Also called the same-elements test. Examination of the statutory elements to determine whether multiple criminal charges arising from the same course of conduct are sufficiently similar that a conviction for more than one offense violates the US Constitution's Double Jeopardy Clause (Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (1932); see also Grady v. Corbin, 495 U.S. 508, 520-22 (1990), overruled on other grounds by United States v. Dixon, 509 U.S. 688 (1993)).

Under the Blockburger test, the government can only prosecute an individual for violating two different statutory provisions arising from a single course of conduct if each offense requires the government to prove an element that it does not have to prove for the other offense. If the test is not satisfied, the Double Jeopardy Clause bars successive prosecutions and additional punishment.