How to Amend the U.S. Constitution via Article V Convention: A Complete Guide

Table of Contents#

1. What Is the Article V Amendment Convention?
2. Core Constitutional Rules for the Convention Process
3. Step-by-Step Breakdown of How a Convention Works
4. Common Misconceptions About Amendment Conventions
5. Notable Modern Efforts to Call a Convention
6. Pros and Cons of Using the Convention Method
7. Final Takeaways
8. References

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What Is the Article V Amendment Convention?#

Drafting the Constitution in 1787, the Framers wanted to ensure the document could evolve with the nation, but also that the federal government could not block reforms that served the public good. As Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 85, the state-led convention method was added to Article V because the country "may safely rely on the disposition of the State legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority." Similarly, James Madison noted in Federalist No. 43 that the Constitution "equally enables the general and the State governments to originate the amendment of errors."

Article V outlines two equal paths to propose constitutional amendments:

1. The congressional path: Used for all 27 existing amendments, requires a two-thirds vote of approval in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
2. The convention path: Requires two-thirds of U.S. state legislatures (34 of 50 current states) to submit formal petitions to Congress requesting a convention to propose amendments.

No Article V convention has ever been successfully called in U.S. history, though multiple efforts have come within a small number of state applications of hitting the 34-state threshold.

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Core Constitutional Rules for the Convention Process#

The U.S. Constitution only explicitly outlines three binding rules for the amendment convention process, leaving most operational details to be resolved by Congress, states, and potentially the Supreme Court:

1. 34-state threshold for calling a convention: Congress shall (a mandatory legal duty) call a convention for proposing amendments when two-thirds of state legislatures submit valid applications.
2. Same ratification requirement as congressional amendments: Any amendment proposed at an Article V convention must be ratified by three-quarters of U.S. states (38 of 50) to take effect, either via state legislative votes or state ratifying conventions (Congress chooses which ratification method is used).
3. Equal legal standing for amendments: Amendments proposed via convention carry the exact same legal weight as amendments proposed by Congress, once ratified.

All other rules, including delegate selection, convention voting thresholds, and application matching requirements, are not defined in the Constitution and remain the subject of ongoing legal debate.

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Step-by-Step Breakdown of How a Convention Works#

While operational details are not fully defined, legal scholars and congressional analysts have outlined the generally accepted process for calling and running an Article V convention:

1. State application submission: State legislatures pass formal, binding petitions to Congress requesting a convention. Applications may be limited to a single specific topic (e.g., a balanced budget amendment) or for an open convention with no topic restrictions. A key unresolved legal question is whether applications must be for the exact same topic to count toward the 34-state threshold.
2. Congressional application verification: The Clerk of the U.S. House and Secretary of the Senate track all submitted state applications. When the 34-state threshold is met (per whatever interpretation of application matching is upheld), Congress must pass a formal call for a convention.
3. Delegate selection: Each state sets its own rules for selecting convention delegates. Common proposed frameworks include popular election of delegates, appointment by state legislatures, or a mix of both. Most state-level convention bills include rules to recall delegates who vote outside of the scope the state specified in its application.
4. Convention convening: Delegates meet in a national location (likely Washington, D.C.) and vote to set their own internal rules, including voting procedures. Most legal experts agree the convention will use a one-state, one-vote rule, aligned with the Framers’ intent to prioritize state equal standing, but this is not guaranteed.
5. Amendment voting: Delegates debate and vote on proposed amendments. The generally accepted threshold for approving an amendment for ratification is a two-thirds vote of state delegations, though this is not constitutionally required.
6. State ratification: Approved amendments are sent to the states for ratification. As with congressionally proposed amendments, amendments take effect only once 38 states ratify them.

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Common Misconceptions About Amendment Conventions#

1. A convention will inevitably become a "runaway" body that rewrites the entire Constitution#

While a "runaway convention" is a chief concern for opponents, the actual risk is highly debated.

Critics and some legal scholars argue that because Article V provides no guidelines for how a convention would be structured or run, delegates could claim sovereign authority to write their own rules and propose sweeping revisions beyond the original call. They point to the 1787 Constitutional Convention—which bypassed its mandate to revise the Articles of Confederation and instead drafted a new Constitution—as a historical precedent.

Proponents, however, argue that the ultimate safeguard lies in the ratification process. Any amendment proposed by a convention must still be ratified by 38 states (three-fourths) to become law. Given that only 27 amendments have been ratified in U.S. history, a highly partisan or radical proposal is extremely unlikely to achieve such broad consensus.

2. Congress can ignore state applications for a convention#

While Article V states that Congress "shall" call a convention once the 34-state threshold is met, indicating a mandatory duty, how this would be enforced is a major unresolved constitutional question. Some scholars believe the Supreme Court could step in, while others argue that the political question doctrine might prevent federal courts from ordering Congress to act, potentially leading to a constitutional crisis if Congress refuses to recognize the applications.

3. We have never come close to calling a convention#

While no convention has ever been held, several campaigns have come remarkably close to the two-thirds threshold (which is 34 states today).

In the early 20th century, the movement for the direct election of U.S. senators reached 27 state applications (just short of the 31-state threshold required at the time). The credible threat of a state-led convention pressured Congress to bypass the convention and propose the Seventeenth Amendment itself in 1911.

Later, in the 1980s, the campaign for a Balanced Budget Amendment reached 32 state applications, just two states shy of triggering a convention.

• Note: While 23 states passed term limits on their own congressional delegations in the early 1990s, these were state laws struck down by the Supreme Court in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995) rather than Article V convention applications. The modern Article V campaign specifically for congressional term limits is a distinct effort that has gained 14 states as of 2026.

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Notable Modern Efforts to Call a Convention#

As of 2026, four major efforts to call an Article V convention are active across U.S. state legislatures:

1. Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA): The longest-running active effort, first launched in the 1970s. As of 2026, 28 states have submitted applications for a convention to propose a BBA, though at least 7 states have passed resolutions to rescind their previous applications. Whether states can legally rescind an application, and whether Congress must recognize rescissions, remains an unresolved constitutional question.
2. Convention of States Project: A conservative-led campaign calling for a convention focused on three areas: imposing fiscal restraints on the federal government, limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and implementing term limits for federal officials. As of 2026, 20 states have passed the project's resolution (with Kansas becoming the 20th state to pass it in January 2026).
3. Congressional Term Limits (Single-Subject): Led by the advocacy group U.S. Term Limits, this campaign seeks a convention limited strictly to proposing term limits for members of Congress. As of 2026, 14 states have passed this specific, single-subject application, which is distinct from the broader multi-subject Convention of States resolution.
4. Campaign Finance Reform: A progressive-led effort to call a convention to propose an amendment overturning the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision, which lifted restrictions on corporate political spending. While 22 states have formally called on Congress to propose a campaign finance amendment via the traditional route, only 5 states (California, Vermont, Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island) historically applied for an Article V convention specifically for this purpose. Of those, Illinois and New Jersey subsequently rescinded their applications, leaving 3 active convention petitions.

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Pros and Cons of Using the Convention Method#

Pros#

1. Bypasses congressional gridlock: The process allows states to advance popular, bipartisan reforms that Congress refuses to take up, such as term limits, which consistently earn 70-80% public support but have never passed a congressional vote.
2. Aligns with Framer intent: The convention method was intentionally designed to give states a check on unaccountable federal power.
3. Equal ratification guardrails: All proposed amendments face the same high 38-state ratification threshold, preventing narrow partisan changes to the Constitution.

Cons#

1. Unresolved legal ambiguity: The lack of constitutionally defined rules for delegate selection, application matching, and convention procedures could lead to lengthy, destabilizing legal battles in the Supreme Court.
2. Special interest capture risk: Well-funded lobbying groups could influence delegate selection and convention rules to advance narrow, unpopular amendments that do not serve the public good.
3. Low but non-zero runaway convention risk: While the ratification threshold is high, a convention with no topic limits could propose sweeping changes that gain unexpected momentum in state legislatures during periods of political upheaval.

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Final Takeaways#

The Article V amendment convention is not a fringe procedural trick: it is a core component of the U.S. constitutional system, designed to give states and voters a path to reform when the federal government is unresponsive. As partisan gridlock in Congress continues to block action on widely supported structural reforms, it is likely that efforts to hit the 34-state application threshold will accelerate in the coming years. While valid concerns about the process remain, understanding how the convention works is key to participating in debates about the future of U.S. constitutional reform.

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References#

1. U.S. Constitution, Article V.
2. Madison, J. (1788). Federalist No. 43: The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered.
3. Hamilton, A. (1788). Federalist No. 85: Concluding Remarks.
4. Congressional Research Service. (2023). The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress.
5. National Conference of State Legislatures. (2026). Article V Convention Application Tracker.
6. Brennan Center for Justice. (2022). Risks and Benefits of an Article V Constitutional Convention.