What Constitutes a Quorum to Conduct Business at the Meeting?

Robert's Rules of Order has been revised at least a dozen times since 1876.

A quorum is the number of members who must be present to conduct an organization's business. Each organization makes its own rules, and its by-laws or other policies should specify its quorum rule.

Robert's Rules of Order

Most organizations adopt Robert's Rules of Order, first published in 1876, as their guide for managing meetings. Robert's Rules is still in print and is available at most larger bookstores and libraries.

General Rule

Generally, organizations follow Robert's definition of a quorum as one-half of the members present, plus one additional member. For example, when 10 members are present at a meeting, the quorum would be six members. However, any organization is free to designate any number it chooses as its quorum.

Different Rules for Different Purposes

Sometimes, organizations require different quora for different purposes, such as regular business, establishing new policies or issuing public statements. The numbers can vary from one-half plus one to two-thirds, three-quarters or even a full membership.

U.S. Congress

The United States Congress meets its quorum when at least one-half of its members are present during a session. When there are no vacancies, the House of Representatives' quorum is 218 members while the Senate's is 51 members.

References

• The Official Robert's Rules of Order Website
• U.S. House of Representatives: Office of the Clerk: Legislative FAQs
• U.S. Senate: Glossary: Quorum