🇺🇸 Term limits in United States

US presidents are limited to two elected four-year terms. The limit has been part of the US Constitution since February 27, 1951, when the 22nd Amendment completed ratification — more than 150 years after George Washington set the two-term precedent by stepping down in 1797.

The limit

The 22nd Amendment, in force since 1951, bars anyone from being elected president more than twice. A vice-president who succeeds to the presidency and serves more than two years of the departed president's term may then be elected only once — making 10 years the absolute ceiling any one person can serve.

Since when

The two-term convention dates to George Washington, who stepped down in 1797 after two terms; the binding constitutional rule dates to February 27, 1951, when Minnesota became the 36th state to ratify the 22nd Amendment.

How it was changed

The amendment was a direct response to Franklin Roosevelt, who was elected four times (1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944) and died in office in April 1945 after breaking a norm that had held since 1797. Congress passed the 22nd Amendment on March 21, 1947, and the states completed ratification on February 27, 1951. No president has been elected more than twice since — every election from 1952 through 2024 has respected the cap.

Key facts

  • Two elected terms of four years each — with a 10-year absolute ceiling for a president who first succeeds mid-term (22nd Amendment, ratified February 27, 1951).
  • Franklin Roosevelt is the only president elected more than twice: four victories between 1932 and 1944.
  • The amendment grandfathered the sitting president — Harry Truman — who nonetheless chose not to seek re-election in 1952.
  • 37 US states also cap their governors' terms in some form — from founding-era state constitutions (Delaware, 1776) through the 1990s reform wave (Arizona, effective January 1, 1993).

How Canada compares

Canada imposes no equivalent limit. No federal law or constitutional provision caps how many terms a Canadian Prime Minister may serve — none has existed since Confederation in 1867. Where the 22nd Amendment gives a US president a hard ceiling of eight years (ten at most), William Lyon Mackenzie King served 21 years 154 days across three stints (1921–1930, 1935–1948).

The contrast runs below the top office too. 37 US states cap their governors' terms in some form (Ballotpedia's state-by-state count, 2026), with limits written into state constitutions from the founding era (Delaware, 1776) through the 1990s reform wave (Arizona, effective January 1, 1993). In Canada, no province has ever capped how long a premier may serve, and the federal government has never capped a first minister: the gap has stood since Confederation in 1867.

The paths to change differ as well. The United States amended its Constitution through Congress (March 21, 1947) and ratification by 36 states (completed February 27, 1951). In Canada, which formula of the Constitution Act, 1982 would apply depends on the amendment's design: a change confined to the federal executive can be enacted by Parliament alone under section 44, while a design touching matters reserved to sections 41 and 42 would also need provincial consent (unanimity under section 41, or the 7/50 formula under section 42). No Prime Ministerial term-limits proposal has been enacted through any of these paths.

Sources

  • US National Archives — Constitution of the United States, 22nd Amendment (ratified February 27, 1951).
  • US Congress — joint resolution proposing the 22nd Amendment (passed March 21, 1947).
  • Ballotpedia — States with gubernatorial term limits (state-by-state table, accessed October 2026).
  • Library of Parliament, ParlInfo — Prime Minister tenures (William Lyon Mackenzie King, 1921–1930, 1935–1948).

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