What It Takes to Override a Veto: Two-Thirds of Those Voting in Each Chamber

A bill passed by both houses of Congress goes to the president, who has ten days, not counting Sundays, to sign it or send it back. Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution sets that clock. If the president objects, the bill returns to the chamber where it started, along with a message explaining the objections.

That return opens the path to an override. Congress can then try to make the bill law without the president’s signature. Overrides follow a fixed sequence in each chamber, so the order of votes can decide the outcome before the second chamber acts. The steps below cover the ten-day clock, the vote threshold, floor rules, the difference between a regular veto and a pocket veto, and how often Congress has used the power.

The Ten-Day Clock After a Bill Reaches the President

Under Article I, Section 7, a president has ten days, not counting Sundays, to act on a bill after receiving it. The date of receipt therefore sets the deadline. If the president neither signs nor vetoes the bill in that time, it becomes law as if signed. The exception applies when Congress’s adjournment prevents the bill from being returned. In that case the bill does not become law.

When Congress is in session and the president objects, the bill goes back to the chamber where it originated. That chamber enters the veto message in its journal and reconsiders the bill. Neither chamber has to schedule an override vote, and according to the Congressional Research Service, it is not unusual for leaders to forgo one when they do not believe they have the votes.

Article I also covers other measures. Orders, resolutions and other votes that need the approval of both houses also go to the president, except questions of adjournment. He may approve or reject them, and a rejection can be overridden by two-thirds of each house under the same rules that apply to bills.

Overrides Since 1789
The Congressional Research Service’s 2019 update counts 111 overridden vetoes, which it gives as 4.3% of all vetoes. Wikipedia’s summary table gives 112 overrides.

Two-Thirds of Those Voting, With a Quorum Present

Overriding a veto requires two-thirds agreement in each chamber. The Constitution requires the originating house to agree by two-thirds, and then the other house must also reach two-thirds before the bill becomes law.

The Congressional Research Service’s veto override report, updated January 5, 2026, sets the threshold at two-thirds of the members voting, with a quorum present.

The threshold is not two-thirds of all members, so absences change the number of votes needed. It depends on how many members vote, not on total membership. The vote must be recorded. Under Article I, each house decides by yeas and nays and enters the names of members voting for and against in its journal.

House and Senate Floor Rules for an Override

In the House, debate runs under the hour rule and is usually controlled by the committee chair and ranking member. The override vote is recorded electronically and is final, because a motion to reconsider is not in order.

In the Senate, debate usually follows a unanimous consent agreement. The vote must be by roll call. A motion to reconsider is in order only if the override fails.

Cloture on Senate debate requires three-fifths of sworn senators, or 60 if there is no more than one vacancy. Chambers can also refer a vetoed bill to committee, so a direct vote on the override is not guaranteed.

Which Chamber Votes First, and When a Veto Dies

The chamber where a bill began acts first. The House votes first on H.R. and H.J. Res. measures, and the Senate votes first on S. and S.J. Res. measures.

If the originating chamber overrides the veto, the bill and the veto message go to the other chamber, which also votes. If both chambers reach two-thirds, the bill becomes law. The second chamber acts only after the first has succeeded.

If the first chamber does not reach two-thirds, the second chamber never votes on the override. The report says the other chamber cannot consider the bill in that case. A measure dies at the end of a Congress if either chamber does not vote on repassage, so an override must occur before the Congress that received the veto ends.

If the first chamber does not reach two-thirds, the second chamber never votes on the override.

Pocket Vetoes, Which Cannot Be Overridden

A pocket veto happens when Congress adjourns sine die during the ten-day period and the president takes no action. The bill does not become law, and the president issues no formal objections. The Congressional Research Service says that adjournment blocking the bill’s return is what turns the non-action into a pocket veto.

A regular veto, by contrast, is returned with objections to the chamber where the bill originated while Congress is in session. Pocket vetoes cannot be overridden.

According to the Congressional Research Service’s report on regular and pocket vetoes, Congress would have to pass the legislation again as a new bill. That means reintroducing it, passing it in both chambers and presenting it to the president again. The override procedure described in the 2026 update applies to regular vetoes.

How Often Congress Has Overridden Vetoes

The Congressional Research Service’s 2019 update, which covers 1789 to July 18, 2019, counts 2,576 vetoes from 38 of 45 Presidents. Of those, 1,510 (58.6%) were regular vetoes and 1,066 (41.4%) were pocket vetoes. It reports 111 overrides, which it gives as 4.3% of all vetoes and 7.4% of regular vetoes. The figures give 111 overrides against 1,510 regular vetoes, which is 7.4%, and against all 2,576 vetoes, which is 4.3%.

Since 1961, the same update counts 245 regular vetoes, and 38 of them were overridden, or 15.5%. The same report counts 83 vetoes of appropriations bills, of which 12 were overridden, or 14.5%.

Wikipedia’s list of U.S. presidential vetoes gives different totals: 2,597 vetoes, 1,531 of them regular, and 112 overridden. It puts the override rate at 4% of all vetoes and 7% of regular vetoes. The two sets of totals do not match.

Wikipedia’s summary table also lists two regular vetoes, with none overridden, in its row for the 47th president, Donald Trump’s second presidency. The Congressional Research Service update says President Trump had issued two vetoes since taking office in 2017, as of July 2019, and both were sustained. Those were first-term vetoes, so the two accounts cover different periods.