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Join as a Planner

You Serve Communities. APA Serves You.

APA is the essential membership association for planners. No other organization associated with the planning profession provides the quantity and quality of information, continuing education, and peer relationships that APA does. Membership in APA provides you with the most opportunities to elevate the practice of planning, the communities you serve, and your career.

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If you've never before been a member of APA, or are within one year of the lapse of your student membership, take advantage of our introductory rate and all our association offers.

See Special Offer for New Members

Why Belong to APA?

  • Expand your network. We bring together more than 40,000 individuals from every state and 90 countries who share your passions and can help shape your future. Engage with planners from your local area and from disciplines you care about. Discuss experiences, face challenges, and possibly land your next job!
  • Connect with specialists. The National Planning Conference gathers thousands of planners under one roof. You can build a network that stretches across the country and around the world. Join one or more of APA's 24 divisions — communities of professionals with shared interests — at a discounted rate. Divisions contribute to APA's national policy work and offer online education and forums, publications, and specialized sessions at the conference.
  • Connect locally. Join one of 48 chapters (required for U.S. members) — the local source for networking and professional development — and connect with the area planning community through the chapter's annual conference, education and advocacy programs, and public information campaigns.
  • Get AICP certified. Take your planning to the next level. Only as an APA member can you earn certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners. AICP offers the only national, independent verification of planners' qualifications.
  • Keep up with planning. All members receive Planning magazine your best sources for news on contemporary planning practices, unlimited access to current and archived Planning Advisory Service resources, APA's Research KnowledgeBase, and our member e-newsletter, Interact. Plus, all members get a deep discount to the Journal of the American Planning Association, the planning profession's journal of record.
  • Advance your career. Get a boost from APA's online Career Center. It's a powerhouse of resources for job seekers, including the member's only Career Reality Webinar series. Make yourself visible to prospective employers by completing your My APA profile.
  • Update your skills. Get mentoring, guidance, and training at all stages of your professional life through APA's top-notch professional education — delivered in-person and online.
  • Promote planning. Your membership will strengthen APA's advocacy for good planning and essential programs. On a personal level, APA's communication tools, training, organization, and access will help you become an effective advocate able to craft and deliver positive messages about planning to key audiences.

Ask your employer to support your professional development by paying for your APA membership. Use our talking points to reinforce your request.

APA and AICP Member Dues

    Not a Planner?

    APA membership is open to everyone who is committed to applying the benefits of planning to create communities of lasting value.

    • Learn more if you're a planning or zoning board member or commissioner, or an elected or appointed official.
    • Learn more if you're an educator.
    • Learn more if you live outside the United States.
    • Learn more if you're a student.
    • Learn more if you work in an affiliated profession, or you are an interested nonplanner.

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