Talk to Recovery EinsteinYou're not alone — day or night
Home › A.A. questions, from the books › The Concepts and service

Are the Twelve Concepts the same as the Twelve Traditions?

In short:

  • No. They are two different sets of twelve, written sixteen years apart. The Traditions were first printed in 1946 and guide A.A. groups and A.A. as a whole. The Concepts were written by Bill W. in 1962 and describe how A.A.'s world service bodies (the General Service Conference, the trustees, the service corporations and their staffs) relate to each other and to the groups.
  • The Big Book's Appendix VII says it in two lines: "A.A.’s Twelve Steps are principles for personal recovery" and "The Twelve Traditions ensure the unity of the Fellowship" (p. 574). The Concepts are there to keep the service structure "responsive and responsible to those they serve" (p. 574).
  • They are connected. Bill builds the Concepts on the Traditions, Tradition Two above all, and the Twelfth Concept binds the Conference to "observe the spirit of the A.A. Tradition" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII).
  • They are changed differently. Changing a Tradition needs the written consent of three-quarters of the groups that respond. Of the Concepts, only Concept XII (Article 12 of the Conference Charter) is protected that way.

Two different times

The Traditions were first printed in 1946 as twelve points in the Grapevine, the "long form"; the Big Book reprints them in Appendix I, saying the short form is "a condensed version of the original ‘long form’ A.A. Traditions as first printed in 1946" (p. 561). They were written while both co-founders were alive.

The Concepts were "Written by co-founder Bill W. in 1962" (p. 574), twelve years after Dr. Bob died, and adopted by the General Service Conference that April. Their one-sentence short form was approved in 1971 and added to the Big Book in the fourth edition, 2001 (p. xii).

Two different subjects

The Long Form of the Traditions talks to groups and members: who may belong (any alcoholic who wants to recover), what makes a group (two or three alcoholics with no other affiliation), group autonomy, the one primary purpose, money, property, outside issues, anonymity (pp. 563–566).

The Concepts talk to the service bodies. Concept I is about where final authority over "world services" sits; the rest cover the Conference, the trustees, their committees, the two service corporations, executives and paid staff. Bill's introduction says the Concepts set out "the ‘why’ of our service structure" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Introduction).

They are also written differently. Bill says that "Since each Concept is really a group of related principles" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Introduction), they could not be made as short as the Steps and Traditions. Each Concept comes with a long essay; the Traditions' Long Form is a paragraph each.

How they connect

Bill doesn't present the Concepts as a second set of Traditions. He presents them as the Traditions applied to A.A.'s service center:

  • Tradition Two. The Long Form says: "For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience" (p. 563). Concept I quotes Tradition Two and says its principles are "crystal clear: the A.A. groups are to be the final authority; their leaders are to be entrusted with delegated responsibilities only" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept I). Concepts II, III, IV, V and X all lean on its "trusted servants" line. Tradition Two is the one Bill names throughout. The links below are ours: the essays don't cite these Long Form passages, except that Concept XII grounds its first Warranty in declining outside money and its fifth in the Tradition against public controversy.

  • Long Form Nine. "The trustees of the General Service Board are, in effect, our A.A. General Service Committee" (p. 565); in 1946 the board was still the Alcoholic Foundation, renamed in 1954. Concepts VI to VIII spell out what those trustees do and don't do.

  • Long Form Six and Seven. Property "separately incorporated and managed, thus dividing the material from the spiritual" (p. 564), and treasuries that pile up money "beyond prudent reserves" (p. 564). Concept VIII keeps the service corporations separate; Concept XII's first two Warranties are about wealth and a prudent reserve.
  • Long Form Eight. Special workers "may be well recompensed" (p. 564). Concept XI says how paid A.A. staff should be treated and paid.
  • Long Form Ten. "The Alcoholics Anonymous groups oppose no one" (p. 565). Concept XII's Fifth Warranty: no public controversy, no punishment.

Who each applies to

The Traditions govern A.A. groups and A.A. as a whole. The Concepts were written for the world service structure. Bill does say their principles "can of course be used to good effect throughout our entire structure" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Introduction), and P-8 (1986) says the Warranties express principles that "apply to all other A.A. entities as well" (P-8). But nothing in the Concepts gives anyone authority over a group. Concept XII forbids the Conference "any acts of government" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII), and the Long Form says a group "should be responsible to no other authority than its own conscience" in its own affairs (p. 563).

How each can be changed

The Concepts say most of the service structure can be changed easily. Bill notes "that the Conference Charter itself can be easily amended" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Introduction), with an exception or two.

The exceptions are the Traditions and Article 12. The 1955 St. Louis resolution says neither the Traditions nor the Warranties of Article 12 may be changed without asking the registered groups of the world, giving them at least six months, and receiving in writing "the consent of at least three-quarters of all those registered groups who respond to such proposal" (The A.A. Service Manual, 2024–2026, Appendix L). Concept XII is Article 12, which is why Bill writes "We have ranked them therefore with A.A.’s Twelve Traditions" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII).

One dating detail: the 1955 Charter as first printed asked only for "the written consent of two-thirds of all the A.A. groups" (The A.A. Service Manual, 2024–2026, Appendix K, Original Conference Charter, 1955) to change the Tradition. The 1957 Conference amended it to three-quarters, matching the St. Louis resolution, and added the Twelve Steps (The A.A. Service Manual, 2024–2026, Appendix K, footnote 4). Concepts I to XI have no such protection.

Read it yourself

Sources

Source Where Written / first published
Alcoholics Anonymous, Appendix I, the Traditions (short and long form) pp. 561–566 Long Form 1946; short form by 1950; in the Big Book since 1955
Alcoholics Anonymous, Appendix VII, the Concepts (short form) pp. 574–575 Concepts 1962; short form 1971; in the Big Book since 2001
Alcoholics Anonymous, Preface p. xii 2001
Twelve Concepts for World Service (Bill W.), Introduction, Concepts I and XII in The A.A. Service Manual, 2024–2026 edition 1962
Conference Charter (original 1955 text and amendments); St. Louis resolution The A.A. Service Manual, 2024–2026, Appendices K and L Charter and resolution 1955; amendments 1957 onward
P-8, The Twelve Concepts for World Service Illustrated — first printed 1986; © 2017

Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. Quotations are brief and cited; the Big Book, the Service Manual and Twelve Concepts for World Service, and P-8 are © A.A. World Services, Inc.

These pages answer questions about A.A. from A.A.'s own published literature, read in full, with every quote checked word for word against the page it cites. Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. What we read, and when each source was written.