The Ninth Tradition

"AA, as such, ought never be organised; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve." Tradition Nine — Alcoholics Anonymous

The short form

The short form of the Ninth Tradition, as quoted above, sets out two principles in a single sentence. The first — that AA as such ought never be organised — establishes that AA does not function as a formal organisation in the conventional sense. It has no governing body, no board of directors, no executive authority over members or groups.

The second — that AA may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve — provides the practical means by which AA carries out necessary collective work. Service bodies exist to serve, not to govern.

The long form

"Each AA group needs the least possible organisation. Rotating leadership is the best. The small group may elect its secretary, the large group its rotating committee, and the groups of a large metropolitan area their central or intergroup committee, which often employs a full-time secretary. The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous acts in conference with the groups in all matters of importance and is the custodian of our AA Tradition and the receiver of voluntary AA contributions by which we are self-supporting. The Board of Trustees is composed of alcoholic and non-alcoholic members. The non-alcoholic trustees are a safeguard for our funds and our public relations. All such representatives are to be guided in the spirit of service, for true leaders in AA are but trusted servants; they do not govern. Each group elects its own officers and manages its own affairs." Tradition Nine (Long Form) — Alcoholics Anonymous

Key principles

The long form makes explicit several principles that flow from the Ninth Tradition:

Least possible organisation. Service structures should be no more elaborate than the work genuinely requires. Complexity for its own sake is contrary to the spirit of the tradition.

Rotating leadership. Positions of responsibility rotate among members. No individual holds authority in AA in a permanent or hierarchical sense.

Trusted servants, not governors. The phrase "true leaders in AA are but trusted servants; they do not govern" is central to how AA understands the role of anyone holding a service position, whether at group, intergroup, or national level.

Direct responsibility. Service boards and committees are directly responsible to those they serve — meaning to the groups and members, not to a hierarchy above them.

Self-supporting. AA's service work is funded by voluntary contributions from members and groups, not by outside sources.

Relationship to other traditions

The Ninth Tradition does not stand alone. It is closely connected to Tradition Two, which states that the only ultimate authority in AA is a loving God as expressed in the group conscience, and that leaders are trusted servants. It connects also to Tradition Seven (AA ought to be fully self-supporting) and Tradition Six (AA should not endorse, finance, or lend its name to any outside enterprise).

Together, these traditions establish a structure in which authority flows upward from groups rather than downward from committees — the reverse of how most organisations function.