Become a Member

Honor your ancestor and join SAR.

WHO CAN JOIN?

Any male, of any age who is of good character, can join the SAR.

To initiate the SAR membership process, you should begin by ensuring that you can satisfy the SAR membership requirements and that you are a direct descendant of a Revolutionary War Patriot. The SAR does not restrict membership on basis of race, age, color, religion, national origin, nation of citizenship or residency.

To establish eligibility you must be able to confirm that you are a direct ancestral line descendant of a Patriot by providing appropriate SAR acceptable documentation. Legitimacy through marriage of an ancestor is not a factor as long as appropriate proof of descendancy is provided to confirm the applicant’s direct descent from their Revolutionary War Patriot (your Revolutionary War Patriot must be a great-great grandfather or great-great grandmother of some degree). Plural marriage families are not excluded from SAR membership. Proving bloodline descent, whether legitimate or illegitimate, from a patriot ancestor to yourself is what is required for SAR membership and is what must be documented. Additionally, you must be sponsored by two current SAR members; one of the local SAR chapters can likely assist you in fulfilling this requirement.

To quote the SAR Bylaws, “Any male shall be eligible for membership in the SAR who is a citizen of good repute in the community; and a lineal descendant of an ancestor who was at all times unfailing in loyalty to and rendered acceptable service in the cause of American Independence”.

The SAR accepts patriotic service rendered, with some exceptions, for the period between 19 April 1775 and 26 November 1783. Membership in the SAR requires documented, acceptable evidence that your ancestor participated in one or more of the following types of service. The patriot ancestor in question must have:

  • Been a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Mecklenburg Declaration of 1775, the Albemarle Declaration of 1779, or the Cumberland Compact of 1780;
  • Been a member of any of the Continental Congresses;
  • Rendered material aid, such as: Furnishing supplies with or without remuneration; lending money to the Colonies, munitions makers, and gunsmiths; or any other material aid which furthered the Cause;
  • Served in the military or navy, including: Service during the dates falling on or between 19 April 1775 and 26 November 1783, service at the Battle of Point Pleasant on 10 October 1774 (this location and date only), or furnishing a substitute for military service;
  • Been a participant in the Boston Tea Party, Kaskaskia Campaign, Galvez Expedition, Cherokee Expedition, or the Edenton Tea Party;
  • Been a defender of forts and frontiers or a ranger;
  • Been a prisoner of war, including those on the British ship Old Jersey or other prison ships;
  • Been a physician, surgeon, nurse, or otherwise rendered aid to the wounded;
  • Rendered civil service under the Colonies during the dates falling on or between 19 April 1775 and 26 November 1783;
  • Been a member of committees made necessary by the violation of colonial rights by England or the War, such as committees of safety, observation, inspection, and correspondence;
  • Pledged to support the cause of the Colonies, such as: the Oath of Fidelity and Support, the Oath of Allegiance or the Articles of Association, or the Association Test;
  • Been a signer of petitions addressed to and recognizing the authority of the provisional and new state governments;
  • Accepted obligations or acted under direction of the provisional and new state governments, such as persons directed to hold elections, to oversee road construction, to collect provisions, or similar responsibilities;
  • Been a clergy member or other recognized leader of any religion who performed overt acts of resistance to the authority of Great Britain which could only be performed by religious leaders.

Please note that family tradition in regard to the services of an ancestor will not be considered proof. No preliminary decision will be given with respect to a line of descent, service, or whether proposed evidence is acceptable. When properly examined in context with all available evidence, preliminary decisions might prove to be incorrect and the SAR will not participate in rendering improperly formed evidentiary decisions. We reserve the right to accept or reject any evidence submitted.

Group photo of soldiers and reenactors in park
Men in colonial costumes by a grave

HOW TO JOIN

To get your SAR application started, please follow the following steps:

  1. Create an online SAR account at www.sar.org by clicking on the “Login” button in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage and then click on the “Register” tab.
  2. Once you have filled out your basic contact information, contact a local SAR Chapter as there is a format you will need to follow to enter in each generation.
  3. Collect your appropriate supporting documents. Below is a list of what is acceptable. You only need to provide copies, not certified ones, with your application.

a. Some forms of ACCEPTABLE documentation include:

  1. Birth Certificates
  2. Wills
  3. Obituary
  4. Probate or other court records
  5. Census Records
  6. Bible Records and Other Original Documents
  7. Records in Foreign Languages (must be able to translate them into English)
  8. Tombstones and Tombstone Records
  9. Newspaper Articles (need article and the full page of where it was published)
  10. Published sources personally known to the author
  11. Using Lineage Society Record Copies purchased from the DAR. Must have the copyright info at the bottom of each page. SAR does not need to be purchased as the National genealogist can look it up.
  12. Muster and payrolls
  13. Minutes of town meetings and similar records of state and county governments, listing those appointed to various committees of safety, road crews, jury service, and other government positions during the War
  14. Tax lists that supported the revolution, oaths of allegiance, lists of those providing supplies, and similar records of support for the revolution
  1. Account books of State, County, and Town Treasurers showing payment for services directly connected with the Revolutionary War effort
  2. Contemporary newspapers, broadsides, letters, or other correspondence

b. Supporting documents that are UNACCEPTABLE include:

  1. Documents that state beliefs or conclusions but which lack acceptable source citations
  2. Unsourced newspaper articles are not acceptable proof.  However, obituaries and marriage announcements are acceptable
  3. Published accounts, including family histories, local histories, biographical dictionaries, and newspaper articles not contemporary to either persons or events reported, unless they include acceptable source citations
  4. Undocumented family trees, family group sheets or information found on online websites, including GEDCOMs, Ancestry.com, World Family Tree, Rootsweb.com, and similar sites, or from personal online family pages
  5. LDS Ancestral File and/or IGI records
  6. AGBI (American Genealogical and Biographical Index) found on Ancestry.com
  7. US and International Marriage Records from Ancestry.com as published on the website where it does not include the actual document itself
  8. Documents so illegible that the applicant has had to write in the pertinent information.
  9. Unpublished transcriptions of wills or other legal documents posted online.
  10. Photographs with names or other information entered by the applicant to show lineage.
  11. Index cards, such as the Mennonite Index Cards. Submit the actual proof cited on the card, not just the index card
  12. Pages printed from the SAR Patriot and Grave Search, SAR Patriot Research System and DAR Genealogical Research System where one quotes the SAR or DAR Patriot #
SAR Application Preparation Guide

DUES STRUCTURE

There are initial applications dues and fees that you pay with your initial application. After you are accepted into the Society, there are only annual dues that you pay to your local chapter covering National, State, and Chapter dues.

Below is a table that outlines what those dues and fees are for you to join the SAR.

Fees / Dues
Application Type Age National State Chapter TOTAL Comments
New Regular - New/Established Line 25+ $200 $36 See Chapter Fees/Dues Schedule $236 + Chapter Fees/Dues
New Regular - New Line 18 - 24 $200 $36 $236 + Chapter Fees/Dues
New Regular - Established Line 18 - 24 $125 $29 $154 + Chapter Fees/Dues
New Regular - Family Group 18+ $125 $29 See Chapter Fees/Dues Schedule $154 + Chapter Fees/Dues Submitted at the same time
Junior - New Line 0 - 17 $155 $16 $171 + Chapter Fees/Dues
Junior - Established Line 0 - 17 $80 $8 $88 + Chapter Fees/Dues
Memorial - within 2 generations $200 $23 $223 + Chapter Fees/Dues
Supplemental All $150 $20 $170 + Chapter Fees/Dues
Supplemental - Family Group All $75 $8 $83 + Chapter Fees/Dues Submitted at the same time
Annual Dues Age National State Chapter TOTAL
Annual Dues - Regular 18+ $50 $21 See Chapter Fees/Dues Schedule $71 + Chapter Dues
Annual Dues - Junior 0 - 17 $5 $5 $10 + Chapter Dues
Annual Dues - Dual All $0 $21 $21 + Chapter Dues
Reinstatement - Regular 18+ $50 $21 See Chapter Fees/Dues Schedule $71 + Chapter Dues
Reinstatement - Junior 0 - 17 $5 $5 $10 + Chapter Dues
National Life Member Only - Regular 18+ $0 $21 $21 + Chapter Dues
National & State Life Member - Regular 18+ $0 $0 Chapter Dues Only
National Life Member Only - Junior 0 - 17 $0 $5 $5 + Chapter Dues
National & State Life Member - Junior 0 - 17 $0 $0 Chapter Dues Only

Chapter Fees/Dues Schedule

Chapter Fees / Dues Schedule
Chapter Applications Annual Dues Reinstatement
Regular Junior Memorial Supplemental Regular Junior Dual Regular Junior
Abraham Van Buren $10 $10 $10 None $10 $10 $10 $10 $10
Bayou Bartholomew $10 None None None $10 $10 $10 $10 $10
Casimir Pulaski $12 $12 $12 $12 $12 $12
Chickasawba $10 None None None $10 $10 $10 $10 $10
Crowley's Ridge $10 None None None $10 $10 $10 $10 $10
Desoto Trace $11 $11 $11 $11 $10 $10
Ecore Fabre $5 $5 $5 $5 $5 $5
Gen Lafayette $60 $40 $40 None $20 $20 $20 $20 $20
Jordan Milam $20 None None None $20 $20 $20 $20 $20
Southwest Trail $5 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10