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Title 5 — Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-73

§3331 Oath of office

Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart B— - Employment and Retention › Chapter CHAPTER 33— - EXAMINATION, SELECTION, AND PLACEMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - OATH OF OFFICE › § 3331

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Anyone except the President who is elected or appointed to a federal civilian or military office must take an oath. They must promise to defend and be loyal to the U.S. Constitution, accept the duty honestly without secret plans to avoid it, and carry out the office faithfully. The oath may end with “So help me God.” This does not replace any other oaths required by law.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §3331

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

An individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office of honor or profit in the civil service or uniformed services, shall take the following oath: “I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” This section does not affect other oaths required by law.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 16.R.S. § 1757.
May 13, 1884, ch. 46, §§ 2, 3, 23 Stat. 22. All but the quoted language in R.S. § 1757 is omitted as obsolete since R.S. § 1757 was originally an alternative oath to the oath prescribed in R.S. § 1756 which oath was repealed by the Act of
May 13, 1884, ch. 46, § 2, 23 Stat. 22. The words “An individual, except the President, . . . in the civil service or uniformed services” are substituted for “any person . . . either in the civil, military, or naval service, except the President of the United States”. The second sentence of former section 16 is changed to read, “This section does not affect other oaths required by law.”. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 3331

Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73