How it works, and what nobody will ask you
Yes, you can get a court card signed at an A.A. meeting in Johnstown and across Cambria and Somerset counties. Bring your paperwork, arrive a few minutes early or stay a few minutes after, and ask the person who chaired the meeting or the group secretary. They will sign it. You do not have to explain why you are there.
A.A. keeps no attendance records and reports nothing to anyone. The signature is one member confirming they saw you — there is no file, no membership list, and nothing that gets sent anywhere. You do not have to speak, and you do not have to call yourself anything. Meetings are free. If you want to check ahead, call (814) 283-4772.
If you are running late, come anyway. Turning up for the second half of a meeting is much better than not turning up.
This is the part worth hearing before you go. People arrive expecting to be spotted as the one who was made to come, and it does not happen. Nobody asks why you are there. If you volunteer it, the usual response is somebody telling you how they walked in holding the same piece of paper.
A.A. as a whole has no opinion on court-ordered attendance and does not endorse or oppose it. Groups just cooperate: someone shows up, someone signs. There is a short A.A. pamphlet written for exactly your situation —So the Court Sent You to A.A. — and it is free to read or print.
Nothing. There is no register, no sign-in sheet, no database. Anonymity is the foundation of the whole thing, which is why the signature on your slip is from one member acting for the group, not from an organisation with records. If your probation officer asks A.A. to confirm your attendance, there is no A.A. office anywhere that could answer.
These are the ones tagged for it in the Area 60 list. Do not read the list as a limit — the tag is under-used and nearly any group will sign. It is just a place to start if you would rather arrive somewhere it is explicitly offered.
Oakdale Church · Somerset
9201 Mason - Dixon Hwy, Salisbury, PA 15558, USA
Use the door on left side of building when facing main entrance.
Either counts. A closed meeting is for people who have a desire to stop drinking; an open one anybody may attend. If you are not sure whether the first describes you — and a lot of people sent by a court are not sure — an open meeting sidesteps the question entirely.
You have to sit through the hour regardless. You might as well listen. A fair number of people who came in only for a signature ended up staying, and nobody would think less of you if you did not. Either way, the slip gets signed.
If any of it lands, what actually happens at a meeting and how to find a sponsor are the two things worth reading next.
Yes. Bring your paperwork, arrive a few minutes early or stay a few minutes late, and ask the person who chaired the meeting or the group secretary. They will sign it. You do not need to explain yourself and nobody will ask why you are there.
In practice almost any group will. Some are listed as offering proof of attendance explicitly, but the tag is under-used — if a meeting near you is not marked, go anyway and ask. If you want to be certain before you drive, call the district answering service and someone will tell you.
No. A.A. keeps no attendance records and reports nothing to anybody. The signature on your slip is one member confirming they saw you there — that is the entire extent of it. A.A. has no files, no membership list, and nothing to hand over.
No, and this is worth saying plainly: a great many members first walked in holding exactly the same slip of paper. Nobody in the room will ask why you came, and if you tell them, the most common reaction is recognition rather than judgement.
No. You can sit at the back, say nothing for the whole hour, and still have your slip signed on the way out. Nothing is required of you beyond being there and not disrupting the meeting.
Either. Closed meetings are for people who have a desire to stop drinking — if you are unsure whether that is you, an open meeting removes the question entirely, since anyone may attend one. Both count the same for your paperwork.
A.A. has no opinion on it either way — it neither endorses nor opposes the practice, and takes no position on outside matters. Individual groups simply cooperate with the courts by signing slips for people who show up.
If you work in the court system and want to understand what A.A. can and cannot do:
