The 12 Traditions
of Alcoholics Anonymous

Bluidkiti's Recovery Forums

1. "Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity"

2. "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"

3. "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking"

4. "Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole"

5. "Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry it's message to the alcoholic who still suffers"

6. "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"

7. "Every A.A. group ought to be self-supporting, declining outside contributions"

8. "Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers"

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

10. "Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy"

11. "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"

12. "Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities"


Click on the following links for the long form:
 
Tradition One
 
Tradition Five
 
Tradition Nine
 
Tradition Two
 
Tradition Six
 
Tradition Ten
 
Tradition Three
 
Tradition Seven
 
Tradition Eleven
 
Tradition Four
 
Tradition Eight
 
Tradition Twelve


Reprinted from the "Twelve Steps And Twelve Traditions" of Alcoholics Anonymous, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc."