Mandatory retirement

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Mandatory retirement is the compulsory retirement of judges who have reached a specific age determined by a state's constitution. Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have set mandatory retirement ages as of March 2022. In 2003, Vermont established the highest mandatory retirement age at 90 years old.

Federal courts

Federal judges have no mandatory retirement date. They are appointed for life by the president of the United States with confirmation by the United States Senate.

State courts

Mandatory retirement ages by state

List of states

State	Mandatory retirement age	Additional information
Alabama	70	Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 70.
Alaska	70
Arizona	70
Arkansas	Judges who do not retire at 70 lose all earned retirement benefits.	No retirement age; however, judges lose their earned retirement benefits if they choose to seek re-election past age 70.
California	-	No retirement age
Colorado	72
Connecticut	70
Delaware	-	No retirement age
District of Columbia	74
Florida	75	Judges may finish the final term if more than one-half has been served at age 75.
Georgia	-	No retirement age
Hawaii	70
Idaho	-	No retirement age
Illinois	-	Used to be 75, but law was struck down by Illinois Supreme Court in 2009
Indiana	75	No limit for superior court and county court judges.
Iowa	72
Kansas	75	Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 75
Kentucky	-	No retirement age
Louisiana	70	Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 70
Maine	-	No retirement age
Maryland	70
Massachusetts	70
Michigan	70	Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 70.
Minnesota	70	Judges must retire the last day of the month in which they have turned 70
Mississippi	-	No retirement age
Missouri	70/75	Judges other than municipal judges must retire at 70. Municipal judges must retire at 75.
Montana	-	No retirement age
Nebraska	-	No retirement age
Nevada	-	No retirement age
New Hampshire	70
New Jersey	70	Judges serving as Administrative Director of the Courts may apply to defer retirement.
New Mexico	-	No retirement age
New York	70	Judges may finish out year they turn 70. There is no retirement limit for Town and Village Courts.
North Carolina	72	Judges must retire the last day of the month in which they have turned 72
North Dakota	Judges who do not retire at 73 lose all earned retirement benefits.	No retirement age; however, judges lose their earned retirement benefits if they do not apply for retirement before turning 73.
Ohio	70	Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 70
Oklahoma	-	No retirement age; limit may be established by statute.
Oregon	75	Limit may be reduced to as low as 70 by statute or initiative.
Pennsylvania	75	Judges may finish out year they turn 75.
Rhode Island	-	No retirement age
South Carolina	72	No limit for Probate or Municipal Court judges.
South Dakota	70	Judges that turn 70 may serve until the first Tuesday following a Monday of the year following the next state legislature election.
Tennessee	-	No retirement age
Texas	75	Conditions may vary. See Article 5 for more information
Utah	75
Vermont	90	Judges may finish out year they turn 90.
Virginia	73	Judge will be retired 20 days after the regular session of the General Assembly following birthday.
Washington	75	Judges may finish out year they turn 75.
West Virginia	-	No retirement age
Wisconsin	-	The Wisconsin Blue Book 2005-2006 states: "Wisconsin used to have a mandatory retirement age for judges and justices. From 1955 to 1978, judges and justices had to retire at age 70. Since 1977, the Wisconsin Constitution has authorized the legislature to impose a maximum age of no less than 70, but the legislature has not done so."
Wyoming	70

Efforts to change mandatory retirement ages

Court challenges

In 2013, judges in Pennsylvania challenged the constitutionality of the state's mandatory retirement age, claiming it was discriminatory under the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. That challenge was dismissed, first by Judge John E. Jones, III of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, then by a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit. Both dismissals found that the arguments presented during the challenge to the law were unconvincing.

A 2018 challenge to the constitutionality of Michigan's mandatory retirement age claimed that it violated the equal protection clause, with Judge Michael Theile alleging that recent changes in life expectancy and among society had made the rule unnecessary. The case would be dismissed by a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit. The decision cited precedent, finding that society had not changed significantly enough in the intervening time to justify overturning it.

Passed initiatives

• The Pennsylvania Judicial Retirement Age Amendment (2016) raised the mandatory retirement age for justices and judges from 70 to 75.

The ballot included the following language:

"Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to require that justices of the Supreme Court, judges, and magisterial district judges be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75 years?"

• The Texas Proposition 14: The constitutional language created by this proposition allows a justice or judge to serve the remainder of their term despite reaching the mandatory age for retirement.

The ballot included the following language:

"The constitutional amendment permitting a justice or judge who reaches the mandatory retirement age while in office to serve the remainder of the justice's or judge's current term."

PBS television program, Due Process special on Mandatory Retirement

• The Vermont Retirement Age for Judges Amendment: The wording on the ballot was, "Permits the General Assembly to prescribe by law the mandatory retirement age for justices of the Supreme Court and judges of all subordinate courts, not to be less than seventy years of age."

• The Wisconsin Retirement Age for Judges Amendment: This amendment was part of four questions on the April 1977 ballot that sought to reform the Wisconsin court system. Question 5 specifically modified Article VII, Section 24 of the Wisconsin constitution to all the legislature to sets a mandatory retirement age for judges and justices to any age 70 or above.

The ballot included the following language:

"Mandatory retirement age. Shall section 24 of article VII of the constitution be amended, to authorize the legislature to set the age not less than 70 at which a justice or judge must retire?"

• The Washington Judge Retirements Amendment: The section added to the constitution by Amendment 25 says:

"A judge of the supreme court or the superior court shall retire from judicial office at the end of the calendar year in which he attains the age of seventy-five years. The legislature may, from time to time, fix a lesser age for mandatory retirement, not earlier than the end of the calendar year in which any such judge attains the age of seventy years, as the legislature deems proper. This provision shall not affect the term to which any such judge shall have been elected or appointed prior to, or at the time of, approval and ratification of this provision. Notwithstanding the limitations of this section, the legislature may by general law authorize or require the retirement of judges for physical or mental disability, or any cause rendering judges incapable of performing their judicial duties."

Failed initiatives

• Wyoming Constitutional Amendment B, Judicial Retirement Age Measure (2022) was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 8, 2022, ballot in Wyoming. It would have raised the mandatory retirement age from 70 to 75. It was defeated by 61 percent of voters opposing the measure.

• The Oregon Elimination of Mandatory Judicial Retirement Age, Measure 94 (2016) was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 8, 2016 ballot in Oregon. It was defeated by Oregon voters with 36.95 percent of the vote.

• Louisiana voters decided to keep the state's mandatory retirement age for judges in 2014. Louisiana judges must retire when the term during which they turn 70 expires. The Louisiana Mandatory Judicial Retirement Age Amendment sought to do away with that constitutional requirement. The measure was strongly supported in both chambers of the Louisiana legislature.

• Hawaii voters defeated an effort to increase the mandatory retirement age for all Hawaii judges to 80 from the current age of 70 in 2014. The Hawaii Mandatory Retirement Age for Justices and Judges, SB 886 (2014) received almost unanimous support in the Hawaii House of Representatives and Hawaii Senate, and had the support of Governor Neil Abercrombie.

• The New York Mandatory Judicial Retirement Age Amendment, Proposal 6 (2013) was defeated by New York voters in the 2013 election by a vote of 58 percent to 42 percent. The measure would have raised the mandatory retirement age from 70 to 80 for all judges.

• The Ohio Judicial Office Age Amendment appeared on the November 2011 general election ballot in the state of Ohio as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was defeated. The measure would have raised the age of those occupying judicial office from 70 to 76. The measure was debated during the 2011 state legislative session. The measure was sent to the ballot before the end of that year's session.

• The Louisiana Increase Mandatory Age of Retirement for Judges from 70 to 75, Amendment was on the October 1995 ballot in Louisiana. It was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment and was defeated with 37.69 percent of the vote.

See also

• Length of terms of state supreme court justices
• Judicial selection in the states
• How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts