# Concept XII: what are the General Warranties of the Conference?

**In short:**
- Concept XII is Article 12 of the Conference Charter (1955): six promises binding the General Service Conference to "observe the spirit of the A.A. Tradition" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). In order: never the seat of perilous wealth or power; enough operating funds plus an ample reserve; no member in unqualified authority over another; important decisions by discussion, vote and, whenever possible, substantial unanimity; no punitive action and no public controversy; never any acts of government, and always democratic.
- It is the hardest Concept to change. The Conference can amend the rest of its Charter, but changing a Warranty needs the written consent of three-quarters of the groups that respond, with six months to consider.
- Bill W.'s 1962 essay calls them "counsels of prudence" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII), protection against "our very natural human temptations to wealth, prestige, power, and the like."
- Several of the Warranties echo what the 1946 Long Form already said to the groups: prudent reserves, no large gifts, no controversy, "they do not govern" (p. 565).

## The earlier texts first (1946–47)

- **Wealth and reserves.** Long Form Seven (1946): accepting large gifts or gifts with obligations "is unwise," and "we view with much concern those A.A. treasuries which continue, beyond prudent reserves, to accumulate funds for no stated A.A. purpose" (p. 564).
- **Authority.** Long Form Nine: A.A.'s servants "do not govern" (p. 565). Bill in 1947: "So long as we avoid any menacing accumulation of wealth or the growth of personal government at these centers, we cannot go astray" (P-17, Will A.A. Ever Have a Personal Government?, 1947).
- **Controversy.** Long Form Ten: "The Alcoholics Anonymous groups oppose no one" (p. 565).
- **Freedom.** Long Form Three: membership never to depend "upon money or conformity" (p. 563).

Concept XII turns these into promises made by the Conference itself.

## The Warranties and how they're protected

The Concept "consists of Article 12 of the Conference Charter" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII), the 1955 agreement between the groups and their trustees. The first eleven Articles "can be readily amended by the Conference itself." Article 12 needs the written consent of three-quarters of the directory-listed groups who vote, with six months to deliberate. "Although changes in the Warranties of Article 12 thus have been made difficult, they have not been made impossible" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). Bill ranks them with the Traditions for world service.

## What Bill's essay says about each (1962)

**One: never the seat of perilous wealth or power.** Not "no money, no authority," which would be "dangerous and absurd." The protection against wealth is the Tradition itself: decline outside contributions and keep individual gifts modest, and "we need only to avoid the temptation of taking money from the outside world" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). On a would-be dictator: "Our setup being what it is, such an aspirant couldn’t last a year" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII), since the delegates control the money. The one power the Conference can't do without is the spiritual kind, from humble and dedicated servants: "They do not drive us by mandate; they lead us by example" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII).

**Two: sufficient funds plus an ample reserve.** Members give time freely but are slower with money. The reserve then was about one year's office expenses, saved over twenty years mostly from book income, and it had covered the years when contributions fell short. Bill answers critics who wanted the Big Book sold at cost: charity to newcomers is the sponsor's, not the group's or A.A.'s: "But such charities are the responsibility of the sponsor and not of the A.A. group itself" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). Book income, he argues, isn't really profit but the sum of buyers' contributions: "This fund is not the property of private investors; it is wholly owned by A.A. itself" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). He also addresses his own royalties: "This royalty income from the book buyers has enabled me to do all the rest of my A.A. work on a full-time volunteer basis" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII), and hopes the arrangement will continue to be considered fair.

**Three: no unqualified authority.** This makes the Right of Participation (Concept IV) something the Conference alone can't take away. More broadly, "It really means that we of A.A. will not tolerate absolute human authority in any form" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). Some members already called Article 12 "The A.A. Service Bill of Rights."

**Four: substantial unanimity.** Debate should continue, time permitting, until a heavy majority can support each critical decision; then even a bad decision brings no recriminations. But there are limits: in an emergency, or when "a small minority obstinately tries to use the principle of substantial unanimity to block a clearly needed action," then "it would be the plain duty of the majority to override such a misuse of the principle of substantial unanimity" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII).

**Five: no punishment, no public controversy.** "When we of A.A. fail to follow sound spiritual principles, alcohol cuts us down" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII), so no human system of penalties is needed. Under public attack that has little or no justification, the best defense is almost always none, "complete silence at the public level"; justified criticism may be acknowledged privately, with thanks. On Tradition violators: the Conference is "guardian" of the Traditions, but suing or publicly punishing them "would place the Conference in the position of having violated one A.A. Tradition in order to defend another" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). Privately it can tell them they're out of order and use persuasion; in the long run it relies on A.A. and public opinion. Bill notes that "A.A.’s World Headquarters is not a police operation" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII), and that many local Tradition questions are gray areas best left to the people concerned.

On a split in A.A., Bill's answer is near-complete nonresistance: "We have no doctrine that has to be maintained" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). Members who want their own groups, retreats or Communion breakfasts are welcome to them: "Only we hope you won’t designate your efforts as an A.A. group or enterprise" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). A.A. will give away its knowledge and experience, "all excepting the A.A. name itself" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII).

On protecting the name: A.A. once considered incorporating it everywhere and asking Congress for a charter, but the early Conferences decided against it, since a public lawsuit is a public controversy. Bill refers readers to *A.A. Comes of Age* (1957) for the story, which prints the committee's finding that a Congressional incorporation "would create by law a power to govern" (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957) contrary to the Traditions.

**Six: no acts of government; always democratic.** Bill lists the freedoms the Traditions give: no penalties for nonconformity, no fees or dues, no expulsion, each group running its own affairs, and any group of alcoholics gathered for sobriety may call itself an A.A. group "provided that, as a group, they have no other purpose or affiliation" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII). The Conference must "abstain completely from any and all acts of authoritative government which could in any wise curtail A.A.’s freedom under God" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII).

## Dates and changes worth knowing

- **"No other purpose or affiliation."** Long Form Three (1946) says a group may call itself an A.A. group "provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation" (p. 563). Bill's 1962 list adds "purpose."
- **The original wording.** The 1955 Charter's Article 12 read "an incitement to serious public controversy" (The A.A. Service Manual, 2024–2026, Appendix K, Original Conference Charter, 1955). The current Charter and the Concept say "public controversy," without "serious." Our copy doesn't say when it changed.
- **Two-thirds, then three-quarters.** The 1955 Charter as first printed required the written consent of two-thirds of all groups to change the Tradition; the St. Louis resolution the same year asked for three-quarters of the registered groups who respond. The 1957 Conference amended the Charter to three-quarters, covering Article 12, the Traditions and the Steps (Appendix K, footnote 4); a 1976 resolution confirmed the Steps (Appendix L, footnote 3).
- **The name.** Bill's 1962 text says the Conference decided against legal protection of the name. A 2024–2026 footnote adds: "However, the name Alcoholics Anonymous and the abbreviation A.A. were all legally registered in 1972" (Twelve Concepts for World Service, Concept XII, footnote 3).
- **The reserve.** Bill's 1960 reserve was about one year's office expenses. P-8 (© 2017) says the reserve "should be one full year’s operating expenses" (P-8). The 2024–2026 footnote reports 6.47 months at the end of 2024.


## Read it yourself
- Long Form Three, Seven, Nine and Ten (Appendix I, pp. 563–565), free from A.A.: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_appendicei.pdf
- Concept XII, short form (Appendix VII, p. 575): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_appendicevii_.pdf
- P-17, with Bill's 1947 essay on government: https://www.aa.org/aa-tradition-how-it-developed
- P-8, *The Twelve Concepts for World Service Illustrated*: https://www.aa.org/twelve-concepts-illustrated
- The full essay and the Conference Charter are in *The A.A. Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts for World Service*: https://www.aa.org/aa-service-manual (sold at https://onlineliterature.aa.org, as is *A.A. Comes of Age*)
- Related: *Are the Concepts the same as the Traditions?* · *Concept V* · *Tradition Ten: does A.A. take sides on outside issues?*

## Sources
| Source | Where | Written / first published |
|---|---|---|
| *Alcoholics Anonymous*, Appendix I, Long Form Three, Seven, Nine, Ten | pp. 563–565 | 1946 |
| P-17, Will A.A. Ever Have a Personal Government? (Bill W.) | — | Grapevine, 1947 |
| Conference Charter, Article 12 (original and current); St. Louis resolution | *The A.A. Service Manual*, 2024–2026, Appendices K and L | 1955; amendments 1957 onward |
| *A.A. Comes of Age* | — | 1957 |
| *Alcoholics Anonymous*, Appendix VII, Concept XII (short form) | p. 575 | Concepts 1962; short form 1971 |
| *Twelve Concepts for World Service* (Bill W.), Concept XII, with later footnotes | in *The A.A. Service Manual*, 2024–2026 edition | 1962; footnotes to 2024 |
| 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, A.A. Comes of Age, and P-8 are © A.A. World Services, Inc.; the P-17 articles are © AA Grapevine, Inc.*