Robert's Rules for Adopting, Amending, and Suspending Rules

By C. Alan Jennings, PRP from Robert's Rules For Dummies

If your group wants to adopt, change, or suspend a rule in the correct Robert's Rules method, this table serves as a handy reference to guide you through the requirements for dealing with each type of rule:

Rule Classifications and Requirements
Class of Rule	Requirements to Adopt	Requirements to Amend	Requirements to Suspend
Charter	Instrument initially adopted by majority vote or as provided by law or chartering authority	As provided in charter	Can't be suspended
Bylaws	Instrument initially adopted by majority vote	As provided in bylaws, or by two-thirds vote with previous notice if bylaws silent	Can't be suspended unless provisions for suspension are included for a particular rule or are clearly in the nature of a rule of order
Special rules of order	Previous notice and two-thirds vote, or a majority of the entire membership	Previous notice and two-thirds vote, or a majority of the entire membership	Two-thirds vote, subject to limitations
Standing rules	Majority vote	Majority vote with notice, two-thirds vote without notice, or a majority of the entire membership	Can't be suspended if application is outside a meeting; can be suspended for the particular session by majority vote if application is in a meeting
Rules of Order (parliamentary manual)	Initially adopted by specifying in bylaws, but may be adopted by special rule of order	Not amendable, but special rule of order or standing rule takes precedence	Two-thirds vote, subject to limitations