The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

What Are the 12 Steps of AA?

The 12 steps are the heart of Alcoholics Anonymous, a sequence of principles and actions that take a person from active drinking to a new way of living. They were written by AA’s founders in the 1930s and first published in 1939 in the book Alcoholics Anonymous, the “Big Book.” Far from a set of rules to obey, they’re a path people walk, usually with a sponsor, moving from honest surrender, through clearing away the wreckage of the past, to a daily practice of staying well and helping others.

You don’t have to understand them all at once, and you don’t have to be perfect at them. Members work the steps in order, at their own pace, one at a time, and return to them for life. Below is the full, original text of all 12, exactly as AA wrote them, with a plain-language explanation of what each one actually means and asks of you.

The 12 Steps of AA, in Full

Here are the Twelve Steps exactly as written in Alcoholics Anonymous ^[1], each followed by what it means in everyday terms.

Step 1. “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.”
The foundation: an honest admission that willpower alone hasn’t worked and the drinking is running the show. It isn’t defeat, it’s the relief of finally stopping the fight you keep losing.

Step 2. “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
An opening of the mind to the idea that help from outside yourself, whatever you understand that to be, can do what you couldn’t do alone.

Step 3. “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”
A decision to stop white-knuckling and let go, trusting that “higher power as you understand it,” the group, a set of principles, or something larger, with the steering wheel.

Step 4. “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
An honest, written look at your own resentments, fears, and harms, the first real housecleaning. Searching, because it’s thorough; fearless, because you don’t flinch from it.

Step 5. “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”
Saying it out loud to one trusted person. Secrets keep addiction alive; speaking them breaks their grip.

Step 6. “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”
Becoming willing to let go of the old patterns, the defensiveness, dishonesty, and self-centered fear that drove the drinking.

Step 7. “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”
Asking for those patterns to be lifted, an act of humility rather than self-improvement by force.

Step 8. “Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.”
Naming the people your drinking hurt, and getting willing, not yet acting, to set things right.

Step 9. “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”
Actually repairing the damage where you can, directly and responsibly, unless doing so would cause more harm. This is where freedom from the past is won.

Step 10. “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”
A daily habit: catching yourself when you slip, and cleaning it up quickly before it festers.

Step 11. “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”
A daily practice of reflection, prayer or meditation in whatever form fits you, to stay grounded and connected.

Step 12. “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”
Having changed, you help the next person, and you carry these principles into all of life, not just the meetings. Helping others turns out to be a powerful way to keep yourself well.

How the 12 Steps Are Worked

The steps are meant to be lived, not read, and almost no one does them alone.

Most members work them with a sponsor, someone further along who has worked the steps themselves and guides you through, one at a time, in order. There’s often written work (especially the Step 4 inventory), honest conversations, and real-world action (the Step 9 amends). You move at your own pace, some steps take a day, others take months, and the later steps (10–12) become a daily practice rather than a finish line. The point isn’t perfection; it’s progress and honesty, returned to again and again.

Research Backs Why the 12 Steps Work

This isn’t just folklore, researchers have studied both whether AA works and how the steps produce change.

The evidence that it works is strong: a 2020 Cochrane review found that engaging people in AA and its step-based approach is as effective as or more effective than treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy at keeping people abstinent, with the benefit lasting years ^[2]. As for how, when scientists tested the mechanisms, the steps and meetings work largely by changing your social world, trading a drinking network for a sober, supportive one, and by building your confidence to stay sober in everyday life, with spiritual growth and relief from depression adding to the effect for those who need it most ^[3]. In other words, the steps work by doing exactly what they describe: honest self-examination, repaired relationships, connection, and service rebuild a life that no longer needs the drink.

Are the 12 Steps Religious?

This is the most common worry, and the answer is that the steps are spiritual, not religious. Several mention “God,” but always qualified as “God as we understood Him” and a “Power greater than ourselves,” language deliberately left open. For some members that power is God; for many others it’s the group itself, the principles of the program, nature, or simply something bigger than their own willpower. Atheists and agnostics work the steps successfully every day, often reading “higher power” as the collective wisdom and support of the fellowship. If the spiritual language is a sticking point for you, it’s worth reading more on working the steps without religion, because the door is wider than it first appears.

Working the Steps and Getting Started

You don’t work the steps by reading about them, you work them by walking into a meeting and finding someone who has. The usual first moves are simple: go to an AA meeting, and ask someone about sponsorship. A sponsor will help you start at Step 1 and go from there. For the bigger picture of the fellowship the steps live inside, see the guide to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Find treatment and recovery support that fit →

If you drink heavily every day, talk to a doctor or call SAMHSA at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) before stopping, because withdrawal can be dangerous and a supervised detox is the safe way to begin. If you’re in crisis or having thoughts of self-harm, call or text 988.

Written by

Jessica Miller

Editorial Director

Jessica Miller is the Editorial Director of Addiction Help. Jessica graduated from the University of South Florida (USF) with an English degree and combines her writing expertise and passion for helping others to deliver reliable information to those impacted by addiction. Informed by her personal journey to recovery and support of loved ones in sobriety, Jessica's empathetic and authentic approach resonates deeply with the Addiction Help community.

Reviewed by

• Fact-Checked
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Kent S. Hoffman, D.O.

Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer

Kent S. Hoffman, D.O. has been an expert in addiction medicine for more than 15 years. In addition to managing a successful family medical practice, Dr. Hoffman is board certified in addiction medicine by the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine (AOAAM). Dr. Hoffman has successfully treated hundreds of patients battling addiction. Dr. Hoffman is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of AddictionHelp.com and ensures the website’s medical content and messaging quality.