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No invitation by circular or advertisement shall be made to any person to become a joining member or a Founder member of a proposed Lodge. The Board of General purposes of the United Grand Lodge of England has brought out an introductory document for the perusal of the Proposer and Seconder prior to making a proposition and another for the prospective candidate. The former deals with the caution that should be exercised in recommending a candidate, while the latter alerts the candidate on his obligations and duties arising out of the membership. Both these documents are appended in the Forms Section at the end of this Section. Copies are available free of cost from the District Grand Secretaries’ offices. It is mandatory that they be given to the proposer, seconder and the candidate prior to asking the candidate sign the Application form. Click here for the Guidelines and Information. The following general rules must be observed in the matter of admissions. 1. The basic requirements as enshrined in the Book of Constitutions are that: · The candidate must be a man professing belief in God (a Supreme Being) and in reward and punishment in the afterworld. · He must have attained the age of 21. A person below that age can be made a mason only with a dispensation from the Grand Master or District Grand Master. A Lewis, being the son of a Mason, is also subject to this rule and no exemption can be claimed on that ground. · He should be a free man and in reputed circumstance. A person whose reputation is doubtful should not be proposed. (Rule 157) 2. Any subscribing member of the Lodge may make a proposal. The proposal must be seconded by another subscribing member. An Honorary member of the Lodge who had been earlier a subscribing member of the same Lodge and made an Honorary Member in consideration of his services to Masonry in General or the Lodge in particular, may also propose or second a candidate. (Rules 159, 167). 3. The intention to make a proposal should be conveyed through submission of an Application form duly filled in and signed by the applicant, proposer and seconder. 4. Both the proposer and the seconder must be members in good standing, that is who are not in arrears and hence liable for exclusion. 5. The candidate must be cleared by the Permanent Committee of the Lodge, or any special committee, say the Committee of Enquiry, as may be authorized by the Lodge Bylaws. In the absence of such a committee procedure and in cases of genuine urgency WM may clear the candidate. 6. The permanent residence or the place of business or work of the candidate should be within the geographic jurisdiction of the Lodge. If the candidate is not qualified under this clause, the reason for seeking admission to the particular lodge should be obtained from him in writing and an enquiry should be made with the Lodge in whose jurisdiction he resides or works. In the case of candidates belonging to the geographical areas on which the Grand Lodge of Scotland or of Ireland exercise jurisdiction, the candidature should be referred to the Grand Secretary, through the District Grand Secretary, to seek clearance from the Grand Secretary of the jurisdiction concerned. 7. The certificate on the form should be signed by the WM in token of his having satisfied about the suitability of the candidate to be received into Freemasonry. Masters of Lodges are warned not to sign the Form unless they are satisfied that a candidate's occupation is described in sufficient detail for the Brethren to have a clear understanding of his field of activity; terms such as 'Company Director' or Civil Servant' are not sufficiently descriptive. 8. The proposer may announce the proposition in the open Lodge. The proposal should contain full particulars about the candidate, sufficient enough to identify the person and if desired by any member, to verify his background. The minimum details to be announced are: Name in full sequence, age or date of birth, titles and qualifications, profession or calling, and residential and professional / business addresses. In cases of emergency where the following of these Rules are likely to cause hardship to a prospective candidate a proposal may be made in writing and submitting the filled in Application Form to the Secretary. There must be a minimum of fourteen days time between receipt of the Application and the proposed date of Balloting. 9. The proposal must be balloted on at the succeeding Regular meeting; otherwise the proposal will lapse and will need to be repeated. Balloting at an Emergency Meeting is permitted only in a case of real Emergency, in which case the Master should state, in the meeting and before the ballot is taken, the cause of emergency and the nature of hardship that may be caused to the prospective candidate if the normal procedure is followed. 10. If the ballot is clear the candidate should be initiated within a period of one year, failing which the entire process of proposal and balloting will have to be repeated. The candidate becomes a subscribing member immediately on his initiation. (Rule 166) 11. If the ballot is not clear, by reason of the number of black balls being equal to or more than the number which will exclude a candidate, according to the provisions of the Bylaws, the candidate shall be treated as rejected. 12. A candidate rejected by ballot cannot be proposed again until the expiry of six months or other period specified in the Bylaws. |
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membership |
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General rules of admission |