Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

It is free to become a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

Alcoholics Anonymous uses a 12-step program that has been successful since being founded in 1935. It operates on the notion that you are powerless to your addiction.

You must be willing to admit your faults and make amends before living an alcohol-free life. These 12 steps combined with the support from fellow AA members and your sponsor help you to quit drinking.

No, you don’t have to be religious to join Alcoholics Anonymous. The only requirement is that you have a desire to stop drinking alcohol. AA welcomes people from all different religious backgrounds and spiritual beliefs, including adherents of atheistic or secular beliefs.

The chair usually opens the meeting with the A.A. Preamble and a few remarks. Some call for a moment of silence and/or recite the Serenity Prayer. The chair will often ask if there are any people new to A.A. attending the meeting who would like to introduce themselves. It isn’t mandatory to identify yourself but it might be helpful if you are attending your first meeting. Many meetings begin with a reading from the Big Book — frequently a portion of Chapter 5 (“How It Works”) or Chapter 3 (“More About Alcoholism”). A statement about anonymity in A.A. as a valuable privacy principle for new and longtime members might be read. Many meetings close with members joining in a moment of silence followed by a prayer, or perhaps by reciting the Responsibility Statement or other A.A. text.

Two of A.A.’s traditions address anonymity. The Eleventh Tradition states that our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films. The Twelfth Tradition says that Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

Anonymity is often referred to as the greatest single protection the Fellowship has to assure its continued existence and growth.

At the personal level, anonymity provides protection for all members from identification as alcoholics, a safeguard often of special importance to newcomers.

At the level of press, radio, TV, films, and on the Internet practicing anonymity stresses the equality of all A.A. members. Maintaining anonymity at this level puts the brakes on those who might otherwise exploit their A.A. affiliation to achieve recognition, power, or personal gain.

As the long form of Tradition Three clearly states, “Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.”

Further clarification of an A.A. group may be found in the Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept Twelve, Warranty Six:

• no penalties to be inflicted for nonconformity to A.A. principles;
• no fees or dues to be levied — voluntary contributions only;
• no member to be expelled from A.A. — membership always to be the choice of the individual;
• each A.A. group to conduct its internal affairs as it wishes — it being merely requested to abstain from acts that might injure A.A. as a whole; and finally
• that any group of alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group provided that, as a group, they have no other purpose or affiliation.

Traditionally, most A.A. members through the years have found it important to belong to one group that they call their “home group” for instance the Ross Avenue Group.

This is the group where they accept service responsibilities and try to sustain friendships. And although all A.A. members are usually welcome at all groups and feel at home at any of these meetings, the concept of the home group has still remained the strongest bond between the A.A. member and the Fellowship.

With membership comes the right to vote on issues that might affect the group and might also affect A.A. as a whole — a process that forms the very cornerstone of A.A.’s service structure. As with all group-conscience matters, each A.A. member has one vote; and this, ideally, is voiced through the home group.

Over the years, the very essence of A.A. strength has remained with our home group, which, for many members, becomes our extended family. Once isolated by our drinking, we find in the home group a solid, continuing support system, friends and, very often, a sponsor. We also learn firsthand, through the group’s workings, how to place “principles before personalities” in the interest of carrying the A.A. message.

Most A.A. members meet in A.A. groups as defined by the long form of our Third Tradition. However, some A.A. members hold A.A. meetings that differ from the common understanding of a group. These members simply gather at a set time and place for a meeting, perhaps for convenience or other special situations. The main difference between meetings and groups is that A.A. groups generally continue to exist outside the prescribed meeting hours, ready to provide Twelfth Step help when needed.

A.A. groups are encouraged to get listed with G.S.O., as well as with their local offices: area, district, intergroup or central office. A.A. meetings can be listed in local meeting lists.

“The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking” (Tradition Three). Thus, group membership requires no formal application. Just as we are members of A.A. if we say we are, so are we members of a group if we say we are.

Tradition Nine says “A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.” The trusted servants are sometimes called “officers” and usually are chosen by the group for limited terms of service.

As Tradition Two reminds us, “Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.” Each group determines the minimum length of sobriety for A.A. members to be eligible for any position (or office). The general guideline might be stable sobriety of six months to a year, or longer.

These service positions may have titles. But titles in A.A. do not bring authority or honor; they describe services and responsibilities. And it has generally been found that giving members service positions solely to help them stay sober does not work; instead, the group’s welfare is of primary concern in choosing officers.

• Chairperson.
• Secretary.
• Treasurer.
• Intergroup (central office) representative.
• Literature representative.
• Hospitals and Institutions (H&I) representatives.
• Public Information (P.I.) representatives.
• Cooperation with the professional community (C.P.C.) representatives.
• Accessibilities representative.
• Other positions (Website, Programs, Meeting schedule coordinator, greeter, archivist, etc).

Chairperson: Group chairpersons serve for a specified period of time. Experience suggests that they should have been sober awhile, at least a year; and, ideally, they have held other group offices first.

The chairperson coordinates activities with other group officers — and with those members who assume the responsibility for literature, hospitality, coffeemaking, programming individual meetings within the group, and other vital functions.

The more informed that chairpersons — and other group officers — are about A.A. as a whole, the better they function. By keeping Tradition One firmly in mind and encouraging members to become familiar with all the Traditions, they will help to ensure a healthy A.A. group.

Secretary: Like chairpersons, secretaries need to be good all-around group servants. For groups that have no chairpersons, they may perform the tasks associated with that position. While each group has its own procedures, the secretary is generally expected to:

• Announce and/or mail information about important A.A. activities and events.
• Maintain minutes of business meetings.
• Maintain and update a strictly confidential file of names, addresses and telephone numbers of group members (subject to each member’s approval); and know which members are available to visit stillsuffering alcoholics (Twelfth Step calls).
• Keep a record of members’ sobriety dates, if the group so wishes.
• Maintain a bulletin board for posting A.A. announcements, bulletins and newsletters.
• Make certain that the General Service Office and other service entities are informed, in writing, of any changes of address, meeting place or group officers.
• Accept and assign calls for Twelfth Step help (unless there is a Twelfth Step chairperson for this task).
• Share with group members the mail from other groups and the intergroup (central office), unless this is done by the intergroup representative.

Treasurer: A.A. groups are fully self-supporting through their members’ voluntary contributions. Passing the basket at meetings usually covers the group’s monetary needs, with enough left over so the group can do its fair share of supporting the local intergroup (central office), the general service district and area offices, and the General Service Office. Group funds ordinarily are earmarked for such expenses as:

• Rent.
• A.A. literature.
• Local meeting lists, usually purchased from your nearest intergroup (central office), general service district or area committee.
• Coffee and refreshments.
• Support of all A.A. service entities, usually on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Treasurers generally maintain clear records (a ledger is helpful) and keep their groups informed about how much money is taken in and how it is spent. They may make periodic reports to the group and post financial statements quarterly.

Intergroup (central office) representative: In the many locations where an intergroup (or central office association) has been formed, each group usually elects an intergroup representative, who participates in business meetings with other such representatives several times a year to share their groups’ experience in carrying the A.A. message. The intergroup representative tries to keep the group well-informed about what the local intergroup is doing.

Literature representative: The group’s literature representative makes certain that A.A. Conference approved books and pamphlets, ordered from the General Service Office or purchased from the local intergroup (central office), are on hand for meetings and properly displayed.

Group literature representatives can obtain information on their responsibilities by writing to the literature coordinator at G.S.O. Regular communications are sent to literature representatives from G.S.O. The A.A. Guideline for Literature Committees is also a valuable resource.

For A.A. literature and subscriptions to the A.A. newsletter Box 4-5-9, checks should be made out to A.A. World Services, Inc. Many A.A. groups purchase bulk subscriptions to Box 4-5-9 (in units of 10) for distribution to their members, thus providing them regular communication with A.A. in the U.S., Canada and countries throughout the world.

Hospitals and Institutions (H&I) representatives: take A.A. meetings into hospitals, treatment centers, prisons and jails, where allowed by either the hospital or treatment facility staff or the correctional facility, to help alcoholic patients and inmates recover and prepare for sober, fulfilling lives after release.

The H&I representatives work to help hospitals and treatment center staffs better understand A.A., and to take the A.A. tools of recovery to alcoholics in treatment. As part of the temporary contact program known in some areas as Bridging the Gap, they may also serve as correspondents and as A.A. contacts when alcoholic patients are discharged or when the inmates are released.

Public Information (P.I.) representatives: usually work with the local intergroup (central office), district or area P.I. committee to carry the A.A. message locally. They periodically inform their home groups of local activities and may arrange for group volunteers to participate in P.I. programs requested by schools, businesses, law enforcement agencies and other organizations interested in the A.A. approach to recovery from alcoholism.

Most groups realize that alcoholics can’t come to A.A. for help unless they know where we are. Using many suggested methods ranging from personal contact to public service announcements on radio and TV, groups and their members reach out, working within the framework of Tradition Eleven. Sometimes a small sign saying “A.A. meeting tonight” outside the meeting-place door points the way. And from A.A.’s earliest days, radio announcements and small newspaper announcements of A.A. meetings have been used to attract alcoholics in need of help.

Cooperation with the professional community (C.P.C.) representatives: Group cooperation with the professional community (C.P.C.) representatives, usually working with their local intergroup (central office), district or area C.P.C. committees, focus on cooperation but not affiliation with professionals in the community — educators, physicians, the clergy, court officials and others who often are in contact with active alcoholics. They keep their home groups informed of area C.P.C. activities and, when appropriate, arrange for group volunteers to join together in carrying the A.A. message at professional meetings, seminars, and more. (In some groups, the functions of the C.P.C. and public information representatives are combined.)

Accessibilities representative: The accessibilities representative may coordinate any needed assistance to those alcoholics who face additional personal barriers to accessing the A.A. message within their home group. Many accessibilities representatives find it beneficial to communicate with their intergroup (central office) when trying to reach those facing such challenges. Some areas or districts have accessibilities committees, as well.

For some A.A. members, a six-inch step can be an insurmountable obstacle. A locked access door, a blocked ramp or parking problem can make it impossible to get to a meeting. Some members are ill, homebound or living in retirement or convalescent homes, others have hearing or vision loss, learning, reading or information-processing challenges, and still others are elderly, use wheelchairs or canes, or have other mobility concerns Literature may be hard to understand Childcare issues may make it impossible to attend regular meetings. Remote geography or cultural differences may hinder contact with other members.

Accessibility issues apply to all alcoholics who have difficulties participating in Alcoholics Anonymous, whether those difficulties are mental, physical, geographic, cultural, ethnic, spiritual or emotional.

A wide variety of accessibilities material is available that can help in this effort, including literature in braille, American Sign Language (ASL), and easyto-read pamphlets in English, as well as in other languages, in regular and large print.

A.A. is organized under the “General Service”. To help explain the General Service, we will use an up-side down triangle with the A.A. groups on top having the final authority and the General Servcie Board (which includes the A.A. World Services and the A.A. Grapevine) occupying the narrow bottom part of the triangle.

The upside-down triangle is divided into six sections; each represents a trusted servant tasked with helping to make the conscience of the groups known. Known to whom? Known to the entities that occupy the rest of the triangle that are charged with managing the affairs of “A.A. as a whole.”

It might be helpful to think of general service as a kind of dialogue or communication between the groups, the trusted servants working on their behalf, and the General Service Office and General Service Board as they all manage the Fellowship’s affairs. Questions, concerns, viewpoints and proposals travel from the groups “down the triangle”—and information and proposals head back “up the triangle” to the groups. And the communication continues.

The “General Service” functions can be explained under the following six sections;

The Group – The group meets to form a group conscience on proposed changes or actions on matters relating to A.A. as a whole. The group’s elected general service representative, or GSR, is tasked with:
1. Making sure the group’s conscience is heard and fully considered at the district and the area and
2. Becoming part of the delegate’s thinking at the Conference.

The District – Groups are organized into districts, generally collections of groups located near one another. The GSRs in each district elect the district committee Member (DCM), who becomes part of the area committee.

The Area – The area holds periodic assemblies that include GSRs and DCMs as voting members. Assembly schedules and agendas are based on local autonomy and group conscience. Information about them can often be obtained from DCMs or other area trusted servants. The area handles a wide range of concerns, and one of the most important functions is electing the delegate to represent the area at the annual General Service Conference.

The Delegate & The Conference – Area delegates make up at least two-thirds of the Conference body. Other members making up the General Service Conference are 21 trustees, both nonalcoholic (Class A) and alcoholic (Class B); directors of A.A. World Services and Grapevine; and A.A. staff at G.S.O., Grapevine and La Viña, bringing the total number of Conference members to approximately 135.

At the annual Conference, matters of importance to A.A. as a whole are considered and discussed. Items approved by a two-thirds majority of Conference members become Conference Advisory Actions; they are referred to the trustees of the General Service Board for disposition.

After the Conference meeting: Each delegate reports back to their area on Conference proceedings and the approved Conference Advisory Actions and additional committee considerations. Each GSR, having had the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of their delegate, is responsible for informing their group on the Conference outcome.

The Trustees – Twenty-one trustees of the General Service Board, both nonalcoholic (Class A) and alcoholic (Class B), have custodial oversight of A.A.’s two operating corporations:

• A.A.W.S., Inc., which employs G.S.O. personnel, directs G.S.O. services, and is responsible for A.A.’s website (aa.org) and broad publishing efforts.

• AA Grapevine, Inc., which employs editorial and business personnel and publishes A.A.’s magazines, Grapevine and La Viña, and other related items across its digital platforms (aagrapevine.org).

After the Conference meeting, the trustees review the Conference Advisory Actions and refer them to the appropriate trustees’ committees, G.S.O. or AA Grapevine for implementation. The trustees report back through their quarterly reports on what steps they have taken.

The General Service Office (G.S.O.) in New York provides services for the entire A.A. Fellowship in the U.S. and Canada. Intergroup/central offices exist to serve the local groups in their general area. Each intergroup/central office is autonomous and is part of a network of service outlets and A.A. contacts. While the offices are an important part of A.A., they are not part of the general service structure or a satellite of G.S.O.. The vital services they provide include maintaining local meeting information, providing meeting lists and other literature, maintaining websites with local information, and responding to phone calls and other inquiries from those seeking help.

An AA group may become involved in the “General Service” by selecting one of its members to be its General Service Representative (GSR). The GSR is the link between the group and “A.A. as a whole.” This link becomes a channel through which news, information, opinions and ideas can flow back and forth. Importantly, this also gives the group a voice in the affairs of the Fellowship. The GSR is that voice.

There is more than one way for GSRs to express their group’s thoughts and wishes — their conscience — in general service.

When the GSR is present at assemblies, the group’s voice is heard. When the GSR participates, the group’s voice is heard. It can be through a GSR sharing the group’s concerns across a conference table from other GSRs in a district meeting. When the GSR votes, the group’s voice is heard. The GSR votes on the trusted servants to lead the district and the area as well as the delegate to represent the area at the annual General Service Conference meeting.

The GSR ought to;-
1. Regularly attend district meetings, participate by voicing the groups thoughts and wishes and voting where necessary on behalf of the group.

2. Regularly attend area assemblies and voice the groups conscience and vote.

3. Regularly make reports to the group. These reports serve as an important link to A.A. as a whole.

4. Participating in district and area service meetings is a great way to learn about all that A.A. and general service have to offer to help carry the A.A. message.

5. Work with the group treasurer to develop Seventh Tradition support for the General Service Board, the area and the district.

6. Keep the group up to date on the latest A.A. literature and service material.

7. Supply the DCM or district registrar with up-to-date group information, which is relayed to G.S.O., either directly to the Operations department or through the area registrar in order to keep contact information current for G.S.O. mailings and possible Twelfth Step opportunities.

8. Serve as the mail contact with the General Service Office; receive the G.S.O. bulletin and keep groups abreast of A.A. activities all over the world.

9. Keep the alternate GSR informed and involved with all the latest information for the group.

The district committee member, or DCM, plays a vital role in general service. While the GSR is the voice of a group, the DCM is the voice of a district. A district needs a leader. The GSRs will look to the DCM for guidance on being GSRs and serving their groups. They will look to the DCM to lead on forming an agenda for district activities. They’ll want to be inspired and encouraged, but not told what to do.

A DCM who can set their own opinions aside in favor of listening and supporting the district’s GSRs and of understanding and advancing the conscience of the district’s groups is practicing two important principles of leadership in A.A.: leading by example and serving with humility.

The DCM learns the thoughts, wishes and needs of the district’s groups in different ways. Many districts set aside time in their meetings for GSRs to give reports on what’s happening in their groups. This gives the DCM the opportunity to listen, to ask questions and to make suggestions (and to follow up to see if the suggestions helped).

The DCM also learns by visiting and communicating directly with the groups. Here, the DCM is serving as a resource — and not as a replacement for a GSR. In a group without a GSR, the DCM may be able to open a line of communication. Sometimes this stimulates interest within the group to want a GSR of their own.

The group conscience is the collective conscience of the group membership and thus represents substantial unanimity on an issue before definitive action is taken. This is achieved by the group members through the sharing of full information, individual points of view, and the practice of A.A. principles. To be fully informed requires a willingness to listen to minority opinions with an open mind.

On sensitive issues, the group works slowly — discouraging formal motions until a clear sense of its collective view emerges. Placing principles before personalities, the membership is wary of dominant opinions. Its voice is heard when a well-informed group arrives at a decision. The result rests on more than a “yes” or “no” count — precisely because it is the spiritual expression of the group conscience. The term “informed group conscience” implies that pertinent information has been studied and all views have been heard before the group votes.