The Constitution gives the president “Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” U.S. Constitution
The clemency power includes several related forms of relief, among them a full pardon of an individual, a reprieve for a limited time, amnesty for groups of offenders, commutation of a criminal sentence and remission of fines or penalties. Constitution Annotated
Clemency can be temporary or permanent and partial or complete, and it can be granted any time after a federal crime is allegedly committed. Constitution Annotated
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Presidential Pardon Explorer
Pick whose law the offense is under and, for a federal case, where it stands. The results explain the parts that apply: the kinds of clemency, the Justice Department’s petition rules and waiting periods, what a pardon does and doesn’t do, and the limits on the power. They give the general rules and name key exceptions.
How to answer this
Just learning how clemency works, with no particular case? Choose federal, then the last answer on the next screen.
Choose federal if the U.S. government brought the case, such as in a U.S. district court. Choose state if a state, county or city brought it in a state or local court. Who brought the case decides the answer, even if the program involved gets federal money.
Convicted in both federal and state court? Answer for the federal case. The state conviction is outside the president’s power, as the lines below explain.
A court-martial has its own answer. For criminal contempt of a federal court, choose the fifth answer.
This tool doesn’t cover D.C. Superior Court cases. Choose the last answer, and ask a lawyer.
The Constitution gives the president “Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” U.S. Constitution
Whatever the kind of clemency, the president’s power reaches only “offences against the United States”: federal crimes, not state or civil wrongs. Constitution Annotated
| Kind | What it does | Justice Department petition rule (28 CFR Part 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Pardon | A full or absolute pardon removes any punishment for the crime and restores the person’s civil rights, if any were lost. Constitution Annotated | Under the Justice Department’s rules, no pardon petition should be filed until at least five years after the person’s release from confinement or, if no prison sentence was imposed, at least five years after the conviction. Generally, no pardon petition should be submitted by someone on probation, parole or supervised release. 28 CFR 1.2 |
| Commutation | A commutation replaces the punishment a federal court imposed with a less severe one, such as a shorter prison sentence. A pardon or amnesty, by contrast, may do away with the punishment entirely. Constitution Annotated | A petition for commutation of sentence, including remission of a fine, shouldn’t be filed if other forms of judicial or administrative relief are available, except on a showing of exceptional circumstances. 28 CFR 1.3 |
| Remission of a fine | Remission reduces or cancels criminal fines, penalties and forfeitures arising under federal law. Money already paid into the Treasury, and property in which a third party’s rights have vested, are beyond the president’s reach. Constitution Annotated | A petition for commutation of sentence, including remission of a fine, shouldn’t be filed if other forms of judicial or administrative relief are available, except on a showing of exceptional circumstances. 28 CFR 1.3 |
| Reprieve | A reprieve temporarily delays a criminal sentence. In Ex parte Wells, the Supreme Court described it in passing as a delay of “a judicial sentence when the President shall think the merits of the case, or some cause connected with the offender, may require it.” Constitution Annotated | The Justice Department’s rules require anyone seeking a pardon, reprieve, commutation of sentence or remission of a fine to file a formal petition addressed to the president. Except for military offenses, the petition goes to the Pardon Attorney at the Justice Department. 28 CFR 1.1 |
| Amnesty | Amnesty has essentially the same effect as a pardon, but it is typically extended to whole groups or communities instead of individuals. Constitution Annotated | Not addressed in 28 CFR Part 1 |
- A pardon must be accepted to take effect, and the person offered one may refuse it. The Supreme Court has indicated that a commutation or remission doesn’t require the person’s consent. Constitution Annotated
- The Justice Department’s clemency rules are advisory only. They create no enforceable rights for people applying for clemency and don’t restrict the president’s power under the Constitution. 28 CFR 1.11
The Kinds of Clemency
| Kind | What it does | Justice Department petition rule (28 CFR Part 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Pardon | A full or absolute pardon removes any punishment for the crime and restores the person’s civil rights, if any were lost. Constitution Annotated | Under the Justice Department’s rules, no pardon petition should be filed until at least five years after the person’s release from confinement or, if no prison sentence was imposed, at least five years after the conviction. Generally, no pardon petition should be submitted by someone on probation, parole or supervised release. 28 CFR 1.2 |
| Commutation | A commutation replaces the punishment a federal court imposed with a less severe one, such as a shorter prison sentence. A pardon or amnesty, by contrast, may do away with the punishment entirely. Constitution Annotated | A petition for commutation of sentence, including remission of a fine, shouldn’t be filed if other forms of judicial or administrative relief are available, except on a showing of exceptional circumstances. 28 CFR 1.3 |
| Remission of a fine | Remission reduces or cancels criminal fines, penalties and forfeitures arising under federal law. Money already paid into the Treasury, and property in which a third party’s rights have vested, are beyond the president’s reach. Constitution Annotated | A petition for commutation of sentence, including remission of a fine, shouldn’t be filed if other forms of judicial or administrative relief are available, except on a showing of exceptional circumstances. 28 CFR 1.3 |
| Reprieve | A reprieve temporarily delays a criminal sentence. In Ex parte Wells, the Supreme Court described it in passing as a delay of “a judicial sentence when the President shall think the merits of the case, or some cause connected with the offender, may require it.” Constitution Annotated | The Justice Department’s rules require anyone seeking a pardon, reprieve, commutation of sentence or remission of a fine to file a formal petition addressed to the president. Except for military offenses, the petition goes to the Pardon Attorney at the Justice Department. 28 CFR 1.1 |
| Amnesty | Amnesty has essentially the same effect as a pardon, but it is typically extended to whole groups or communities instead of individuals. Constitution Annotated | Not addressed in 28 CFR Part 1 |
- A pardon must be accepted to take effect, and the person offered one may refuse it. The Supreme Court has indicated that a commutation or remission doesn’t require the person’s consent. Constitution Annotated
What a Pardon Does and Doesn’t Do
- A full or absolute pardon removes any punishment for the crime and restores the person’s civil rights, if any were lost. Constitution Annotated
- In Ex parte Garland, the Supreme Court said a pardon granted before conviction keeps the penalties and disabilities of a conviction from attaching, and one granted after conviction removes them and restores civil rights. Constitution Annotated
- The Supreme Court has said, in passing (in dicta), that a pardon “is in no sense an overturning of a judgment of conviction”; it is “an executive action that mitigates or sets aside punishment for a crime.” Constitution Annotated
- Supreme Court cases in the 1800s suggested a pardon erased the crime entirely, but later cases appear to have backed away from that view: a full pardon rules out punishment for the offense, yet the pardoned offense may still be considered in later proceedings. Constitution Annotated
- In Burdick v. United States, the Supreme Court said a pardon “carries an imputation of guilt; acceptance a confession of it.” Constitution Annotated
- In Carlesi v. New York, the Supreme Court held that a pardoned offense could still be counted “as a circumstance of aggravation” under a state habitual-offender law. A pardon may remove the punishment for a federal crime, but it doesn’t erase the facts of the crime or rule out every later consequence of those facts. Constitution Annotated
- The Supreme Court has said a pardon can relieve a wrongdoer of the punishment the public imposes, but it can’t relieve the wrongdoer of civil liability to the person harmed. Constitution Annotated
- In Knote v. United States, the Supreme Court said a pardon “does not make amends for the past,” and what was done or suffered while the conviction stood is presumed to have been rightfully done and justly suffered. Constitution Annotated
- The Constitution Annotated describes apparent limits: clemency doesn’t undo rights other people have already gained, such as a buyer’s rights in forfeited property that was sold. Money already paid into the Treasury can be returned only by an act of Congress. Constitution Annotated
When a Pardon Can Be Granted
- In Ex parte Garland, the Supreme Court said the pardon power extends to “every offence known to the law” and can be used before legal proceedings are taken, while they are pending or after conviction and judgment. Constitution Annotated
- A pardon can be granted only after the offense is committed, though it can come before any formal proceedings begin. The Constitution Annotated reads this to mean a president can’t grant immunity in advance for future crimes. Constitution Annotated
Limits on the Power
- Clemency can be granted only for “Offenses against the United States,” so state crimes and federal or state civil claims aren’t covered. Constitution Annotated
- The president’s clemency power can’t be used “in Cases of impeachment.” Constitution Annotated
- The Supreme Court has said the Framers made a separate decision that executive clemency should not be available in impeachment cases. Constitution Annotated
- As finally written, the impeachment exception appears to have been understood to bar a pardon even after impeachment proceedings ended. English law had allowed such a pardon. Constitution Annotated
- Clemency can come with conditions. In Schick v. Reed, the Supreme Court said the power allows “any condition which does not otherwise offend the Constitution.” Constitution Annotated
- Congress can’t limit the effect of a pardon or exclude any class of offenders from the power, the Supreme Court held in Ex parte Garland. Constitution Annotated
- Congress has other constitutional tools it may use in relation to the pardon power, such as oversight, impeachment and constitutional amendment, if the legal conditions for each are met. Constitution Annotated
- In Ex parte Grossman, the Supreme Court held that the president may pardon criminal contempt of a federal court, but not civil contempt. Whether that ruling extends to contempt of Congress is an open question. Constitution Annotated
- Whether a president may issue a self-pardon has been debated, but the Supreme Court hasn’t addressed the question. Constitution Annotated
State Crimes, Territories and Military Cases
- Whatever the kind of clemency, the president’s power reaches only “offences against the United States”: federal crimes, not state or civil wrongs. Constitution Annotated
- Petitions for executive clemency must relate only to violations of the laws of the United States. 28 CFR 1.4
- Petitions about violations of the laws of a U.S. possession or territory should go to the appropriate official or agency of that possession or territory. 28 CFR 1.4
- Executive clemency can be sought for a military offense. Under the Justice Department’s rules, the petition should go directly to the secretary of the military department that had original jurisdiction over the court-martial trial and conviction. A form from the Pardon Attorney may be used, modified to fit the case. 28 CFR 1.1
How to Apply Through the Justice Department
- The Justice Department’s rules require anyone seeking a pardon, reprieve, commutation of sentence or remission of a fine to file a formal petition addressed to the president. Except for military offenses, the petition goes to the Pardon Attorney at the Justice Department. 28 CFR 1.1
- Under the Justice Department’s rules, no pardon petition should be filed until at least five years after the person’s release from confinement or, if no prison sentence was imposed, at least five years after the conviction. 28 CFR 1.2
- Generally, no pardon petition should be submitted by someone on probation, parole or supervised release. 28 CFR 1.2
- A petition for commutation of sentence, including remission of a fine, shouldn’t be filed if other forms of judicial or administrative relief are available, except on a showing of exceptional circumstances. 28 CFR 1.3
- The Justice Department has separate clemency procedures for a person under a death sentence imposed by a U.S. district court for a federal offense. 28 CFR 1.10
- A reprieve or commutation of a death sentence imposed by a U.S. district court must be requested by the person under the sentence, or by the person’s lawyer acting with the person’s written and signed authorization. 28 CFR 1.10(a)
- A petition for a reprieve or commutation of a federal death sentence shouldn’t be filed until the direct appeal and the first petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255 have ended. A commutation petition should be filed no later than 30 days after the person receives notice from the Bureau of Prisons of the scheduled execution date. 28 CFR 1.10(b)
- The applicant sends a completed form to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, the Justice Department investigates and recommends how the president should handle the application, and the president decides whether to grant or deny it. Justice Department
- For a pardon request, the office might ask the FBI for a background investigation, and in some cases it asks the U.S. attorney and the sentencing judge for comments. Justice Department
- Applicants get a confirmation with a case number, can check the case status online and can update the application while the case is pending. Justice Department
- The attorney general reviews each petition and reports in writing to the president, recommending whether the president should grant or deny it. 28 CFR 1.6(c)
- Except in death sentence cases, when the attorney general recommends denial and the president doesn’t disapprove or take other action within 30 days, the president is presumed to agree, and the case is closed. 28 CFR 1.8(b)
- The Justice Department’s clemency rules are advisory only. They create no enforceable rights for people applying for clemency and don’t restrict the president’s power under the Constitution. 28 CFR 1.11
Getting Help
This page is a general explanation, not legal advice about any specific case.
For questions about a specific case, contact the Office of the Pardon Attorney or talk to a lawyer.
- The Office of the Pardon Attorney can be reached by email at USPardon.Attorney@usdoj.gov, its preferred contact method, or by phone at 202-616-6070. Justice Department