There shall be three categories of membership. Application for membership and annual dues payment shall be submitted to the Executive Secretary for review approval and referral to the appropriate Regional Secretary. Each membership category shall have the following requirements and the membership term will be yearly from July 1 to June 30. The amount of annual membership dues shall be set by the Executive Board and be equal for both Active and Associate members.

1. Active members shall enjoy all the rights and privileges of membership in the Association, including the right to vote.

Active Members:

a. Full-time sworn peace officers, from within or outside the United States of America; except, however, that no active member employed full-time outside the State of California shall hold office.

b. Full-time non-sworn officers. Examples include community service officers or dispatchers.

c. Individuals who have an association with law enforcement directly related to hostage/crisis negotiations. The association may be one of consultant, clergy, or contract-provided service(s) or similar. Examples include mental health professionals or reserve peace officers.

d. Individuals who have a professional interest in hostage/crisis negotiations and their membership will benefit the Association as well as themselves. Examples include retirees who qualified for membership prior to their retirement.

Associate Members:

2. Associate members are those individuals who are employees of firms that provide equipment and services to negotiation teams, telephone company liaison to law enforcement, or other technical specialists. Associate members may participate in Association meetings and functions but shall not have the right to vote or hold office and may not attend or participate in meetings and functions in which confidential matters (as determined by the Executive Board) are discussed or presented.

3. Honorary Life Memberships are granted by the Executive Board to those persons who, in their opinion, have rendered outstanding service to the Association or to the field of Hostage Negotiations, or, who by virtue of their contributions to the discipline of hostage/crisis negotiations, have been deemed worthy of life membership. Honorary Life Memberships shall be granted only after a thorough evaluation of the prospective member reveals that such service has been rendered voluntarily, altruistically, or without consideration of personal gain.

Honorary Life Members:

a. Honorary Life Members shall enjoy all the rights and privileges of membership in this Association except that they may not hold office.

b. Honorary Life Members are not required to pay annual dues.