AA Meetings in Washington, DC

Find an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Washington, DC today through the Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA) at aa-dc.org or its 24-hour phone line, 202-966-9115. WAIA serves the District plus Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland. 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 Washington, DC

The District's A.A. central office is the Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA). Its website is the online resource for Alcoholics Anonymous in the nation's capital, and its phones are staffed 24 hours a day by live, local people at (202) 966-9115. WAIA is a service board of representatives from groups across the Washington area — including Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland as well as the District — and it publishes the area's Where & When meeting list. Volunteers answer the phones during the day, and night calls are routed to Night Watch volunteers.

The WAIA office at 4530 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 111, is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; office hours expand as more volunteers are trained. The office also sells A.A. literature and acts as a clearinghouse for area events. The business line from the central office is 202-966-9782.

A.A.'s national site at aa.org is not a meeting finder; it points people to the local office, which here is WAIA. If you are in Northern Virginia, the Northern Virginia Intergroup in Fairfax serves that side of the region. Spanish-speaking groups have their own offices across the region: the WAIA Spanish page lists Oficina Intergrupal de Washington at 4027 13th Street NW, (202) 340-1491, with Virginia at (703) 455-0278 and Maryland at (301) 557-0561.

This site's meeting finder is another route: it searches public A.A. and N.A. feeds by day, time, fellowship, and format, including online. Confirm the day, time, and entrance with the group or WAIA before you go.

Washington, DC Meeting Hubs & Communities

Washington meetings spread across the District's quadrants and reach into the Maryland suburbs, so WAIA's list is organized for a region rather than a single downtown. The office itself sits on Connecticut Avenue in northwest DC, and the directory covers the whole District plus Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

• Northwest DC. The Connecticut Avenue corridor around the office, plus Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, and Chevy Chase, holds a dense set of noon and evening meetings near the Red Line.
• Downtown and Capitol Hill. Metro Center, Gallery Place, and Capitol South put much of the central District — including the Mall and the federal office core — within a few blocks of a meeting.
• Northeast and the Anacostia side. The Green and Blue lines reach neighborhoods east of the river, where WAIA's list continues into the District's eastern wards.
• Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Because WAIA serves these Maryland counties, the same list reaches Bethesda, Silver Spring, Rockville, and the Prince George's communities, so a meeting near the DC line is in the same directory.

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.

WAIA's list labels meetings by format so you can choose before you go:

• Newcomer: aimed at people who are new to recovery.
• Discussion: members share on a topic; the most common style.
• Big Book and step study: reading A.A.'s basic text and working the Steps.
• Speaker: one or two members tell their story.
• Men's, women's, LGBTQ+, Spanish, and wheelchair-accessible meetings are listed the same way.
• Online, hybrid, and in-person listings are labeled, because a meeting that combines a room and a video link is described in its own note.

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 passing it on is fine. And you never have to speak — A.A.'s newcomer page says you can sit and listen. Anonymity means what you hear in the room stays there. The first-meeting guide walks through a typical hour.

Transportation & Virtual Meetings

Metrorail, run by WMATA, is the region's rapid transit system: six color-coded lines serving 98 stations across the District, Maryland, and Virginia, laid out so most trips need no more than one transfer. That makes DC meetings easy to reach without a car, and the Red Line's northwest stations are close to WAIA's own office. Metrobus fills in the neighborhoods between stations.

Meetings are not only in person. A.A. says meetings can be in person, online, or by phone, and WAIA keeps online and Zoom meeting lists alongside its in-person directory. The Online Intergroup hosts additional free meetings, and our finder shows online and hybrid meetings from public feeds. The online A.A. meetings guide explains how they work, including that you can keep your camera off and stay silent if you prefer.

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 WAIA 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 WAIA 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:

• Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA)
• WAIA: Contact Us (phones staffed 24 hours a day)
• WAIA: Office (current office hours and address)
• WAIA: Información de habla hispana (Spanish-speaking offices)
• WMATA: Metrorail (six lines, 98 stations in DC, Maryland, and Virginia)
• 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