The Twelve Traditions

Tradition One “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity”.

Tradition Two “For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern”.

Tradition Three “The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking”.

Tradition Four “Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole”.

Tradition Five “Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers”.

Tradition Six “An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

Tradition Seven “Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions”.

Tradition Eight “Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers”.

Tradition Nine “A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve”.

Tradition Ten “Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name out never be drawn into public controversy”.

Tradition Eleven “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”.

Tradition Twelve “Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities”.