To suspend the rules, a member moves to set aside a specific procedural rule for a specific purpose, another member seconds the motion, and the assembly votes without debate. Under Robert’s Rules of Order, suspending a rule of order takes a two-thirds vote; suspending a standing rule takes a simple majority. The suspension covers only the business named in the motion, and the rule returns to force as soon as that business ends.
How to Make the Motion
The motion is designed for speed. It cannot be debated and cannot be amended, so your wording at the moment you rise is the wording the assembly votes on.
- Seek recognition from the presiding officer.
- State the motion with specifics: “I move to suspend the rules and [describe exactly what you want to do].” Tie it to a concrete action, such as taking up an item out of order or letting a non-member address the assembly. Vague requests get ruled out of order.
- Wait for a second from another member.
- The chair puts the question to a vote immediately.
- If the motion carries, the chair announces the rules are suspended and recognizes the member to proceed with the stated business. If it fails, the regular rules stay in effect.
Because there is no amendment stage, precision matters. If someone in the room wants a narrower or broader scope, the only remedy is to vote the motion down and have a member make a new one with different language.
At the two-thirds threshold, exact counting matters, so the chair will often call for a rising vote or a show of hands rather than a voice vote. Abstentions do not count on either side; the fraction is calculated against votes cast.
The Unanimous Consent Shortcut
When the deviation is minor and clearly noncontroversial, the chair can skip the formal motion by asking for unanimous consent: “If there is no objection, we will [describe the action].” Silence authorizes the action without a counted vote. A single objection ends the request, and a member would then need to make the formal motion. Most routine agenda rearrangements and small courtesies to guests happen this way.
Which Rules Can Be Suspended, and by What Vote
The category of rule decides whether suspension is possible at all and what threshold applies. Get this wrong and the motion is out of order before it reaches a vote.
Rules of order govern how the meeting itself runs: order of business, debate limits, voting methods for routine matters. These are the rules most often suspended, and the threshold is two-thirds of the votes cast. Special rules of order the organization has adopted follow the same threshold.
Standing rules are ongoing administrative policies rather than meeting mechanics. Suspending one takes a simple majority.
Bylaws generally cannot be suspended. Two narrow exceptions exist: a bylaw provision that expressly authorizes its own suspension under stated conditions, and a bylaw clause that is purely procedural in character, sometimes called “in the nature of a rule of order.” If a bylaw is the obstacle and neither exception fits, the remedy is a bylaw amendment through the organization’s regular amendment process, not a suspension.
Check your own governing documents for a wrinkle on the denominator. Some organizations require a two-thirds vote “of the members present” or “of the entire membership” rather than of votes cast. When the denominator counts abstainers or absentees, the number you need climbs.
Rules That Cannot Be Suspended
Some limits sit above any vote the assembly can take. Ignoring them can invalidate whatever the group decides while the “suspension” is in effect.
- Laws that govern the organization, including state incorporation statutes and federal regulations. A parliamentary motion cannot override external law.
- The constitution and bylaws, outside the two narrow exceptions above.
- Quorum requirements. A group short of quorum cannot vote to lower the quorum so it can act.
- Rights of absentees. Advance-notice rules and minimum lead times exist to protect members who are not in the room, and a present majority cannot strip them away.
- Fundamental member rights, including the right to attend, to vote, and to a fair hearing. If the bylaws require a ballot vote for elections, the assembly cannot suspend that rule to elect by voice or acclamation, even for an unopposed candidate.
- All rules at once. A blanket motion to “suspend all the rules” is not in order. The motion has to target a specific rule blocking a specific piece of business.
How Long the Suspension Lasts
A suspension is narrow and temporary. It covers only the business named in the motion, and the rule resumes automatically when that business ends, with no further vote or announcement. If the assembly never reaches the suspended item during the meeting, the suspension dies at adjournment. Bringing the same situation up at the next meeting requires making the motion again.
Common Situations
Most uses of this motion are ordinary scheduling matters rather than procedural showdowns:
- A guest speaker can only stay for the first half hour, but reports are scheduled first. Suspend the rules to hear the speaker first.
- Discussion is close to resolution as the standing rule’s end time approaches. Suspend the rules to extend the meeting by a set number of minutes.
- The assembly finished an item and moved on, but new information surfaces in the same meeting. Suspend the rules to return to it.
- A contentious topic has drawn more speakers than the normal comment limit allows. Suspend the rules to add speaking time.
Each of these follows the same pattern: name the specific rule and the specific action, get a second, and vote. When nobody objects, unanimous consent handles it without the counted vote. The motion works precisely because it is narrow, temporary, and tied to something concrete the assembly wants to do right now.