Yes, you can change an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but only in two ways: pass a new amendment that repeals or overrides the old one, or wait for the courts to reinterpret what the existing text means. Both routes are hard. Since 1789, only 27 amendments have been ratified, and only one has ever been repealed outright.
Repeal by a New Amendment
The most direct way to change an amendment is to ratify another amendment that cancels it. The original words stay in the Constitution as a historical record, but they lose all legal force.
This has happened exactly once. The 18th Amendment, ratified in 1919, banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol nationwide. On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment ended it with a single sentence in its first section: “The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.”1Constitution Annotated. Overview of Twenty-First Amendment, Repeal of Prohibition That remains the only full repeal of a constitutional amendment in American history.2National Constitution Center. Interpretation: The Twenty-First Amendment
Superseding an Earlier Provision
Full repeal is rare. Far more often, a later amendment overrides an earlier provision on a specific point without formally canceling it. The old text stays on the page. The new amendment controls.
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, did this to the original Constitution’s three-fifths clause. Section 2 required House seats to be apportioned by counting “the whole number of persons in each State,” replacing the earlier rule that counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person.3Constitution Annotated. Enumeration Clause and Apportioning Seats in the House of Representatives The three-fifths language still appears in Article I with no legal effect.
Other amendments have worked the same way. The 12th replaced the original system for electing the President and Vice President. The 17th shifted senators from legislative appointment to direct election by voters. The 26th lowered the voting age to 18, modifying the 14th Amendment on that point.4National Archives. The Constitution: Amendments 11-27 None repealed the earlier text. Each simply set a new rule on the same subject.
Reinterpretation by the Courts
An amendment can also change without a single word being altered. Federal courts, and the Supreme Court above all, decide what the text means as new cases arise, and those readings can shift substantially over time.
The Second Amendment is the clearest example. For most of American history, there was genuine debate over whether “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms” protected an individual right or a collective one tied to militia service. In 2008, the Supreme Court settled the question in District of Columbia v. Heller, holding that the amendment “protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”5Justia Law. District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) Two years later, McDonald v. City of Chicago extended that individual right against state and local governments through the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause.6Justia Law. McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
Neither ruling changed the text. Both changed the law. If you are tracking whether an amendment has “changed,” a major Supreme Court decision can matter as much as a new amendment.
What the Amendment Process Actually Requires
Article V sets out two stages, each with a supermajority requirement. The difficulty is deliberate.
Proposal
An amendment can be proposed in one of two ways. Every existing amendment came through the first: a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. The alternative allows two-thirds of state legislatures to call a national convention for proposing amendments, and it has never been used.7Congress.gov. Overview of Article V, Amending the Constitution
Ratification
Once proposed, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Congress chooses between two ratification paths: approval by state legislatures or by state ratifying conventions.8Library of Congress. Constitution of the United States – Article V Every amendment but one has taken the legislative route. Congress used state conventions for the 21st Amendment specifically to sidestep legislators expected to oppose repealing Prohibition.7Congress.gov. Overview of Article V, Amending the Constitution
The President has no role. A proposed amendment does not go to the White House for signature or veto. The Supreme Court confirmed this in 1798 in Hollingsworth v. Virginia, holding that presidential approval is irrelevant to adopting a constitutional amendment.9Justia Law. Hollingsworth v. Virginia, 3 U.S. 378 (1798)
Deadlines and Why Amendments Fail
Since the 18th Amendment in 1917, Congress has attached a seven-year ratification deadline to nearly every proposed amendment.10Constitution Annotated. Congressional Deadlines for Ratification of an Amendment The Supreme Court upheld that authority in Dillon v. Gloss (1921), ruling that Congress can set a reasonable time limit as part of its power over the amendment process.11Legal Information Institute. Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 368 (1921) Miss the deadline without enough state ratifications, and the amendment dies.
Of 33 amendments Congress has proposed, 27 were ratified. Six fell short.12Constitution Annotated. Proposed Amendments Not Ratified by the States
The most contentious failure is the Equal Rights Amendment. Congress approved it in 1972 with a seven-year deadline, later extended to 1982. Only 35 states ratified by that date. Between 2017 and 2020, three more states ratified, reaching 38, which would normally satisfy the three-fourths threshold. But the Archivist of the United States declined to certify the amendment, citing the expired deadline, and a federal appeals court upheld that decision, ruling the states hadn’t shown the Archivist had a duty to certify an amendment past its deadline.13Congress.gov. The Equal Rights Amendment: Background and Recent Legal Developments The ERA’s status remains unresolved, and legislation to retroactively remove the deadline has been introduced in Congress on and off since.
The Convention Route Nobody Has Used
The second proposal path in Article V has stayed dormant for more than two centuries. If two-thirds of state legislatures (currently 34) submit applications, Congress must call a national convention for proposing amendments.8Library of Congress. Constitution of the United States – Article V Any amendments coming out of that convention would still need ratification by three-fourths of the states.
The mechanics are largely undefined. The Constitution says nothing about who the delegates would be, how they would be chosen, or whether a convention could be limited to a single subject. Critics warn of a “runaway convention” that could propose sweeping changes with no clear way to rein in the delegates. Supporters argue it is a needed check on a Congress unlikely to propose amendments that would limit its own power. Multiple campaigns have pushed states to submit applications, but none have crossed the 34-state line.