How does a bill become a law?

Where a bill starts

Anyone can suggest an idea for a law, including voters, groups and the president, but only a member of Congress can introduce a bill. In the House, the nonvoting delegates and the resident commissioner can introduce bills too. Bills for raising revenue, such as tax bills, must start in the House. Since 2011, House rules, including those of the 119th Congress (2025–2026), have required a sponsor to file a statement naming the constitutional power that lets Congress pass the bill.

How does a bill become a law

8 steps

CongressA representative or senator
A member files the bill in their own chamber, and it gets a number. Bills for raising revenue must start in the House.
Art. I, § 7, cl. 1; House Rule XII
CongressHouse or Senate committee
The bill is sent to one or more committees. A committee can hold hearings, change the text and vote to send it to the full chamber.
House Rule XII, cl. 2; Senate Rule XVII
CongressThe full chamber
Members debate, may amend the bill and vote on it. In the Senate, ending debate on most bills takes three-fifths of all senators.
Art. I, § 5; Senate Rule XXII
CongressThe second chamber
The bill goes to the other chamber, which can pass it as is, change it or not act on it.
Art. I, § 7, cl. 2
CongressHouse and Senate
If the two versions differ, the chambers trade amendments or use a conference committee. Both must then pass the identical text.
House Rule XXII; Senate Rule XXVIII
CongressPresiding officers of both chambers
The final text is printed as an enrolled bill, signed by the presiding officers of both chambers and sent to the president.
1 U.S.C. § 106; Art. I, § 7, cl. 2
PresidentThe president
The president has 10 days, Sundays excepted, to sign the bill or return it with objections. An unsigned bill becomes law unless Congress’s adjournment prevents its return, which is a pocket veto.
Art. I, § 7, cl. 2
CongressHouse and Senate
Congress can override a returned veto if two-thirds of the members voting in each chamber, with a quorum present, vote to pass the bill again, with each member’s vote recorded by name. A pocket veto cannot be overridden.
Art. I, § 7, cl. 2

Why both chambers must agree on every word

A bill can go to the president only after the House and Senate pass it in exactly the same form. If the Senate changes even one word of a House-passed bill, the House must agree to that change before the bill can move on. The chambers settle their differences in one of two ways. They can send amendments back and forth, or they can form a conference to write one final version.

How the Senate ends debate

Each chamber sets its own rules for debate. In the Senate, a vote to end debate is called cloture. Under Senate Rule XXII, cloture on most bills takes three-fifths of all senators, which is 60 when every seat is filled. Ending debate on a proposal to change the Senate’s rules takes two-thirds of the senators present and voting. After cloture, each senator may speak for no more than one hour in total. These thresholds were in effect as of November 2026.

What the president can do

Once a bill is presented, the president has 10 days, not counting Sundays, to act. Signing it makes it law, while a sends it back to the chamber where it started, along with the president’s objections. If the president does neither and Congress is in session, the bill becomes law without a signature. If Congress has adjourned and that prevents the bill’s return, the bill does not become law, which is called a pocket veto.

Bills, statutes and regulations

A bill that becomes law is called a . The U.S. Code collects the general and permanent federal statutes by subject. Agencies may then write regulations to carry out a statute, but only within the power that statute gives them. Courts can review both statutes and regulations when someone challenges them in a case.

How does a bill become a law?

Key facts

Where a bill starts