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Email from World Service Board regarding

FA Meeting Re-Registration

Dear FA Fellows,


We want to remind you that all FA meetings must periodically renew their registration according to the FA Standing Rules of Order (SRO). The re-registration process will begin this November. 


At the most recent World Service Business Convention, the voting members of the World Service Conference approved a list of requirements a meeting must follow to be considered a registered FA meeting, including “use [of] the appropriate FA Meeting Format found on the FA website.” (2024 Meeting Requirements SRO; Document 1 of the Meeting Guidelines). The voting members also approved new meeting formats posted on the FA website (Documents 4, 4c, and 4d of the Meeting Guidelines). 


We understand that statements made at the most recent Convention during the debate on the meeting format may have caused some confusion about whether registered meetings need to adopt the most recent format. During the debate it was shared that registered meetings may:

  1. Change the order of the items in the 2024 Conference-approved meeting formats.
  2. Change the wording of the “announcements welcoming newcomers and visitors, identifying available sponsors, and explaining how to donate as per the Seventh tradition.” 
  3. Add information to the format pertinent to the particular meeting, such as where fellows may park their cars.  

However, the 2024 Conference-approved SRO does not permit a registered meeting to continue using an outdated version of the format that no longer appears on the Meeting Guidelines page of the FA website, nor does it permit a registered meeting to omit or use an outdated version of any of the required meeting format items listed in the 2024 SRO. Listed below are three of the required items that all registered FA meetings must adhere to and include in their meeting formats:

  1. The FA tools of recovery as they appear in Documents 4, 4c and 4d on the Meeting Guidelines page of the FA website.
  2. A statement that only individuals with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA who are working with an FA sponsor will be invited to share.
  3. A statement that only individuals with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA who are working with an FA sponsor and regularly attend the meeting have a voice and a vote at the meeting group’s business meeting.

Using the Conference-approved formats posted on the FA website provides consistency for the newcomer experience. No matter where in the world a newcomer attends a registered FA meeting, they will hear the same meeting format.  


As part of the re-registration process, each FA meeting must affirm that its format includes the items listed above and adheres to all other meeting requirements in Document 1 of the Meeting Guidelines on the FA website. According to the procedures established in a June 2012 SRO, meetings that do not comply with these requirements will not be re-registered and will be removed from the FA website.


Please carefully consider these points at your October business meeting to ensure that your meeting continues as a registered FA meeting.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. If you have any questions, please email officechair@foodaddicts.org


Best regards,

WSB Inquiry Response Committee

on behalf of the WSB Board

Food Addicts in Recovery AnonymousTM foodaddicts.org