaps exposed by the death of President Kennedy in 1963 and by earlier cases of presidential illness. It replaced a system in which the Vice Presidency could stay vacant for years and there was no formal way to handle a disabled President.
Current textual status: in force. It modifies the succession provision in Article II, Section 1, Clause 6, as the National Archives notes.
Terms to know
- Acting President
- A Vice President who exercises the powers and duties of the presidency temporarily without becoming President.
- President pro tempore
- The senator who presides over the Senate in the Vice President’s absence, usually a senior member of the majority party.
- Principal officers of the executive departments
- The heads of the cabinet departments.
Common misconceptions
“The Twenty-Fifth Amendment lets a Vice President and cabinet remove a President on their own.”
Section 4 lets them declare a President unable to serve, but the President can dispute it, and Congress must then vote by two-thirds of both Houses to keep the Vice President in charge. Removal from office is done by impeachment under Article II.
How it connects
Links to related provisions and documents, with the reason each one matters here.
- Article IIArticle II of the United States ConstitutionThe amendment modifies Article II, Section 1’s succession clause.
- Amendment 22Presidential Term LimitsThe Twenty-Second Amendment’s successor rule also depends on when a Vice President takes over.
- Article IArticle I of the United States ConstitutionArticle I, Section 3 gives the Senate the power to try impeachments, the separate route for removing a President.
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Sources and corrections
- Text: National Archives. Checked against the source on September 29, 2026.National Archives transcription of the engrossed Constitution, with original spelling and capitalization. The signature block and the Convention's interlineation note are not reproduced.
- Amendments 11-27: A Transcription — National Archives
- The Interactive Constitution: Twenty-Fifth Amendment — National Constitution Center
Educational material, not legal advice. Spotted a mistake? Tell us; corrections change this page’s update date.