You must be at least 35 years old to be President of the United States.

Quick Scoop: Basic Rule

  • The U.S. Constitution says a president has to have “attained to the age of thirty five years.”
  • That means you can run earlier in the cycle, but you must be 35 by the time you actually take office on Inauguration Day.

Other Requirements (Not Just Age)

Along with being 35, the Constitution also requires:

  • You must be a natural-born U.S. citizen (generally, a citizen at birth).
  • You must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

So the full constitutional checklist is:

  1. Natural-born U.S. citizen.
  2. At least 35 years old.
  3. At least 14 years a resident of the United States.

Why 35 Years Old?

  • The framers wanted a minimum level of maturity and experience , higher than for Congress (25 for the House, 30 for the Senate).
  • This was meant to make sure the person in charge of the executive branch had enough life and public experience to handle crises and lead the country.

In today’s politics, people sometimes debate whether 35 is too low, too high, or just right, especially when comparing very young candidates with much older presidents.

TL;DR: To be U.S. president, you have to be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old , and have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

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