To be a senator in the United States, there are three qualifications set by the Constitution:
- The person must be at least thirty years old.
- The person must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years.
- The person must be an inhabitant of the state from which he or she is elected.
The Constitution does not require any specific educational or work background for a person to become a senator. However, the Senate Qualifications Clause expressly requires inhabitancy at the time of the election, and the Senate determines whether Senators-elect meet the required qualifications to be seated in the Senate. It is also worth noting that the Senate qualification requirements are more strenuous than those for the House of Representatives, which requires only that Members be twenty-five years of age and a citizen for at least seven years.
