Constitution
Article IV of the United States Constitution
Text from National Archives. Explanation last updated September 29, 2026. How we check this
Banaka study guide
In plain English
Article IV governs the relationships among the states and between the states and the federal government. It requires each state to respect the public acts and judicial proceedings of the others, guarantees citizens of each state the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states, provides for admitting new states, and promises every state a republican form of government.
It is the article of “full faith and credit,” interstate extradition, territories and the federal guarantee to the states.
The text
As printed by the source cited at the end of this page, with its original spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
Section 1
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
Section 3
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section 4
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
Explained section by section
Section 1: full faith and credit
Each state must give “Full Faith and Credit” to the public acts, records and judicial proceedings of every other state. It is why a valid court judgment or marriage record in one state is generally recognized in the others.
Section 2: privileges, extradition and the superseded fugitive clause
Citizens of each state are entitled to the privileges and immunities of citizens in the other states, so a state may not generally discriminate against out-of-staters on basic rights. A person charged with a crime who flees to another state must be delivered up on demand of the executive authority of the state from which they fled.
The clause requiring the return of people who escaped from slavery was superseded by the Thirteenth Amendment, as the National Archives notes.
Section 3: new states and territories
Congress may admit new states, but cannot form one inside another state or by joining states without the consent of the legislatures concerned and of Congress. Congress also has power “to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.”
Section 4: the guarantee clause
The United States guarantees every state “a Republican Form of Government,” and promises to protect each state against invasion and, on request of its legislature or executive, against domestic violence. Courts have generally treated questions under the Guarantee Clause as political questions left to Congress.
Context and current status
Article IV addresses problems the Articles of Confederation left unresolved, such as how states should treat each other’s laws and how new states would join. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 had already set out a path to statehood for western territory.
Current textual status: in force, except that the clause on fugitives from labor was superseded by the Thirteenth Amendment. New states have been admitted under Section 3 since 1791, most recently Hawaii in 1959.
Terms to know
- Full Faith and Credit
- The requirement that states honor each other’s public acts, records and court judgments.
- Privileges and Immunities
- Basic rights of citizenship that a state must extend to citizens of other states.
- Extradition
- The surrender of a person accused of a crime to the state that wants to prosecute them.
- Republican Form of Government
- A government in which power is held by the people and exercised through elected representatives.
Common misconceptions
“Each state can refuse to recognize another state’s court judgments.”
The Full Faith and Credit Clause generally requires states to respect each other’s judicial proceedings, subject to narrow exceptions.
How it connects
Links to related provisions and documents, with the reason each one matters here.
- Amendment 13Abolition of SlaveryThe Thirteenth Amendment superseded the fugitive-labor clause in Section 2.
- Articles of ConfederationArticles of Confederation (1777)Article IV of the Articles contained an earlier version of full faith and credit and extradition.
- Amendment 14Citizenship, Due Process and Equal ProtectionThe Fourteenth Amendment later added its own privileges or immunities and equal protection clauses that bind the states.
Study check
Check your understanding of Article IV
Choose an answer, then check it. Scoring happens in your browser; your answers are not sent anywhere.
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 IV — National Constitution Center
Educational material, not legal advice. Spotted a mistake? Tell us; corrections change this page’s update date.