Article V of the United States Constitution explains how the Constitution may be amended. It sets out the process for proposing amendments and the process for ratifying them.
Text of Article V
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
-Article 5 Section 1 Clause 1
What Article V Does
Article V provides the constitutional process for changing the Constitution. It explains how amendments can be proposed either by Congress or by a convention called at the request of the states, and how those amendments become valid once ratified by the required number of states.
Historical Importance
Article V is one of the most important structural provisions in the Constitution because it creates a lawful way to change the nation’s governing document without abandoning it entirely. It reflects the framers’ effort to make the Constitution stable, but not impossible to adapt.
It also includes important original limits, including a protection for equal representation of the states in the Senate unless a state consents otherwise.
Source Note
The wording above reflects the historic text of Article V of the United States Constitution.