How many amendments does the United States Constitution currently contain?

The United States Constitution currently contains twenty-seven amendments.

The first ten amendments were ratified in 1791 and are known collectively as the Bill of Rights. They protect rights including freedom of religion and speech, due process, and protection from unreasonable searches. The amendment process allows Congress to propose changes and requires ratification by three-fourths of the states.

Congress has proposed thirty-three amendments since the Constitution took effect, but only twenty-seven have been ratified. The most recent amendment, the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, was ratified in 1992. It concerns congressional pay and prevents a change in legislators’ compensation from taking effect until after an intervening election.

The Constitution’s amendment count is sometimes confused with the number of articles, clauses, or proposed amendments. The original Constitution had seven articles, and the Bill of Rights was added after ratification rather than included in the original text. The amendment process is intentionally demanding, which helps explain why the document has changed relatively infrequently.