Third Reading

In Westminster-style legislatures, a bill typically passes through three "readings" in each chamber. The Third Reading is the last of these stages, occurring after the committee stage and report stage, when the bill's text has been substantially settled. At this point, legislators debate the bill as a whole and take a final vote on whether to pass it.

The scope of debate at Third Reading is usually narrower than at Second Reading. In the UK House of Commons, for example, no substantive amendments can be made at Third Reading — debate is confined to the contents of the bill as amended. In the House of Lords, by contrast, limited "tidying-up" amendments are permitted. In the Parliament of Canada, the Australian Parliament, the Indian Lok Sabha, and many Commonwealth legislatures, similar three-reading procedures apply, though the precise rules differ.

Third Reading serves several functions:

• It provides a final opportunity for members to state their position on the bill as a whole.
• It forces a clear up-or-down vote on the polished text.
• It produces the version that is then "sent up" to the other chamber (or, in unicameral systems, forwarded for royal/presidential assent).

In bicameral systems, a bill must generally pass Third Reading in both chambers in identical form before becoming law. Disagreements between chambers are resolved through mechanisms such as the "ping-pong" process in the UK or conference committees in other jurisdictions.

The United States Congress does not use the term in the same way; while House and Senate rules technically reference three readings, modern practice collapses these into procedural formalities, and the substantive equivalent is the final passage vote. The European Parliament uses a distinct "three readings" procedure under the ordinary legislative procedure, but that refers to successive rounds of negotiation with the Council of the EU rather than internal parliamentary stages.