<P> Players are currently inducted into the Hall of Fame through election by either the Baseball Writers ' Association of America ( or BBWAA ) , or the Veterans Committee , which now consists of four subcommittees , each of which considers and votes for candidates from a separate era of baseball . Five years after retirement , any player with 10 years of major league experience who passes a screening committee ( which removes from consideration players of clearly lesser qualification ) is eligible to be elected by BBWAA members with 10 years ' membership or more who also have been actively covering MLB at any time in the 10 years preceding the election ( the latter requirement was added for the 2016 election ) . From a final ballot typically including 25 -- 40 candidates , each writer may vote for up to 10 players ; until the late 1950s , voters were advised to cast votes for the maximum 10 candidates . Any player named on 75 % or more of all ballots cast is elected . A player who is named on fewer than 5 % of ballots is dropped from future elections . In some instances , the screening committee had restored their names to later ballots , but in the mid-1990s , dropped players were made permanently ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration , even by the Veterans Committee . A 2001 change in the election procedures restored the eligibility of these dropped players ; while their names will not appear on future BBWAA ballots , they may be considered by the Veterans Committee . Players receiving 5 % or more of the votes but fewer than 75 % are reconsidered annually until a maximum of ten years of eligibility ( lowered from fifteen years for the 2015 election ) . </P>
who votes in the baseball hall of fame
either the Baseball Writers ' Association of America ( or BBWAA ) , or the Veterans Committee ,