The Twelve Traditions of
Alcoholics Anonymous
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A.
unity. Reprinted with permission of A.A. World
Services, Inc.
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.
The following A.A. groups make up District 42 of Maryland General Service (Area 29):
For group news and announcements see the Activities/Events page.
Any A.A. meetings that are not listed with the General Service Office
(GSO) of Alcoholics Anonymous (www.aa.org)
cannot be included here, even if they meet within the district's boundaries.
District 42 can only serve those groups that are recognized by GSO and Area
29 (Maryland General Service,
www.marylandaa.org ). If you attend or know of a meeting within the
District 42 boundaries that is not shown, it can
become a part of District 42 and participate in the A.A. service structure by
getting listed with GSO and electing a General Service Representative (GSR).
A complete list of nearby meetings, including those outside of District 42,
is on the
Annapolis Area Intergroup website,
www.annapolisareaintergroup.org
.