There is a minimum age to serve in Congress, but no maximum. Representatives must be at least 25 and senators at least 30.
The Constitution says a representative must be at least 25 years old and a senator at least 30. It also requires seven years of citizenship for the House and nine for the Senate, and that members live in the state they represent when elected. Nothing in the Constitution sets an upper age limit.
Sources: U.S. Constitution, Article I, Sections 2 and 3.
At the start of the 119th Congress in January 2025, the average age was 57.9 for House members and 63.9 for senators, according to the Congressional Research Service. Pew Research Center, which reports the median instead of the average, found 57.5 in the House and 64.7 in the Senate, with the Senate median down from 65.3 at the start of the previous Congress. These numbers describe the Congress at its start, so they will change when the 120th Congress is seated in January 2027, after the November 2026 election.
Sources: Congressional Research Service, Membership of the 119th Congress: A Profile (R48535); Pew Research Center, Age and generation in the 119th Congress (January 2025).
There is no single cause, but analysts commonly point to a few. House and Senate incumbents who run for reelection win the large majority of the time, so someone first elected in their 40s or 50s can stay for decades. Seniority also matters: longer-serving members tend to hold committee leadership and more influence, which gives them reasons to stay. And campaigns are expensive, so candidates with established networks and name recognition often have an easier time raising money. Voters ultimately decide who serves, which is part of why people disagree about whether age is a problem at all.
Sources: OpenSecrets incumbency data; Congressional Research Service.
Not without amending the Constitution. The same 1995 Supreme Court decision that blocks state-level term limits, U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, says states cannot add qualifications for Congress beyond the ones the Constitution lists. That has not stopped some from trying. In June 2024, North Dakota voters approved a measure that would bar candidates who would turn 81 during their term, and legal experts widely expected it to face a court challenge. The same year, the Utah Supreme Court kept a similar age-limit initiative off the ballot, ruling that it was foreclosed by Thornton.
Sources: U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (1995); Utah Supreme Court ruling on the proposed age-limit initiative (2024); North Dakota Secretary of State election results (June 2024).
Is there a maximum age to serve in Congress?
No. The Constitution sets minimum ages only: 25 for the House and 30 for the Senate.
How old do you have to be to serve in Congress?
At least 25 for the House of Representatives and at least 30 for the Senate.
What is the average age of Congress?
At the start of the 119th Congress, the average age was 57.9 in the House and 63.9 in the Senate, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Can a state set its own age limit for Congress?
Under the Supreme Court's 1995 Thornton decision, states cannot add qualifications for Congress beyond those in the Constitution, so a state age limit would likely be struck down if challenged.
.svg)