There are at least 51 constitutional bills of rights in the United States: the federal Bill of Rights, which is the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and a separate bill of rights inside each of the 50 state constitutions. On top of those, Congress and federal agencies have passed a growing number of statutes that also carry the “Bill of Rights” label, covering areas like veterans’ benefits, taxpayer protections, health insurance, and airline refunds. So the short answer depends on whether you are counting only the constitutional documents or also the legislative ones.
The One Federal Bill of Rights
The federal Bill of Rights is a single document: the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The First Congress proposed twelve amendments on September 25, 1789, and sent them to the states.1National Archives. The Bill of Rights: A Transcription Three-fourths of the states had ratified ten of them by December 15, 1791, and those ten became the Bill of Rights.2National Archives. The Bill of Rights: How Did It Happen?
The ten amendments cover:
- First Amendment: freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and the right to petition the government.
- Second Amendment: the right to keep and bear arms.
- Third Amendment: no forced quartering of soldiers in private homes during peacetime.
- Fourth Amendment: protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
- Fifth Amendment: grand jury indictment for serious federal crimes, no double jeopardy, no forced self-incrimination, and due process before losing life, liberty, or property.
- Sixth Amendment: a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and notice of the charges.
- Seventh Amendment: jury trials in federal civil cases.
- Eighth Amendment: no excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishment.
- Ninth Amendment: rights not listed in the Constitution still exist.
- Tenth Amendment: powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people.3National Archives. The Bill of Rights: What Does It Say
Fifty State Bills of Rights
Each of the 50 state constitutions contains its own bill of rights, often titled a “Declaration of Rights.” These are independent legal documents, and state supreme courts interpret them separately from federal law. That is why the base count sits at 51 rather than one: every American lives under at least two overlapping constitutional charters of rights.
State bills of rights frequently go beyond the federal version. Common additions include:
- Explicit privacy rights, sometimes reaching electronic communications and digital data.
- A right to a legal remedy for anyone who suffers an injury.
- A constitutional right to hunt and fish.
- Detailed rights for crime victims during criminal proceedings.
- Express protections against gender-based discrimination.
Because state constitutions are independent, a state supreme court can read its own bill of rights to protect more than the federal one does. Under the doctrine of adequate and independent state grounds, when a state court rests its decision entirely on the state constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court generally cannot review it. The federal Bill of Rights sets a floor; states can rise above it, but never fall below.
How the Federal Bill Reaches State Governments
Originally, the federal Bill of Rights bound only the federal government. That changed after the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, whose Due Process Clause prohibits any state from depriving a person of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”4National Archives. 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868) Through a process called selective incorporation, the Supreme Court has applied nearly every protection in the Bill of Rights to state and local governments, one right at a time.
A few pieces have never been incorporated and still apply only to the federal government:
- The Third Amendment restriction on quartering soldiers.
- The Fifth Amendment grand jury requirement. States may use a preliminary hearing or other procedures instead.
- The Seventh Amendment right to a jury in civil cases involving more than twenty dollars.
For everything else, your state is held to the same standard as Washington.
Statutory Bills of Rights
The count grows once you leave the constitutional documents. Congress and federal agencies routinely attach the “Bill of Rights” label to ordinary statutes and rules. These are not amendments; they can be changed or repealed by simple majority vote. They still create enforceable rights in the areas they cover, and there is no fixed number of them because new ones are added over time. A few of the better-known examples:
GI Bill of Rights
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 gave World War II veterans college funding, unemployment insurance, and home loans. By 1955, 4.3 million home loans had been granted under the program.5National Archives. Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (1944) Successor versions still provide education and housing benefits to later generations of service members.
Taxpayer Bill of Rights
Federal law directs the IRS Commissioner to ensure employees follow ten specific taxpayer rights, including the right to be informed, the right to quality service, the right to pay no more than the correct tax, the right to challenge the IRS and be heard, the right to appeal in an independent forum, and the right to privacy and confidentiality.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7803 – Commissioner of Internal Revenue; Other Officials The Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent office inside the agency, handles complaints when those rights are violated.
Patient’s Bill of Rights
The Affordable Care Act, sometimes called a Patient’s Bill of Rights, requires insurers to cover pre-existing conditions without surcharge, provide free preventive care, and let young adults stay on a parent’s plan until age 26. It also ended lifetime and annual dollar limits on essential health benefits and gave consumers a right to appeal insurer decisions.7HealthCare.gov. Rights and Protections
Airline Passenger Refund Rights
The Department of Transportation requires airlines to issue automatic refunds when a flight is canceled or significantly changed and you decide not to travel. A significant change includes arrival delays of three or more hours on domestic flights, six hours on international flights, a switch to a different airport, added connections, or an involuntary downgrade. Refunds must return to the original payment method within seven business days for credit card purchases or 20 calendar days for other payments.8US Department of Transportation. Refunds
So What Is the Total?
If you are counting constitutions, the answer is 51: one federal Bill of Rights and 50 state ones. If you also count the legislative and regulatory bills of rights Congress and agencies have created, the total is higher and keeps changing as new statutes are enacted and old ones repealed. What matters in practice is that the federal Bill of Rights sets the national minimum, your state constitution can add more, and specific statutes fill in protections in particular corners of daily life.