All AA meetings are open to anyone with a desire to stop drinking. You simply have to show up—there are no requirements, expectations, dues, fees, or other rules. If you don’t know where to start, we say: just try some!

If you want more specific answers or directions, AA members are waiting to help you find what you’re looking for, 24/7! Just give the Central Office hotline a call: (505)-982-8932 

No! 

ALL MEETINGS IN THE DIRECTORY ARE OPEN TO ALL ALCOHOLICS! The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking, and an alcoholic should never be turned away from an AA meeting that is publicly listed.

Some meetings were created to provide a safe place for alcoholics who share certain immutable* characteristics and will tend to focus on that specific demographic’s experiences with alcoholism (for example: women’s meetings, men’s meetings, young people’s meetings, people of color meetings, or LGBTQ+ meetings). This is not to exclude certain people from meetings, but to inform fellows of the type of meeting they have chosen to attend.

If you still aren’t sure or have other questions about this, call our Hotline! (505)-982-8932

*Immutable characteristics are qualities that are an innate part of a person that they do not have control over—like alcoholism—and that have a large impact on their experiences.

The Directory seeks to help fellow alcoholics easily find meetings that fit their needs. To include every possible category would make searching for a meeting overwhelming, so we have limited the categories based on the needs and demographics of our fellowship in Santa Fe (but note that these categories have evolved over time!).

If you believe the Directory is missing an important category and would like to submit one for consideration, please email centraloffice@santafeaa.org and let us know.

Note: The Online Directory’s search feature will pick up any words included in a Meeting Name, so you can still search for certain categories that aren’t listed.

Closed meetings are only for AA members. Closed meetings provide an environment for members to be surrounded only by others who have experienced similar situations and struggles, and are often more comfortable settings for newcomers and prospective AAs.

As a member is anyone who attends a meeting who has a desire to stop drinking, you’re a member of AA if you say you are—you don’t need an invitation or any other qualification to attend a closed meeting.

Open meetings are available to anyone interested in Alcoholics Anonymous’ program of recovery from alcoholism. Non-alcoholics may attend open meetings as observers; the only obligation is that all meeting attendees preserve the anonymity of AA members.

No! You aren’t required to do or say anything during an AA meeting. While you are encouraged to share at meetings, you do not have to, even if you are called on. If people don’t wish to speak, they may say something like: “I’m just listening today” or “I’ll pass to . . .”

Providing proof of attendance (like signing court cards) at meetings is not officially part of AA, but many meetings do so. Each group is autonomous and has the right to choose whether or not to sign proof of attendance. (Many groups will make a “court card” announcement. You can also ask a meeting representative to sign the card for you.) 

No! There is no special membership requirement to attend a meeting at a club; they are just like any other AA meeting, so you are always welcome to attend!

Clubs are specific locations that host many meetings. You can usually find meetings and fellowship throughout the day at a club location. 

No! AA is not affiliated with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, or institution. You don’t have to practice a religion to go to a meeting in a church, and you don’t have to buy coffee and pastries if you go to a meeting in a café.

Atheist/Agnostic or Secular AA meetings will not include any religious prayers (like the Lord’s Prayer).

You can still attend these meetings if you believe in God or a Higher Power. 

Yes!

Many non-binary meetings will use the tags “LGBTQ+” or “Transgender” for their meeting type, and then include non-binary in the description. 

Note: Using an umbrella term (at least for now) for meeting types allows these tags to be reflected in the Meeting Guide App, which has a specific set of meeting types that is designated through GSO.

Some meetings might have “non-binary” in their title, so you could search by keyword for those meetings; some LGBTQ+ or Transgender meetings might also specify further they are non-binary meetings on their meeting listing page, so check there too!  

There is generally no smoking allowed during any indoor or outdoor in-person AA meetings, but each group will announce its own specific guidelines about where smoking is or is not permitted as determined by the meeting location.

For virtual meetings, any etiquette-related rules are decided and communicated at the group level.

The term “outside affiliation” comes from Tradition 6.

The short-form of Tradition 6 states: “An AA group ought never endorse, finance or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.”

A group’s primary purpose is defined in Tradition 5: “Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.” 

Thus, as the long-form of Tradition 6 states, “an AA group should never go into business” and should “bind itself to no one.” 

The term “outside issues” comes from Tradition 10. The short-form of Tradition 10 states: “Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.”

While the long-form of Tradition 10 states that these outside issues include controversial issues like “politics, alcohol reform, or sectarian religion,” this same principle can be applied to “all the affairs” of individual members within the fellowship.

For example, no AA member should have an opinion about medication prescribed to you by a doctor. At the group and individual level, AA should be focused on its primary purpose: to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

Note: It is important to note that sharing about an “outside issue” is different from expressing an opinion about an “outside issue;” you are not prohibited from sharing about outside issues if they are impacting your recovery from alcoholism.

The Santa Fe Directory lists AA meetings only, and these meetings will focus solely on recovery from alcoholism. However, you do not have to be only an alcoholic to attend an AA meeting! Many of our fellows are in other programs in addition to AA and/or have other addictions, but find relief in the AA program. 

The AA pamphlet Problems Other Than Alcohol addresses this question in more detail: “We have to confine our membership to alcoholics, and we have to confine our AA groups to a single purpose. If we don’t stick to these principles, we shall almost surely collapse. And if we collapse, we cannot help anyone.”

There are many recovery programs beyond AA that are modeled after AA’s twelve steps, and we encourage you to pursue the options that make sense for your individual needs. 

You can find the password on the meeting listing page! If the virtual meeting has a password that is incorrect or not available but needed, you can click “submit an issue” on the listings page (located underneath the map). 

Go to the listing page of the meeting you’re trying to attend and click on the “Submit issue” link.

An email should open up—let us know what problem you’re having and someone will get back to you as soon as possible with a solution. 

Click on the “Submit issue” link on the meeting’s listing page. If you need more support, email us at centraloffice@santafeaa.org.

Yes!

If you want to talk to someone or have a question that you want to be answered right now, call us! 505-982-8932

• For non-urgent questions about AA in general, email us here: centraloffice@santafeaa.org 
• For non-urgent questions about the Directory, email us here: webmaster@santafeaa.org