3 U.S.C. § 20

§ 20 Resignation or refusal of office

The only evidence of a refusal to accept, or of a resignation of the office of President or Vice President, shall be an instrument in writing, declaring the same, and subscribed by the person refusing to accept or resigning, as the case may be, and delivered into the office of the Secretary of State.

Read this section in the full act → · Open CHAPTER 1-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND VACANCIES →

Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. Read the official text ↗

Text of the U.S. Code 2024 Edition (govinfo), imported 2026-07-04. Amendments enacted after the 2024 Edition are not reflected.

United States government works (U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations) are in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.

Continue your research

THE PRESIDENT, full textChapter navigation and full text, so you can read this section in contextUS legislation U.S. Federal Laws by type and yearGrouped by instrument type and year of enactment, so you can find others of the same kindBrowse by type and year CHAPTER 1-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND VACANCIES — read this in contextThe surrounding text of the act in order, so you can see what comes before and afterChapters and sections