The 12 Steps of AA, Explained

The Twelve Steps, In Plain Language

Alcoholics Anonymous's Twelve Steps are the framework at the center of AA, and of the many 12-step programs that have adapted them since (NA, Al-Anon, CoDA, Overeaters Anonymous, and others). The official wording is copyrighted by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services — you can read the exact official text at aa.org. Here's what each step is generally understood to mean, in plain language:

  1. Step 1: Admitting you're powerless over alcohol (or whatever the addiction is) and that your life has become unmanageable because of it.
  2. Step 2: Coming to believe that something bigger than yourself — however you understand that — could help restore some sanity to your life.
  3. Step 3: Deciding to hand over your will and your life to the care of that higher power, as you understand it.
  4. Step 4: Taking a rigorous, honest inventory of yourself — the good and the hard parts.
  5. Step 5: Admitting to yourself, to a higher power, and to another person exactly what's in that inventory.
  6. Step 6: Becoming ready to let go of the character defects you've identified.
  7. Step 7: Asking, humbly, for those shortcomings to be removed.
  8. Step 8: Making a list of people you've harmed, and becoming willing to make it right with them.
  9. Step 9: Actually making amends with those people, wherever possible — except when doing so would hurt them or someone else.
  10. Step 10: Continuing to take personal inventory, and promptly owning it when you're wrong.
  11. Step 11: Seeking, through prayer or meditation, to strengthen your connection with your higher power and understand what's being asked of you.
  12. Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, carrying that message to others still struggling, and practicing these principles in everyday life.

This is a summary, not the official text — every program and every person works these steps a little differently, often with a sponsor's guidance. For the exact original wording, visit aa.org, or pick up one of our Big Book editions below.

Books & Gifts That Go With the Steps

See also our full medallions collection for marking progress through the steps.