Skip to content
12 Step National Meetings

How to Start, Register and List an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting

All startup guides · Find Alcoholics Anonymous meetings

U.S. first · Official sources reviewed October 24, 2026

No A.A. meeting listed near you? First check A.A.’s local service contacts: a meeting may exist even if it is missing from our directory. If there is still a gap, you can help bring members together to start a group.

1. Find other members and ask for local help

If you are starting alone, contact the nearest A.A. intergroup or central office and ask for help connecting with members interested in a new meeting. A.A.’s startup guidance describes a need expressed by at least two or three alcoholics, support from other members, a meeting place and literature. Official startup guidance.

2. Agree on the meeting you want to offer

With the organizing members, choose a consistent day, start and end time, language and format. Discussion, speaker and literature-based meetings are options described in A.A.’s meeting overview. Decide whether the meeting is open to observers or closed to people with a desire to stop drinking, and state this clearly in every listing.

For a physical meeting, ask a library, community center or other suitable venue about recurring space, accessibility, costs and access to the room. Confirm permission before advertising an address. For an online meeting, agree on a platform, host and backup host; test admission controls and establish a response to disruptions. These are practical planning suggestions, not a national certification checklist.

3. Prepare the group to run consistently

Read The A.A. Group and its linked handbook with the organizing members. Agree who will open the room, chair, handle literature and keep records of group decisions. Plan how meeting expenses will be met. A.A. has no membership dues or fees and is supported through members’ voluntary contributions. A.A. intergroup explanation of self-support.

Prepare a simple running order using official A.A. materials: welcome, explanation of the format and anonymity, readings, sharing or discussion, announcements and closing. Give a backup member the venue or hosting instructions so one absence does not cancel the meeting.

4. List the group with A.A. and the meeting locally

Use the official G.S.O. New Group Listing Guidelines/Form, following its current submission instructions. Your Area registrar can help with the process and the appropriate district. Obtain the form from A.A. rather than an old third-party copy.

Group records and public meeting listings are separate tasks. Ask your local intergroup or central office how to add the actual meeting schedule and how its information reaches Meeting Guide. Do not assume that sending a G.S.O. form publishes every meeting automatically. Example from Virginia A.A. explaining the distinction—use your own local service office’s process.

5. List the meeting on this website

Use Submit a Meeting and select Alcoholics Anonymous. Follow the shared directory submission checklist. Submission here does not register the group with A.A. or imply its endorsement.

6. Keep people informed

Assign a member to maintain the official local listing and this directory whenever the meeting moves, changes time or closes. Keep a group-controlled public contact or information page current. Ask the group before publishing photographs or identifying information.

Outside the United States

Start with the relevant service office through A.A.’s contact finder. For example, Great Britain has its own startup and registration process; do not apply U.S. forms or local procedures worldwide.

Ready for your next step? Get official A.A. startup help · Submit your established meeting.

12 Step National Meetings is an independent directory. This guide summarizes official resources and adds practical planning suggestions; the fellowship’s current instructions take precedence.

Directory submission checklist

  1. Open Submit a Meeting. It is free, requires no account and sends information for review before publication.
  2. Enter the meeting name, fellowship, day and start time; select the relevant format and attendance type. Supply the public venue address or the meeting link requested for a virtual meeting, plus the location fields shown.
  3. Use a group contact email if available. The separate submitter email is optional and marked private. Do not publish personal home addresses or private contact details.
  4. Read the submission guidelines, confirm the acknowledgment and select Submit Meeting for Review.

Choose the meeting’s Time Zone in the submission form. Enter the local End Time and First Meeting Date if known, and add the organizer’s public meeting page in Official Source URL. Leave optional details blank if unknown; new groups without a public page can request moderator review. Never put a time zone into the street-address field or invent a physical address for an online meeting. If the location fields do not fit, use the site contact page for help. Do not include private access credentials.

Only provide a joining link the organizers have agreed to publish. If a link is restricted or registration is required, contact the directory about using the organizer’s public information or registration page instead. Do not send passwords, screening answers or confidential access instructions through a public listing field.

This directory’s review is separate from fellowship registration and does not establish official recognition. Tell both the official service office and this site when details change or a meeting closes.