Reclamation is the process by which a former, inactive, or non-financial fraternity or sorority member reconnects with their organization to reactivate their membership. It lets you resume paying dues, attend chapter meetings, and regain full voting and participatory privileges. The mechanics vary from one Divine Nine organization to the next, but the core idea is the same across every NPHC body: the rolls never close on you, the door stays open, and the only thing required to walk back through it is some paperwork and a few cleared dues.
What Reclamation Actually Means
Reclamation is the membership term for coming back, formally, after you stepped away. It is not the same as a transfer (moving from one chapter to another while you were never inactive) and it is not the same as initiation (you are not a new member, your initiation still counts). It is the bridge between being on the inactive rolls and being on the active rolls again. Zeta Phi Beta frames it as Once A Zeta, Always A Zeta, and Alpha Kappa Alpha opens its reactivation page with welcome back with open arms. The institutional language is intentional. The organizations want you to know your line did not expire.
Who Counts as Inactive
The technical definition is narrower than people assume. You are inactive if you have not paid your national dues (sometimes called the Grand Tax) for a full membership year, and you are unfinancial if you owe back dues without yet stepping fully off the rolls. Alpha Kappa Alpha defines its reactivation track as open to members inactive for one or more years. Zeta Phi Beta uses a longer threshold for Members-at-Large, who must be inactive for two or more complete sorority years before they go through the formal reclamation route with the International Graduate Member at Large. If you are unsure which bucket applies to you, the chapter you reclaim through can pull your record from international headquarters and confirm.
The Reclamation Process Step by Step
The process is administrative, not mystical. The order below mirrors what Zeta Phi Beta publishes on its national membership page, and the same shape applies, with minor variations, across every Divine Nine organization.
- Use your organization’s Chapter Locator tool to find the graduate chapter closest to where you currently live.
- Obtain certification documentation from your previous chapter, either a Chapter Certification of Membership and Good Standing card, or a Notarized Self-Certification of Membership verified by your Regional Director.
- Submit your information through the reclamation portal that the chapter provides for verification and approval.
- Once International Headquarters approves your application, log in to the Member Services Portal and pay your international, regional, and state dues.
- Pay local dues directly to your reclamation chapter.
- If you are a Member-at-Large who has been inactive for two or more years, contact your organization’s International Graduate Member at Large rather than going through a local chapter first.
The whole sequence often takes a few weeks. Most of the wait is on IHQ approval, not on you.
What You Will Pay
Reclamation dues stack across multiple levels. The exact amounts vary by organization, by region, and by the year you were initiated, but the structure is consistent. Below is what the three Divine Nine pages closest to the keyword publish, to give you a working sense of the order of magnitude.
| Organization | National dues / Grand Tax | Other typical fees |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha Phi Alpha (Iota Psi Lambda example) | $150 annual Grand Tax | $150 annual chapter dues |
| Alpha Kappa Alpha | Reinstatement fee + EAF dues | COIP assessment (post-1992 initiates), Constitution and Bylaws materials, chapter dues if affiliated |
| Zeta Phi Beta | International, regional, and state dues | Local chapter dues |
A few notes worth knowing before you write the check. Alpha Kappa Alpha exempts members initiated on or before July 31, 1943 from the Corporate Office Improvement Project (COIP) assessment, and members initiated after July 1992 typically already paid the COIP at initiation. Alpha Phi Alpha offers brothers transferring into a new chapter their first fraternal year with the chapter at zero chapter dues, though the national Grand Tax still applies. If you bought a Life Membership at any point, it exempts you from the Grand Tax for life, which simplifies reclamation considerably.
Where to Submit Your Documentation
Most organizations now route reclamation paperwork through a member portal rather than physical forms. Alpha Kappa Alpha uses a Transfer Verification Form to document that you have cleared financial obligations to your former chapter and regional Boule, and offers an Online Transfer Verification Process for members inactive since before the previous year who carry no outstanding debts. Zeta Phi Beta uses chapter-provided portal links plus a dedicated email at the national reclamation team. Whichever route applies, expect to provide your current legal name, mailing address, your initiating chapter and the date you crossed, any previous names you held, and your former active chapter if it differs.
What Happens After You Reclaim
Once every dues tier is paid and IHQ has flipped your status, you are an active member again. That means full voting rights at chapter meetings, eligibility to run for office, access to convention and Founders Day events, the right to wear paraphernalia openly at official functions, and access to chapter programming and service projects. Several organizations attach a small reactivation welcome at the next chapter meeting or run a dedicated reactivation event during their reclamation season. The collegiate timer does not reset, your initiation year is preserved on the books, and any prior service awards or leadership credit you earned stay credited to you.
Why Members Step Away in the First Place
It helps to know you are not unusual. Gregory Parks, who has studied Black Greek-letter organizations as a researcher, estimates that roughly 70% of BGLO members are no longer financially active within five years of crossing. The most common reasons commenters and surveyed members give are not what national leadership tends to assume. Financial constraints across early-career years are the top driver, followed by interpersonal politics inside the chapter, a perceived gap between stated values and lived practice, and competing pulls from civic and professional organizations that offer more visible tangible benefits. Knowing this is not an excuse, it is permission. The lapsing is normal. The infrastructure to come back exists specifically because every organization knows the lapsing is normal.
Coming Home to the Sisterhood and Brotherhood
Reclamation is paperwork, but the meaning underneath the paperwork is what makes people actually do it. You are not auditioning, you are not pledging again, you are not proving anything new. You are confirming, on the rolls, what was already true. Once you are back on the active list the bigger question shifts from how do I return to how do I stay. Plenty of brothers and sisters work out a steady rhythm after reclaiming, and that is the work the next chapter of your membership picks up.