Washington Protocol
The Order of Precedence
The official ranking of United States government officials for diplomatic, ceremonial, and state functions.
Published by the Department of State, Office of the Chief of Protocol · February 2022
The Apex of Power
When in own state
Leadership, the Court & the Cabinet
Or their widows/widowers; by seniority of assuming office
Or their widows/widowers; by seniority of assuming office
When at post. See also 29a.
When at post. See also 29c.
When at post
When in session
When at the United Nations
When not in session
In order of presentation of credentials to the President
Ranked by date of appointment
Ranked by date of appointment
Unless they resigned; ranked by date of appointment
Cabinet-rank as designated by the President
Cabinet-rank as designated by the President
Cabinet-rank as designated by the President
Cabinet-rank as designated by the President
Cabinet-rank as designated by the President
Cabinet-rank as designated by the President
Cabinet-rank as designated by the President
Cabinet-rank as designated by the President
Cabinet-rank as designated by the President
By length of service; if the same, by state's date of admission into the Union or alphabetically
When outside their own states; by state's date of admission into the Union or alphabetically
By length of service; if the same, by state's date of admission into the Union or alphabetically
Non-voting members from American Samoa, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands; by length of service
Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands; by date of entering U.S. jurisdiction
Senior Officials & the Diplomatic Corps
When at the White House or accompanying the President
When at post
In order of date of assumption of position
By seniority of assuming office
By seniority of assuming office
By leadership position, then length of service
By length of service
CIA, NSF, NASA, USAID, NRC, OPM, MCC, DFC; ranked by agency creation date
By length of service
By department establishment date
FBI, Secret Service, FAA, Customs and Border Protection, and others; by department establishment date
Army, Marine Corps, Naval Operations, Air Force, Space Operations; by date of appointment
By date of assumption of command
USITC, Ex-Im Bank, FCC, GSA, Peace Corps, USTDA, NFAH, NARA, MSPB; ranked by agency creation date
When in own state
Of cities in U.S. States, D.C., and U.S. Territories; when in own city
IDB, IMF, NATO, PAHO, OAS, World Bank, UN; when not at post; ranked by date of establishment
Federal Courts, Military & Civil Service
By length of service
By length of service
On official business in the United States
By date of appointment
By department establishment date
Nominated and confirmed but not yet presented credentials
Ranked by length of service
Ranked by length of service
Vice Chief of Staff, Army; Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps; Vice Chief of Naval Operations; Vice Chief of Staff, Air Force; Vice Chief of Space Operations
By seniority
Chaplain, Party Secretaries, Secretary of the Senate, Sergeant at Arms, Parliamentarian
Chaplain, Chief Administrative Officer, Clerk of the House, Sergeant at Arms
Lieutenant Generals and Vice Admirals; by seniority; retired rank after active duty
When in own state; ranked by length of service
When in own state; ranked by length of service
In order of presentation of credentials at first post
About the Order of Precedence
The Order of Precedence is published by the Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol at the U.S. Department of State. It establishes the order and ranking of U.S. leadership for official events at home and abroad, drawing on the U.S. Code, statute and executive order, established tradition, and the recommendations of the Chief of Protocol.
It is not the presidential line of succession. The two lists are frequently confused and they diverge immediately: succession places the Speaker of the House second and the President pro tempore third, while precedence places them fourth and thirteenth. State describes the order as advisory — a guide for seating and ceremony, not a legal chain of authority.
The document uses sub-numbering (6a, 6b, 13a–f, etc.) where multiple positions share the same protocol tier. The Secretary of State ranks separately at 8; the balance of the Cabinet shares rank 12. Within Congress, Senators outrank Representatives, and seniority determines order within each chamber — and note that the entire Cabinet precedes both, an ordering that surprises most people.
On editions: this table reproduces the February 2022 edition in full (all 201 entries). The State Department’s precedence page currently redirects to an earlier revision dated November 3, 2017, which numbers several tiers differently — most visibly, the Cabinet sits at rank 11 there and 12 here, because the 2022 edition inserts UN leadership at rank 9. Two office names inherited from the source are also out of date: the U.S. Court of Military Appeals became the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in 1994, and the U.S. Court of Claims became the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in 1982.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Chief of Protocol.
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