The short answer: No court has ever decided whether a President can pardon himself. The Constitution does not address the question directly. In 1974, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that a President cannot, because no one may be a judge in his own case. That opinion is legal advice, not a court ruling.

Can a President pardon himself
Can a President pardon himself?

What the Constitution says

The pardon clause is one sentence: the President “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment” (U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1). It states two limits. The power covers federal offenses only, and it does not apply in cases of impeachment. The clause does not say whether the President may be the person who receives a pardon.

The Justice Department’s 1974 opinion

On August 5, 1974, the Office of Legal Counsel, the part of the Justice Department that gives legal advice to the executive branch, sent the Deputy Attorney General a memorandum titled “Presidential or Legislative Pardon of the President” (1 Supp. Op. O.L.C. 370). It was signed by Mary C. Lawton, Acting Assistant Attorney General. The memo said:

  • No self-pardon. “Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the President cannot pardon himself.”
  • A possible route through the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. If the President declared under Section 3 of that amendment that he was temporarily unable to do the job, the Vice President would become Acting President and could pardon the President. The President could then resign or return to office.
  • Congress. The Justice Department’s position was that Congress generally cannot pass pardon or amnesty laws, because the Constitution gives the pardon power to the President. The memo noted it could be argued that a pardon of the President by Congress would not interfere with that power, since the power does not reach the President himself.

An Office of Legal Counsel opinion guides the executive branch. It is not a decision by a court.

What the Supreme Court has and has not said

The Supreme Court has never ruled on a self-pardon. Its pardon cases point in different directions, and people on both sides of the question cite them.

  • The power is broad. In Ex parte Garland, 71 U.S. 333 (1866), the Court said the power “is unlimited, with the exception stated,” meaning impeachment, and that it can be used before charges, while a case is pending, or after conviction. Those who think a self-pardon could be valid point to that language and to the clause’s single stated exception.
  • A pardon is given to someone. In Burdick v. United States, 236 U.S. 79 (1915), the Court treated a pardon as a grant that must be delivered and accepted. Those who think a self-pardon would be invalid point to this idea of a pardon as something one person gives another, and to the rule that no one may judge his own case.
  • Conditions and limits. In Schick v. Reed, 419 U.S. 256 (1974), the Court said the power “flows from the Constitution alone” and allowed conditions that do not otherwise offend the Constitution.
  • Presidential immunity is a different question. In Trump v. United States, 603 U.S. 593 (2024), the Court decided whether a former President is immune from prosecution for official acts. It described the pardon power as one of the President’s “conclusive and preclusive” powers, which Congress cannot regulate. It did not decide whether a President may pardon himself.

Because no court has ruled, no one can say for certain how a court would decide a self-pardon.

Can a President pardon himself before leaving office?

The answer is the same: no court has decided it, whether before leaving office or at any other time. The 1974 opinion said a President cannot pardon himself, but that an Acting President could pardon the President under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment route described above.

Has any President pardoned himself?

Not according to the official records. The Office of the Pardon Attorney publishes lists of clemency recipients for each President from Richard Nixon to the present. As of October 19, 2026, none shows a President pardoning himself. Here is what the lists show for the Presidents people ask about most:

What this means for everyone else

The self-pardon question does not affect ordinary clemency requests. For anyone else with a federal conviction, a pardon request is a written petition to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, usually filed at least five years after release from prison (28 C.F.R. § 1.2). To learn what a pardon does, see what is a pardon. For the steps, see how to get a presidential pardon. For other limits on the power, see presidential pardon limits.

Criminal Center handles federal cases nationwide, including federal pardon and commutation petitions. No one can promise that the President will grant clemency.