Key takeaway
P-15, Questions and Answers on Sponsorship, is conference-approved. It uses shared experience to answer 34 questions. Those answers stay in the pamphlet. Groups often leave a copy on the literature table. You can attend with no sponsor. There is no assignment desk that will match you with a person before you walk in.
Last updated: Tue Oct 06 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
The pamphlet is face-up on the kitchen table, and it looks like homework you were supposed to finish before you were allowed to feel better. Thirty-four questions. You have none of the answers. The shame of that is louder than the meeting was.
Put it down. Questions and Answers on Sponsorship, pamphlet P-15, is conference-approved. It uses shared A.A. experience to answer 34 questions, for people seeking sponsors, for people who want to sponsor, and for groups that are planning sponsorship. Those answers stay in the pamphlet. They are not a list you were meant to already know. Inventing them would only give you a fake rule to be afraid of.
You can close it and still go to a meeting. There is no assignment desk. Nobody is waiting with your name next to a sponsor's name. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. You can attend with no sponsor at all.
If you are sick from stopping, the pamphlet can wait. Call 911 if this is a medical emergency. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening when a person who drinks heavily over time stops suddenly. A meeting cannot manage that. A stapled booklet cannot either.
What is actually in your hand
Groups often leave P-15 on the literature table, next to whatever else that group keeps out. You were allowed to take it. You were also allowed to leave it there. It is shared experience collected for three kinds of readers: you, if you are looking for a sponsor; a member who is thinking about sponsoring; and a group that is trying to figure out its own sponsorship plans. It is not an intake form. There is no score at the end.
You do not know the 34 answers tonight, and that is the honest state. Read one question when your eyes will cooperate, or read none. The pamphlet will not expire by morning. Conference-approved means the fellowship has accepted it as literature. It does not mean you are on a clock.
You do not have to pay to be in the room while the pamphlet sits at home. There are no dues or fees. You can sit and listen, or you can share. Completely up to you. The chair often asks if anyone new wants to introduce themselves. It is not mandatory. It might be helpful if you want a room to know you are new. Helpful is still optional. You can be the person who does not speak and does not have a sponsor and is still in the right chair.
A person is not issued with the paper
After the meeting, people talk. There is a social feel. Someone may introduce themselves and offer help. Staying is up to you. If you want words for asking a member whose share helped, that sentence lives in how to ask someone to sponsor you. You do not need P-15 memorized before you say it. You can also skip the ask and only listen.
Some groups use the words temporary sponsor for a person who will talk with you while you are new. That practice belongs to the group. It is not a national office, and it is not a match the pamphlet mails to you. What those words mean where you are is a local question. Tradition Four says each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole. If your group never mentions a temporary sponsor, you have not missed a required step. You can keep attending.
The long form of Tradition Three says any two or three alcoholics gathered for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that as a group they have no other affiliation. A small room counts. It does not come with a sponsorship department. You will not find an assignment window behind the literature.
Paper is not care
NIDA says mutual-help groups such as A.A. are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. The meeting is peer support. It is not detox. A sponsor, when you have one, is another member, not a clinician on call. If you need help finding treatment, call (800) 653-9376. That call is free to you. Treatment providers pay for the referral service. The line is not A.A., and it is not SMART Recovery. FindTreatment.gov is where programs are listed. SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), is free, confidential, and available in English and Spanish.
Tonight
Leave the pamphlet on the table if it is making the kitchen feel like a classroom. Find a meeting through the meetings search. Listings there are not verified, so confirm the time. Go with no sponsor and no finished reading. You can pick the pamphlet up again on a day when it looks like a help instead of a test. Tonight, being in the room is enough.
Additional Resources
Sources cited on this page:
- A.A.: Questions and Answers on Sponsorship
- A.A.: The Twelve Traditions
- A.A.: Need help with a drinking problem?
- A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting
- NIDA: Treatment, including mutual-help groups
- NIAAA Core Resource: Alcohol Use Disorder, From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
- SAMHSA National Helpline
- SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- SmarterRecovery meetings page (public meeting search; listings are not verified)
- SmarterRecovery about page (calling is free to the caller)
Common Questions
Did I fail because I cannot answer the pamphlet?
No. P-15 is conference-approved, and it uses shared A.A. experience to answer 34 questions. Those questions are for people seeking sponsors, people who want to sponsor, and groups planning sponsorship. The answers live in the pamphlet. You were not supposed to know them before you picked it up. Guessing would only invent a rule. Read what is printed when you can, or leave it closed. Either way you can be in a meeting tonight.
Can I go to a meeting with no sponsor and no pamphlet?
Yes. There is no assignment desk. Nobody at a national office pairs you with a stranger and sends the name. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. You do not have to pay, and there are no dues or fees. You can sit and listen, or you can share. If the chair asks whether newcomers want to introduce themselves, that is not mandatory. You can walk in with empty hands and still be in the right room.
Where did this pamphlet come from if it is not homework?
Groups often keep it on the literature table. It is one piece of conference-approved literature, built from shared experience, not from a quiz you can flunk. Take a copy if one is there and you want it. Leave it if your pockets are already full of paper you are afraid of. You do not have to finish it before you are allowed to come back. The table is an offer. It is not an intake desk.
What do I do if I want a person and not a booklet?
After the meeting, people often talk, and someone may offer help. Staying for that is up to you. If a share helped, you can speak to that person. The words for asking are a separate conversation from the stack of questions in P-15. You still do not have to perform the pamphlet first. A no from one member is not a verdict. You can come back and only listen. The group, not a national office, decides how it handles sponsorship.
Can the pamphlet or a sponsor handle withdrawal?
No. A pamphlet is paper. A sponsor is another member. NIDA says mutual-help groups such as A.A. are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. The meeting is peer support, not detox. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening when a person who drinks heavily over time stops suddenly. Call 911 for a medical emergency. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. Get care before you try to study.