Precedence of Motions in Robert’s Rules of Order: The 13 Ranked

The precedence of motions in Robert’s Rules of Order is a fixed hierarchy of thirteen motions, ranked from highest to lowest, that tells you which motions are in order while another is pending. The rule is simple: anything ranked above the currently pending motion can be proposed; anything ranked below it cannot. Everything else in parliamentary procedure flows from that single idea.

How the Ladder Works at the Table

When the chair states a motion, it becomes the pending question. From that moment, the only new motions you can introduce are ones that sit higher on the precedence ladder. A motion to amend outranks the main motion, so amending is always in order while a main motion is pending. You cannot, however, introduce a fresh main motion while an amendment is on the floor, because the main motion is at the bottom.

The motions stack. If a main motion is pending and someone moves to amend it, and then someone else moves to refer the matter to a committee, the assembly handles the referral first because it ranks higher than the amendment, which ranks higher than the main motion. Once the top motion is disposed of by vote, withdrawal, or other action, debate returns to the next one down. The group climbs the ladder to deal with pressing procedural needs, then works its way back to the underlying question.

The Thirteen Motions in Order

From highest rank to lowest:

1. Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn (privileged)
2. Adjourn (privileged)
3. Recess (privileged)
4. Raise a Question of Privilege (privileged)
5. Call for the Orders of the Day (privileged)
6. Lay on the Table (subsidiary)
7. Previous Question (subsidiary)
8. Limit or Extend Limits of Debate (subsidiary)
9. Postpone to a Certain Time (subsidiary)
10. Commit or Refer (subsidiary)
11. Amend (subsidiary)
12. Postpone Indefinitely (subsidiary)
13. Main Motion

For any pending motion, everything above it on this list is in order and everything below it is out of order.¹ That rule resolves most precedence questions you will ever face.

The Privileged Tier (Ranks 1–5)

The top five motions have nothing to do with the content of any proposal. They address the operating needs of the assembly itself, which is why they override everything else. Even in the middle of a tense amendment debate, a privileged motion is in order.

Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn sits at the top. It schedules the next meeting without ending the current one. Together with Recess at rank 3, it is amendable (you can propose a different time or duration), but neither is debatable when made while another question is pending.²

Adjourn at rank 2 ends the meeting outright. In its simple, unqualified form it is neither debatable nor amendable. Raise a Question of Privilege at rank 4 handles urgent personal or group concerns during the meeting, such as a room that is too cold or an inability to hear the speaker; the chair rules on whether the concern is serious enough to interrupt business. Call for the Orders of the Day at rank 5 forces the assembly back to its agenda when discussion has drifted. A single member can demand it without a second, and no vote is needed unless the assembly wants to set the agenda aside, which takes a two-thirds vote.

The Subsidiary Tier (Ranks 6–12)

Subsidiary motions are the tools for shaping, delaying, redirecting, or disposing of a main motion before the final vote. Seven of them fill ranks 6 through 12, and their internal order is as important as the gap between them and the privileged tier above.

Lay on the Table at rank 6 is the highest subsidiary motion and the most misused. Its proper purpose is to set aside a pending question temporarily when something more urgent has come up. It is not meant to kill a proposal, though it is often abused that way. If you want to defeat a proposal, the correct tool is Postpone Indefinitely. If you want to delay it, use Postpone to a Certain Time. A tabled motion that is never picked back up dies at the end of the next meeting.³

Previous Question at rank 7 closes debate and forces an immediate vote on whatever is pending, despite a name that suggests otherwise. Limit or Extend Limits of Debate at rank 8 adjusts how long members may speak or how long debate on a question will last overall. Both motions restrict the assembly’s right to deliberate, and both require a two-thirds vote.⁴

Postpone to a Certain Time at rank 9 delays the question to a specific date or point in the meeting. Commit or Refer at rank 10 sends the matter to a committee for further study. Amend at rank 11 changes the wording of the pending motion. Postpone Indefinitely at rank 12 effectively kills the proposal without forcing a direct vote on its merits, which is useful when members want to avoid going on record for or against the substance. Each of these four passes on a simple majority.

Why the Main Motion Sits Last

The main motion sits at rank 13, and that position is the point. A main motion introduces new business, and it can only be made when the floor is clear with nothing else pending. Once the chair states it, every other ranked motion can be applied on top of it: an amendment can reshape it, a referral can send it to committee, an adjournment can halt discussion entirely. The main motion waits at the base until every higher-ranked motion stacked above it has been resolved.⁵

That vulnerability is deliberate. The assembly needs maximum flexibility to shape, delay, or dispose of new business before committing to it. If the main motion outranked amendments or referrals, none of those refinement tools would function.

Motions That Sit Outside the Ladder

Two categories of motions do not have a fixed rank, and treating them as if they fit on the thirteen-motion ladder leads to confusion.

Incidental Motions

Incidental motions arise from whatever business is currently pending and must be resolved on the spot before anything else can continue.⁴ Because they address the legality or correctness of the process itself, they effectively jump to the front of the line whenever raised. Once settled, the assembly picks up where it left off. The most common ones:

Point of Order calls attention to a rule violation; the chair rules immediately with no vote.
Appeal challenges the chair’s ruling and puts the decision to the full assembly. It is debatable, and a majority vote or even a tie sustains the chair.
Suspension of the Rules temporarily sets aside a procedural rule for a specific purpose and requires a two-thirds vote.
Division of the Assembly demands a counted vote (standing or hands) after a voice vote. Any single member can call for it without a second.
Objection to Consideration blocks a main motion from being discussed at all, used when a question is so contentious or irrelevant that the assembly would rather not open the floor to it.

Motions That Bring a Question Back

Several motions exist outside the ranking system entirely. Their job is to revisit decisions the assembly has already made, with eligibility rules that prevent abuse.

Reconsider reopens a vote that has already been taken. Only a member who voted on the winning side may move for reconsideration, which prevents the losing side from immediately relitigating the outcome. Any member may second it. The motion must be made during the same meeting where the original vote occurred, though in multi-day conventions it can extend to the following day. When the original vote was close or decided by voice, it may be hard to tell who voted which way; the standard practice is to accept the motion rather than challenge the member’s eligibility.⁶

Rescind or Amend Something Previously Adopted lets the assembly undo or modify a prior action after the window for reconsideration has closed. With advance notice, a simple majority passes it. Without advance notice, it takes a two-thirds vote, or a majority of the entire membership regardless of notice.⁷

Take From the Table brings back a motion that was previously laid on the table, once at least one item of new business has been handled. It requires a majority vote, is not debatable, and cannot be amended. If nobody moves to take the item from the table by the end of the next regular meeting, the motion dies permanently.³

Vote Thresholds That Travel With the Ladder

Rank tells you when a motion is in order. It does not tell you what it takes to pass. The general principle is that any motion restricting the assembly’s rights, particularly the right to debate, demands more than a simple majority.

Two-thirds vote: Previous Question, Limit or Extend Limits of Debate, Suspension of the Rules, and Objection to Consideration of a Question.
Majority vote: Lay on the Table, Postpone to a Certain Time, Commit or Refer, Amend, Postpone Indefinitely, the Main Motion, and Appeal.
No vote required: Call for the Orders of the Day (enforced by the chair unless the assembly votes by two-thirds to set the agenda aside), Point of Order (ruled on by the chair), and Division of the Assembly (granted automatically on demand).

A common meeting stumble: a member calls the Previous Question thinking a show of hands will close debate, only to find that the motion fails because it did not reach two-thirds. Debate continues, and the moment is lost. If you plan to move to close debate, count the room first.

1
Academic Senate – University of California, Berkeley. Ranking of Motions
2
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension. Thirteen Ranking Motions
3
Cornell University Assembly. Roberts Rules of Order – Simplified
4
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Chart for Determining When Each Motion Is in Order
5
ECIA. Parliamentary Procedure Simplified Based on Roberts Rules of Order
6
Local Government Education (University of Wisconsin-Extension). Reconsidering Main Motions
7
MRSC (Municipal Research and Services Center). Changing Course: Using Roberts Rules to Alter a Prior Action