AA Meetings in Boston

Find an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Boston today through Boston Central Service at aaboston.org, which lists meetings across Eastern Massachusetts and answers live volunteers at 617-426-9444. Spanish-language meetings are served by the Oficina Intergrupal Hispana de Massachusetts in Chelsea. Our meeting finder at /meetings/ searches public AA feeds by day and format.

Call 911 if someone is overdosing, seizing, not breathing, or cannot be woken. For a mental health or suicide crisis, call or text 988.

How to Find AA Meetings Across Boston

Boston's A.A. central office is the Central Service Committee of Eastern Massachusetts. Its meeting directory is searchable — you can filter near a location, by day, and by meeting type — and it covers the whole Eastern Massachusetts area, not just the city limits. The site says the area has grown from 13 original groups in 1945 to over 2,200 meetings a week, so a same-day meeting is almost always within reach. Central Service describes itself as a clearinghouse for the groups, not a governing body, and it is funded by group and member contributions.

You can also just call. Live volunteers answer (617) 426-9444 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, Sunday, and holidays from noon to 7 p.m. The office and literature counter are at 12 Channel Street, Suite 604, in the Marine Industrial Park in the Seaport. Two service meetings are held there each month — a steering committee on the second Wednesday and a delegates meeting on the third Wednesday.

Spanish-language meetings are listed through a separate office: Central Service's useful-links page points to the Spanish Intergroup Office of Massachusetts at oficinaintergrupaldema.com, based in Chelsea. A.A.'s national directory at aa.org is not a meeting finder; it directs people to the local office, which is Central Service here.

This site's meeting finder is another route: it searches public A.A. and N.A. feeds by day, time, fellowship, and format. Whichever you use, confirm the day, time, and entrance with the group or the office before you go, because rooms change.

Boston Meeting Hubs & Communities

Boston meetings spread across the city and its suburbs, and Central Service's "near me" search is the simplest way to find what is closest to a Back Bay address, a Dorchester block, or a Cambridge office. The directory also reaches the communities around the city, from Brookline and Newton to Chelsea, Revere, Quincy, and Malden.

• Downtown and the Seaport. Central Service's own office sits in the Marine Industrial Park near the Seaport, and the downtown core — Beacon Hill, the Financial District, and the North Station area — is easy to reach by the T.
• Back Bay, Fenway, and the South End. These neighborhoods sit on the Green and Orange lines and hold a steady set of noon and evening meetings.
• Dorchester, Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain. The southern neighborhoods are served by the Red and Orange lines, with the Orange Line running to Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain.
• Cambridge and Somerville. Across the Charles River, these cities are inside Eastern Massachusetts and show up in the same directory, even though they are in Middlesex County rather than Suffolk.
• The wider region. Because Central Service covers Eastern Massachusetts, the same search will surface meetings in Worcester, the South Shore, and Cape Cod when you need one outside Boston.

Common Meeting Formats & What to Expect

A.A. divides meetings into open and closed. An open meeting is open to anyone interested in A.A.'s program, and nonalcoholics may attend as observers. A closed meeting is for A.A. members, or for people who have a drinking problem and want to stop drinking. When in doubt, start with an open meeting.

Boston's directory tags each listing by format so you can choose ahead of time:

• Newcomer: aimed at people who are new to recovery.
• Discussion: members share on a chosen topic.
• 12 Steps & 12 Traditions, and Step Study: working through the Steps and Traditions.
• Big Book: reading and discussing A.A.'s basic text.
• Speaker: one or two members tell their story.
• Men's, women's, LGBTQ+, Spanish, and wheelchair-accessible meetings are filtered the same way.

Every meeting is free. A.A. says there are no dues or fees for membership and that you do not have to pay anything to attend; a basket may be passed for voluntary contributions and skipping it is fine. And you never have to speak — A.A.'s newcomer page says you can simply listen. Anonymity means what you hear in the room stays there. The first-meeting guide walks through a typical hour.

Transportation & Virtual Meetings

The T — the MBTA's subway system, with the Red, Orange, Blue, and Green lines and the Mattapan trolley — connects most of Boston and the inner suburbs, and the Green Line Extension added service north through Somerville. A subway ride is $2.40 with a CharlieCard, CharlieTicket, contactless tap, or cash, per the MBTA subway page. The four subway lines cross downtown, so transfers between Back Bay, downtown, and the neighborhoods are usually a single change.

Meetings are not only in person. A.A. says meetings can be in person, online, or by phone, and Central Service lists local online and in-person meetings together, with off-area online listings at the Online Intergroup. Our finder also shows online and hybrid meetings from public feeds. The online A.A. meetings guide covers how they work, including the option to keep your camera off.

Peer Support vs. Medical Care

An A.A. meeting is peer support, not clinical treatment. NIDA explains that mutual-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous are peer-led and not led by healthcare professionals, so they are not the same as treatment — though NIDA notes they are free, not time-limited, and useful to many people on their own or alongside professional care.

Some situations call for a doctor, not a meeting. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life threatening when people who drink heavily over time stop suddenly, rather than cutting back gradually or stopping with medical support. Up to half of people with alcohol use disorder have some withdrawal symptoms, and a small proportion need a few days of medical detox to manage symptoms that can be dangerous. If you have been drinking heavily and want to stop, talk with a clinician first.

For help beyond a meeting:

• Emergency: call 911 for an overdose, a seizure, trouble breathing, or someone who cannot be woken.
• Crisis: call or text 988 for a mental health or suicide crisis.
• Treatment: search FindTreatment.gov, SAMHSA's treatment locator, or call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) — a free, confidential line available 24/7 in English and Spanish.
• Referral help: call or text (800) 653-9376 and we can help you sort out a level of care. SmarterRecovery is a referral helpline, not Boston Central Service and not SMART Recovery; calling is free to you because treatment providers pay for the referral service.

Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help finding treatment. If what you need tonight is a meeting, start with the meeting finder or the Central Service directory and confirm the listing. If this is an emergency or a suicide crisis, call 911 or 988 first.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

• A.A. Central Service Committee of Eastern Massachusetts (aaboston.org)
• Boston Central Service: Meetings (search by location, day, and type)
• Boston Central Service: Useful Links (Spanish Intergroup Office of Massachusetts)
• Boston Central Service: Meetings at Our Office
• A.A. General Service Committee of Eastern Massachusetts, Area 30 (local hotlines and offices)
• MBTA: Subway, Schedules & Maps
• A.A.: Find A.A. Near You (regional and online meeting information)
• A.A.: Need help with a drinking problem? (what to expect at a first meeting)
• A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting (open and closed meetings, meeting types)
• A.A.: A.A. and Anonymity
• A.A.: Meeting Guide app
• Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous (online and phone meetings)
• NIDA: Treatment (mutual-help groups are peer-led, not clinical treatment)
• NIAAA Core Resource on Alcohol: Alcohol Use Disorder, From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
• SAMHSA National Helpline
• SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
• SmarterRecovery meeting finder (public meeting search; listings are not verified by this site)
• SmarterRecovery about page (referral disclosure)

Common Questions