Stephen Turner
Akash Kumar
Jordan Lee
Taylor Scott
What is a point of order in a meeting?
A point of order is how any member tells the chair that the meeting's rules are being broken. Under Robert's Rules you can raise it without waiting to be recognized, and the chair must rule on it before business continues.
The short answer
A point of order calls the group's attention to a rule being violated. You might say: "Point of order. The motion on the floor hasn't been seconded."
It isn't really a motion, and you don't need to be recognized by the chair to make it. Instead, it requires the chair to rule on whether the point is right before the meeting moves on.
When to raise one
Raise a point of order when the procedure in front of the group breaks its adopted rules. Many councils and boards adopt Robert's Rules of Order and add their own rules on top.
- A vote is called on a motion that was never seconded, when the rules require a second.
- Someone speaks a second time on a motion before everyone else has had a turn.
- The group starts on a new main motion while another one is still pending.
- A quorum is no longer present, but the meeting keeps voting.
The quorum example
Robert's Rules treats a quorum as present until someone says otherwise. Any member who notices that a quorum is missing should raise a point of order, at a moment when no one else is speaking.
Debate can carry on, but substantive business can't be done without a quorum. A point of order about a missing quorum usually doesn't undo earlier votes, unless there is clear and convincing proof no quorum was present.
What the chair does, and how to appeal
The chair decides whether the point is correct. If it is, the chair fixes the procedure, for example by ruling a motion out of order. If it isn't, business carries on.
The group can overrule the chair. A member moves to appeal, someone seconds it, and the chair asks: "Shall the decision of the chair stand as the judgment of the group?" A tie upholds the chair.
What a point of order is not
- Parliamentary inquiry: a question about whether an action would be in order, not a claim that a rule was broken.
- Point of information: offering or asking for information the group needs, not a chance to debate.
- Division of the assembly: a demand for a more exact vote count than a voice vote, such as a show of hands.
Sources & further reading
Keep readingWhat does it mean to table a motion? →