The oath of office of the vice president of the United States is the oath or affirmation that the vice president of the United States takes upon assuming the vice-presidency but before beginning the execution of the office. It is the same oath that members of the United States Congress and members of the president's cabinet take upon entering office.

Before the president-elect takes the oath of office on Inauguration Day, the vice president-elect takes their oath of office. Although the United States Constitution—Article II, Section One, Clause 8—specifically sets forth the oath required by incoming presidents, it does not do so for incoming vice presidents. Instead, Article VI, Clause 3 provides that "all ... Officers ... of the United States ... shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution". Pursuant to Article VI, the 1st United States Congress passed the Oath Administration Act (that remains in effect) which provides that "...the said oath or affirmation ... [required by the sixth article of the Constitution of the United States] … shall be administered to [the President of the Senate]"., , Since 1937, Inauguration Day has been January 20 (was March 4 previously), a change brought about by the 20th amendment to the Constitution, which had been ratified four years earlier. The vice president's swearing-in ceremony also moved that year, from the Senate chamber inside the Capitol, to the presidential inaugural platform outside the building.

The oath is as follows:

Background

The 1st Congress passed an oath act in May 1789, authorizing only U.S. senators to administer the oath to the vice president (who serves as the president of the Senate). Later that year, legislation passed that allowed courts to administer all oaths and affirmations. Since 1789, the oath has been changed several times by Congress. The present oath repeated by the vice president, senators, representatives, and other government officers has been in use since 1884.

When the vice presidency was established in 1789, and for the century that followed, the vice president was sworn in on the same date as the president, March 4, but at a separate location, typically in the United States Senate, where the vice president holds the office of President of the Senate. Up until the middle of the 20th century, the vice president-elect nearly always would be sworn in by the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. Senate which was the outgoing vice president or the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. Sometimes, although not always, a short address would be given by the new vice president to the Senate.

The oath of office has been administered most by the president pro tempore of the United States Senate (last in 1925) for a total of 20 times. Others to give the oath of office include the outgoing vice president (last in 1945) 12 times, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (last in 2025) 11 times, the chief justice of the United States (last in 2001) 6 times, U.S. senators that are not President Pro Tempore of the Senate (last in 1969) 5 times, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives (last in 2005) 4 times, a U.S. judge twice, and a U.S. consul once with one time being unrecorded. Former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger gave the oath the most times with three.

Of the 59 times the oath of office has been administered, 47 times have been at some location in the United States Capitol. The White House has seen 3 oaths of office, and Congress Hall in Philadelphia twice. The following locations all had the oath administered once in that location: Federal Hall, Old Brick Capitol, Havana, Cuba, a private residence in New York, and the Number One Observatory Circle. Reflecting the relative lack of importance of the office in the early 19th century, there are two instances where the location of the vice president's oath of office is unknown.

Due to Vice President-elect William R. King's deteriorating health, a bill signed on March 3, 1853, the last day of the 32nd United States Congress, allowed for the oath to be administered to him as he rested in Havana, Cuba. To date, King's swearing-in as vice president is the only occasion that either a vice presidential or presidential oath of office has been administered on foreign soil.

Oath-taking ceremonies

Date Vice President Location Administered by June 3, 1789(Term began April 21) John Adams 1st Federal HallNew York, New York John LangdonPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate December 2, 1793(Term began March 4) 2nd Congress HallPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania March 4, 1797 Thomas Jefferson 3rd Congress HallPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania William BinghamPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1801 Aaron Burr 4th Senate Chamber, United States Capitol James HillhousePresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1805 George Clinton 5th John MarshallChief Justice of the United States March 4, 1809 6th Unknown with no record given in the Journal of the Senate of the United States Unknown May 24, 1813(Term began March 4) Elbridge Gerry 7th Appeared before the U.S. Senate on May 24, 1813, with a document stating the Vice President already "having taken the oath as prescribed by law" John DavisUnited States District Court Judge March 4, 1817 Daniel D. Tompkins 8th Senate Chamber, Old Brick Capitol John GaillardPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 3, 1821(Term began March 4) 9th Tompkins' Residence, Tompkinsville, Staten Island William P. Van NessUnited States District Court Judge March 4, 1825 John C. Calhoun 10th Senate Chamber, United States Capitol Andrew JacksonU.S. Senator March 4, 1829 11th Samuel SmithPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1833 Martin Van Buren 12th House Chamber, United States Capitol John MarshallChief Justice of the United States March 4, 1837 Richard Mentor Johnson 13th Senate Chamber, United States Capitol William R. KingPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1841 John Tyler 14th March 4, 1845 George M. Dallas 15th Willie Person MangumPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate *March 5, 1849(Term began March 4) Millard Fillmore 16th David Rice AtchisonPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 24, 1853(Term began March 4) William R. King 17th Havana, Spanish Cuba William L. SharkeyU.S. Consul March 4, 1857 John C. Breckinridge 18th Senate Chamber, United States Capitol James Murray MasonPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 2, 1861(Term began March 4) Hannibal Hamlin 19th John C. BreckinridgeVice President of the United States March 4, 1865 Andrew Johnson 20th Hannibal HamlinVice President of the United States March 4, 1869 Schuyler Colfax 21st Benjamin F. WadePresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1873 Henry Wilson 22nd Schuyler ColfaxVice President of the United States March 4, 1877 William A. Wheeler 23rd Thomas W. FerryPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1881 Chester A. Arthur 24th William A. WheelerVice President of the United States March 4, 1885 Thomas A. Hendricks 25th George F. EdmundsPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1889 Levi P. Morton 26th John J. IngallsPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1893 Adlai Stevenson 27th Levi P. MortonVice President of the United States March 4, 1897 Garret Hobart 28th Adlai StevensonVice President of the United States March 4, 1901 Theodore Roosevelt 29th William P. FryePresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1905 Charles W. Fairbanks 30th March 4, 1909 James S. Sherman 31st Charles W. FairbanksVice President of the United States March 4, 1913 Thomas R. Marshall 32nd Jacob H. GallingerPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1917 33rd Willard Saulsbury Jr.President pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1921 Calvin Coolidge 34th Thomas R. MarshallVice President of the United States March 4, 1925 Charles G. Dawes 35th Albert B. CumminsPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate March 4, 1929 Charles Curtis 36th Charles G. DawesVice President of the United States March 4, 1933 John Nance Garner 37th Charles CurtisVice President of the United States January 20, 1937 John Nance Garner 38th United States Capitol Joseph Taylor RobinsonU.S. Senator, Senate Majority Leader January 20, 1941 Henry A. Wallace 39th John Nance GarnerVice President of the United States January 20, 1945 Harry S. Truman 40th White House Henry A. WallaceVice President of the United States January 20, 1949 Alben W. Barkley 41st United States Capitol Stanley Forman ReedAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States January 20, 1953 Richard Nixon 42nd William F. KnowlandU.S. Senator *January 20, 1957 43rd White House William F. KnowlandU.S. Senator, Senate Minority Leader January 20, 1961 Lyndon B. Johnson 44th United States Capitol Sam RayburnSpeaker of the House of Representatives January 20, 1965 Hubert Humphrey 45th John William McCormackSpeaker of the House of Representatives January 20, 1969 Spiro Agnew 46th Everett DirksenU.S. Senator, Senate Minority Leader January 20, 1973 47th Warren E. BurgerChief Justice of the United States December 6, 1973 Gerald Ford 48th House of Representatives Chamber, United States Capitol December 19, 1974 Nelson Rockefeller 49th Senate Chamber, United States Capitol January 20, 1977 Walter Mondale 50th United States Capitol Tip O'NeillSpeaker of the House of Representatives January 20, 1981 George H. W. Bush 51st Potter StewartAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States *January 20, 1985 52nd White House January 20, 1989 Dan Quayle 53rd United States Capitol Sandra Day O'ConnorAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States January 20, 1993 Al Gore 54th Byron WhiteAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States January 20, 1997 55th Ruth Bader GinsburgAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States January 20, 2001 Dick Cheney 56th William RehnquistChief Justice of the United States January 20, 2005 57th Dennis HastertSpeaker of the House of Representatives January 20, 2009 Joe Biden 58th John Paul StevensAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States *January 20, 2013 59th Number One Observatory Circle Sonia SotomayorAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States January 20, 2017 Mike Pence 60th United States Capitol Clarence ThomasAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States January 20, 2021 Kamala Harris 61st Sonia SotomayorAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United StatesJanuary 20, 2025JD Vance62ndBrett KavanaughAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Notes: Entries in the above list with an asterisk (*) indicate the official legal oath of office for terms of office that began on Sunday instead of the public ceremonial swearing-in the following day.

Oath mishaps In 1953, Richard Nixon said "I, Richard M. Nixon, solemnly swear that I will defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic" He also said "that I will faithfully execute the office on which I am about to embark. In 1961, even though the oath was read correctly to him by Sam Rayburn, Lyndon B. Johnson replied "without any mental reservation whatever" instead of "without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion". In 1974, even though Warren E. Burger read the oath correctly, Gerald R. Ford said "of the office" twice, resulting in "and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office, off the office on which I am about to enter." In 1985, former Associate Justice Potter Stewart said "that I take this oath-- this obligation...freely". When George H. W. Bush was supposed to repeat, he said "That I take this obligation freely".