The only place term limits are in the Constitution is in reference to presidential term limits. As of 2021, the other coequal branches of government, the Supreme Court and the Congress do not have a limit to the number of years a member can hold office. The twenty-second amendment imposing presidential term limits was enacted in 1952. This limits the president to two four-year terms for a total of eight years in office unless he or she assumed the position due to a vacancy (the president resigns or dies while in office) in a term that was more than half completed. In this situation, the newly elected president has the potential to be in office up to ten years.

The 22nd Amendment

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.

Who is the longest serving U.S. President?

Throughout the history of our nation, presidents typically limited their own terms to two four year terms for a total of eight years. It wasn’t until Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the longest serving U.S. President, that a president was elected to four terms. FDR died shortly after his fourth election, serving a total of 12 years from 1933-1945. Shortly thereafter (in 1947), the Congress proposed the 22nd amendment and the states ratified it in 1952.