To pass most bills in the U.S. House of Representatives, you need a simple majority of the members who are voting, which in practice is usually 218 votes out of the 435 total seats when all seats are filled and everyone votes.

Basic rule: simple majority

  • The House has 435 voting members when fully seated.
  • For an ordinary bill brought up under normal rules, the bill passes if a simple majority votes “yea.”
  • In practical terms, this is commonly described as “218 votes to pass a bill” when all 435 seats are filled, though the true rule is “more than half of those voting, provided a quorum is present.”

When the number can change

  • If some seats are vacant or some members are absent, the exact number of votes needed can be lower, because the requirement is a majority of those actually voting, not a fixed 218 in every circumstance.
  • For certain special procedures, like “suspending the rules,” the House can require a two‑thirds vote instead of a simple majority, which raises the number of votes needed well above 218 if most members are present.

Special supermajority cases

  • Overriding a presidential veto in the House requires a two‑thirds vote of members present and voting, not just a simple majority.
  • Constitutional amendments and some other rare actions also use higher thresholds, but these are exceptions; ordinary bills still follow the simple‑majority standard.

So for the everyday question “how many votes does the House need to pass a bill?” , the standard answer is: a simple majority, typically 218 out of 435 when everyone is in their seat and voting.

Information gathered from public data available on the internet and portrayed here.