How does a bill become law?
A bill becomes law only after the House and Senate pass the same text. Then the President signs it. Or the President lets it become law without signing. Or Congress passes it over a veto. Here are the steps in plain words, from official sources.
Last checked October 30, 2026.
This guide explains the usual steps. Rules for one bill can differ. A special rule can change them. A unanimous consent agreement can change them too.
Where can you check the official record?
The record is in more than one place. These are the official government sites our pages use.
- congress.gov: bill pages, actions, and bill text.
- api.congress.gov: the same bill data, in a form made for computers.
- bioguide.congress.gov: photos and short bios of members.
- constitution.congress.gov: notes on the Constitution, from Congress.
- govinfo.gov: bills, laws, calendars, and the daily record of floor debate.
- archives.gov: the Constitution, and the office that gives each new law its number.
- house.gov: how the House says a bill moves, from the first step to the President.
- clerk.house.gov: official House roll call votes.
- uscode.house.gov: the official code of federal laws, kept by the House.
- senate.gov: Senate roll call votes and the Senate glossary.
- rules.senate.gov: the Standing Rules of the Senate.
- appropriations.senate.gov: bills and reports from the Senate spending committee.
- gao.gov: watchdog reports for Congress.
How does a bill become law?
A bill becomes law when the House and Senate pass the exact same text. Then one of three things happens. The President signs it. Or the President does not send the bill back in time. The limit is 10 days, not counting Sundays, while Congress is in session. Or each chamber votes by two-thirds to pass the bill over a veto.
Official source: U.S. Constitution, National Archives · How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
1. Introduced. A member of the House or Senate introduces a bill. It gets a number, such as H.R. or S. followed by a number, in the order bills are introduced. Numbering starts over in each two-year Congress.
Sources: house.gov: Introduction and referral · GovInfo: About Congressional Bills
2. In committee. The bill is referred to a committee. The committee can hold hearings and a markup, where members vote on changes. It can then report the bill to the full chamber, with or without changes, or set it aside. A committee that reports a bill may also file a written report. The report explains the bill.
Sources: house.gov: In committee · U.S. Senate: Glossary
3. A floor vote in the first chamber. In the House, a bill usually comes up under a special rule. That rule sets the terms of debate. Or the bill comes up under suspension of the rules. In the Senate, it comes up by unanimous consent, or on a motion to proceed. Passing takes a majority of those voting. Under suspension of the rules, it takes two-thirds.
Sources: house.gov: House floor · How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
4. Sent to the other chamber. The chamber that passed the bill certifies an official copy. That copy is called the engrossed bill. The chamber sends it to the other chamber.
Sources: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo · U.S. Senate: Glossary
5. The second chamber. The other chamber can send the bill to a committee or keep it ready for floor action. The House can hold a Senate-passed bill at the desk. The Senate can place a House-passed bill on its calendar. Either way, it can pass the bill unchanged, change it, or do nothing.
Sources: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
6. Settling differences. If the second chamber changes the bill, the two must agree on one text. They can send amendments back and forth. Or they can name a conference committee to work out a final version.
Sources: house.gov: To the Senate · How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
7. Enrolled and presented. The final text, passed by both chambers in identical form, becomes the enrolled bill. House and Senate officials sign it, and it is presented to the President.
Sources: U.S. Senate: Glossary · house.gov: To the President
8. The President acts. The President can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. See the next questions.
Sources: U.S. Constitution, National Archives · house.gov: To the President
What is a conference committee?
A conference committee is a short-term group of House and Senate members. They settle the differences between the two chambers' versions of a bill. Then each chamber votes on the final version the committee reports.
Official source: U.S. Senate: Glossary · house.gov: To the Senate
What is ping-pong between the House and Senate?
"Ping-pong" is an informal name for sending a bill back and forth. Each chamber may accept the other's amendments. Or it may change them. They continue until both have passed the same text.
Official source: house.gov: To the Senate · How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
Official sources use these words for this step: "for concurrence or additional changes." That path is an alternative to a conference committee.
Sources: house.gov: To the Senate
What can the President do with a bill?
The President can sign it, veto it, or do nothing. The President may do nothing for 10 days, not counting Sundays, while Congress is in session. Then the bill becomes law without a signature.
Official source: U.S. Constitution, National Archives · house.gov: To the President
A veto sends the bill back, with the President's objections, to the chamber where it started.
Sources: U.S. Constitution, National Archives
The 10 days start when the bill is presented to the President, not when Congress passes it.
Sources: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
What is a pocket veto?
A pocket veto happens when the President does not sign a bill. Congress then adjourns. That stop blocks the bill's return within the 10 days. The bill does not become law.
Official source: U.S. Constitution, National Archives · U.S. Senate: Glossary
How Our Laws Are Made says Congress has read this one way. It applies only when a Congress adjourns for good ("sine die"). It does not apply during shorter breaks. The courts have not made a final decision.
Sources: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
Can Congress override a veto?
Yes. Each chamber must vote by two-thirds to pass the bill over the veto. Then the bill becomes law. The President does not sign it.
Official source: U.S. Constitution, National Archives · U.S. Senate: Glossary
Override votes must be recorded by name, as "yeas and nays."
Sources: U.S. Constitution, National Archives · How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
How do you know a bill became law?
An enacted bill gets a public law number. The Office of the Federal Register is part of the National Archives. That office assigns the number. One example is P.L. 119-103, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027. The law is published on GovInfo.
Official source: GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws · National Archives, Office of the Federal Register: Public laws, current Congress
"Passed the House," "passed the Senate" or "presented to the President" is not the same as law.
Did Congress pass it? A list with official links · How to check a bill's status yourself
What happens to bills when a Congress ends?
A bill that Congress has not finished passing when a two-year Congress ends does not carry over.
Official source: U.S. Constitution, 20th Amendment, National Archives · GovInfo: About Congressional Bills · U.S. Constitution, National Archives · How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo · P.L. 116-344 (S. 5076), An Act To authorize the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate to delegate authority to approve payroll and personnel actions
The 119th Congress ends at noon Eastern on January 3, 2027, when the terms of House members end.
Sources: U.S. Constitution, 20th Amendment, National Archives
To move again, it must be introduced in the next Congress, with a new number. A bill already sent to the President is different. The President still has 10 days, not counting Sundays, to sign it. That time can run past January 3. If Congress has ended and the President does not sign, the bill does not become law. This is called a pocket veto.
Sources: U.S. Constitution, 20th Amendment, National Archives · U.S. Constitution, National Archives · How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo · P.L. 116-344 (S. 5076), An Act To authorize the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate to delegate authority to approve payroll and personnel actions
Why do some bills need 60 votes in the Senate?
Passing a bill takes a simple majority. But to end debate on most bills, the Senate first needs a vote to limit debate. That takes three-fifths of all senators sworn in, usually 60.
Official source: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo · U.S. Senate: Voting · Standing Rules of the Senate, Rule XXII · Senate Manual, S. Doc. 117-9, Rule XXII · Congressional Research Service: limiting debate on nominations, R43331 · Congressional Research Service: Supreme Court nominations, R44819 · 2 U.S.C. 641, budget reconciliation debate
There are exceptions. A change to the Senate rules is different. To limit debate on that change takes two-thirds of senators present and voting. Only a simple majority of the votes is needed. That vote is used to limit debate on a nomination. That has been true since 2013, and for the Supreme Court since 2017. Some laws set their own time limits on debate. This kind of bill is a budget reconciliation bill. Debate on it is limited to 20 hours. That bill does not need the 60-vote step.
Sources: Standing Rules of the Senate, Rule XXII · Senate Manual, S. Doc. 117-9, Rule XXII · Congressional Research Service: limiting debate on nominations, R43331 · Congressional Research Service: Supreme Court nominations, R44819 · 2 U.S.C. 641, budget reconciliation debate
What is a voice vote?
In a voice vote, members answer "yea" or "nay" together. The presiding officer announces the result. No individual votes are recorded.
Official source: U.S. Senate: Glossary · house.gov: House floor
What is a motion to proceed?
A motion to proceed is how the Senate starts work on a bill. The bill is already on its calendar. By tradition, the Majority Leader makes it.
Official source: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
What does suspension of the rules mean?
Suspension of the rules is a fast House path. It allows 40 minutes of debate. It bars amendments from the floor. The bill passes only if two-thirds of those voting agree.
Official source: How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
What does placed on the Senate calendar mean?
It means the bill was added to the Senate's Calendar of Business. That list holds bills eligible for floor action. Being on the list does not schedule a vote.
Official source: U.S. Senate: Glossary · GovInfo: About Congressional Calendars
What doesn't this page cover?
- Joint resolutions follow the same path as bills, with one exception. This one amends the Constitution. It is a joint resolution. It does not go to the President. The President plays no role. It needs a two-thirds vote of the members present in each chamber. Then three-fourths of the states must ratify it. A concurrent resolution is one that does not go to the President. A simple resolution does not go to the President. Neither becomes law. Two-thirds of the states can also ask for a convention to propose amendments.
- Spending bills have extra rules. Budget reconciliation bills have extra rules. Other special procedures do too. This guide does not cover those rules.
- How Our Laws Are Made is the 2007 edition. Where a current house.gov or senate.gov page covers the same step, this guide cites both.
Sources
- U.S. Constitution, National Archives
Article I, Section 7, clauses 2-3: passage by both Houses, presentment, the 10 days (Sundays excepted), veto and two-thirds override, yeas and nays
- U.S. Constitution, 20th Amendment, National Archives
Section 1: terms of Senators and Representatives end at noon on January 3
- How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49, 2007 edition), GovInfo
P. 6 (the three ways a bill becomes law; pocket veto); pp. 23-24 (suspension of the rules); pp. 31-33 (voice, division and recorded votes; yeas and nays on a veto override); p. 37 (engrossed bill); pp. 38-40 (Senate: unanimous consent, motion to proceed, Calendar of Business, limiting debate); pp. 41-42 and 49 (returning amended bills; Senate bills held at the Speaker's table); pp. 50-52 (enrollment, the President's 10 days, pocket veto and sine die, veto override, public law number)
- house.gov: Introduction and referral
The Clerk assigns the number; the Speaker refers the bill to committee
- house.gov: In committee
Hearings, markup; reported "with or without amendment, or tabled"; committee reports ("H.Rpt.")
- house.gov: House floor
Special rules; recorded votes; voice votes, where "no record of individual responses is available"
- house.gov: To the Senate
Same form required; back-and-forth on amendments or a conference committee
- house.gov: To the President
Enrolled bill; sign, veto, become law without signature, or pocket veto
- U.S. Senate: Glossary
"Calendar of Business," "conference committee," "engrossed bill," "enrolled bill," "override," "pocket veto," "report," "voice vote"
- U.S. Senate: Voting
Roll-call and voice votes; unanimous consent, "a measure passes so long as no senator objects"; three-fifths to end debate
- GovInfo: About Congressional Bills
Bills are numbered in the order introduced, "starting at the beginning of each Congress"; bill versions through the enrolled version
- GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws
After signing, the Office of the Federal Register assigns a law number; citation format "Pub.L." plus Congress and number
- National Archives, Office of the Federal Register: Public laws, current Congress
Public law numbers as assigned
- GovInfo: About Congressional Calendars
Senate Calendar of Business: prepared by the Legislative Clerk, updated each day in session, bills awaiting floor action, mostly under "General Orders"
- P.L. 116-344 (S. 5076), An Act To authorize the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate to delegate authority to approve payroll and personnel actions
Approved January 13, 2021, after the 116th Congress ended on January 3. Passed the Senate Dec. 20, 2020, and the House Dec. 31, 2020.
- Standing Rules of the Senate, Rule XXII
Paragraph 2: three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn, except two-thirds of senators present and voting to change the Senate rules. After no more than thirty hours of consideration.
- Senate Manual, S. Doc. 117-9, Rule XXII
Same Rule XXII text as the Standing Rules.
- Congressional Research Service: limiting debate on nominations, R43331
2013 precedent: a simple majority of those voting can limit debate on presidential nominations, except Supreme Court nominations at that time.
- Congressional Research Service: Supreme Court nominations, R44819
April 6, 2017: a majority of senators voting, a quorum being present, can limit debate on Supreme Court nominations.
- 2 U.S.C. 641, budget reconciliation debate
Section 641(e)(2): Senate debate on a reconciliation bill is limited to not more than 20 hours.
- National Archives: Constitutional amendment process
One kind of joint resolution amends the Constitution. That resolution does not go to the President. Ratification takes three-fourths of the states (38 of 50).
- National Prohibition Cases, 253 U.S. 350
Two-thirds of the members present, a quorum being present, not two-thirds of the entire membership.
About this guide
This guide covers how bills become law in Congress. It uses House sources and Senate sources. It also uses GovInfo. It also uses the National Archives. It is general background. It does not describe one bill.
Last checked October 30, 2026.
We use AI to help draft these pages. We use official government records. A human reviews each release before publication.
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