Constitution
Article II of the United States Constitution
Text from National Archives. Explanation last updated September 29, 2026. How we check this
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In plain English
Article II creates the executive branch. It vests the executive power in a President, sets a four-year term, describes the Electoral College process, lists the qualifications for office, and sets out the President’s powers as commander in chief, in making treaties and appointments, and in taking care that the laws are faithfully executed.
It also describes impeachment: the President, Vice President and civil officers may be removed for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
The text
As printed by the source cited at the end of this page, with its original spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section 3
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section 4
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Explained section by section
Section 1: the executive, the electors and the oath
The executive power is vested in a President who serves four years with a Vice President. Each state appoints electors, as its legislature directs, equal in number to its senators and representatives. The text describes an original voting procedure that was replaced by the Twelfth Amendment in 1804.
The President must be a natural-born citizen, at least thirty-five years old and a resident of the United States for fourteen years. Presidential pay cannot be raised or lowered during a term. The section ends with the oath: to “faithfully execute the Office of President” and to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.” The Twenty-Fifth Amendment now governs succession and disability.
Section 2: military, pardon, treaty and appointment powers
The President is commander in chief of the armed forces, may require written opinions from cabinet heads, and may grant reprieves and pardons for federal offenses, except in cases of impeachment.
With the advice and consent of two thirds of the senators present the President makes treaties, and with the Senate’s advice and consent appoints ambassadors, judges and other officers. Congress may vest the appointment of lesser officers in the President alone, the courts or department heads. The President may fill vacancies during Senate recesses.
Section 3: duties
The President reports to Congress on “the State of the Union,” recommends measures, may convene Congress on extraordinary occasions, receives ambassadors, commissions officers and must “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” The last phrase is the textual basis for the President’s duty to carry out the law.
Section 4: impeachment
The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States can be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Article I gives the House the power to impeach and the Senate the power to try.
Context and current status
The framers spent weeks debating how to build an executive strong enough to act but not a monarch. Hamilton defended a single, energetic executive in Federalist No. 70. Anti-Federalists such as Cato feared that the President’s powers, four-year term and re-eligibility would resemble a king’s.
Current textual status: in force but modified. The Twelfth Amendment changed how electors vote, the Twenty-Second limits terms, and the Twenty-Fifth governs succession and vacancies. The Twentieth Amendment changed when terms begin.
Terms to know
- Electoral College
- The system in which electors chosen by each state elect the President and Vice President.
- Commander in chief
- The President’s role as the highest authority over the armed forces.
- Advice and consent
- The Senate’s role in approving treaties and appointments.
- Pardon
- An act of forgiveness for a federal offense that removes its legal consequences.
- High Crimes and Misdemeanors
- The phrase describing impeachable offenses, generally understood to cover serious abuses of public office.
Common misconceptions
“The President can declare war.”
The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war in Article I, Section 8. The President is commander in chief of the armed forces once they are authorized.
How it connects
Links to related provisions and documents, with the reason each one matters here.
- Federalist No. 70The Executive DepartmentHamilton’s defense of a single executive answers the fears of concentrated power expressed in the ratification debate.
- Anti-Federalist No. 67Cato IV on the PresidencyCato IV argues that the powers and duration of the presidency resemble those of a king.
- Amendment 25Presidential Disability and SuccessionThe Twenty-Fifth Amendment updates Article II’s succession provisions.
- Amendment 22Presidential Term LimitsThe Twenty-Second Amendment limits the number of times a person may be elected President.
Study check
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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.
- The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription — National Archives
- The Interactive Constitution: Article II — National Constitution Center
Educational material, not legal advice. Spotted a mistake? Tell us; corrections change this page’s update date.