The Twelve Traditions
(Short Form)
The 12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous serve as guiding principles that protect the unity, integrity, and effectiveness of AA groups as a whole. While the Steps focus on individual recovery, the Traditions address how groups function together to ensure that AA remains a safe and supportive environment for all members.
At their core, the Traditions emphasize unity. AA recognizes that its ability to help individuals depends on the strength and cohesion of its groups. Decisions are made with the welfare of the entire fellowship in mind, rather than individual preferences. This collective approach helps maintain a stable and welcoming space where anyone seeking help can feel accepted.
Anonymity is another central theme. Members are encouraged to place principles before personalities, which helps prevent ego, status, or personal recognition from interfering with the group’s purpose. By maintaining anonymity in public settings, AA ensures that the focus remains on recovery rather than individual members.
The Traditions also stress independence and non-affiliation. Each group is autonomous, meaning it can manage its own affairs, provided its actions do not negatively impact other groups or AA as a whole. At the same time, AA avoids aligning itself with outside organizations, causes, or controversies. This neutrality allows AA to remain accessible to people from all backgrounds and beliefs.
Financial self-support is another important principle. AA groups rely on voluntary contributions from members rather than outside funding. This helps preserve independence and prevents external influence. Similarly, AA avoids professionalizing its services, ensuring that the program remains peer-led and grounded in shared experience.
Ultimately, the 12 Traditions safeguard the long-term survival of AA. They create a structure that balances freedom with responsibility, allowing groups to operate effectively while staying true to the organization’s primary purpose: helping alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety.
Our A.A. experience has taught us that:
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 its 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 fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8
Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, 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.
Copyright © 1952, 1953, 1981 by The A.A. Grapevine, Inc. and Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing (now known as Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.) All rights reserved.