A form of privilege, set out in the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, that gives an individual the right to refuse to answer any questions or make any statements that could be used in a criminal proceeding to help establish that the person committed a crime. The Fifth Amendment privilege may be invoked by natural persons only, not by corporations or other business entities (see Braswell v. United States, 487 U.S. 99, 109 (1988)).

A person may exercise the Fifth Amendment privilege in any proceeding, including a:

(See United States v. Balsys, 524 U.S. 666, 672 (1998).)

In a criminal case, a jury is not permitted to draw an inference of guilt from the defendant's failure to testify (see Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 615 (1965)). In a civil case, however, a jury or administrative body is permitted to draw an adverse inference against a party who refuses to testify in response to evidence offered against him (see Baxter v. Palmigiano, 425 U.S. 308, 318 (1976)).

The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination is applicable in state proceedings under the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution (see Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 7 (1964)). Additionally, many states have their own laws that prevent a person from being compelled to provide self-incriminating testimony (for example, CPLR 4501 and Mass. Const. Pt. 1, Art. 12).