Individuals may join online at www.stc.org. Individuals can also complete and submit a PDF application to membership@stc.org.

Yes. Dues are adjusted since we operate on a calendar year cycle. For more information, contact STC. The deadline for joining or renewing membership for the current year is 31 August. The new membership year begins on 1 September.

Contact information may be updated by logging in at https://access.stc.org, clicking on your name in the upper left corner, and then clicking on the pencil in each section you want to update under the About Me tab.

 STC offers several membership levels for tech comm students, recent graduates, retired, and corporate employer members. See eligibility requirements below.

Memberships with eligibility requirements:

• Retired membership. You must be a member with STC for 10 consecutive years, be 65 years of age or older, and work, on average, 20 hours per week or less. Members cannot change to Retired memberships online, and must submit a PDF application. Click here for more information.
• Student membership. To be eligible for student membership, an applicant must be enrolled in an accredited university, college, community college, or technical school; taking at least two courses or their equivalent each term; and preparing for a career in technical communication. Click here for more information.
• New Professional membership. It’s a step between Student Membership and the Professional and Academic Membership (formally Classic) to help recent graduates continue their STC membership at an important time in their careers. You must have graduated from a technical communication program with in the last three years. Click here for more information.
• Corporate Value Program membership. Companies who employ five or more technical communicators can save on overall cost of the Professional and Academic membership by enrolling in the Corporate Value Program (CVP). Those who join receive benefits such as ePublications, discounted professional development programs, and discounted conference registration for each enrolled staff member. Dues are based on the number of staff enrolled. Click here for more details.

For members who are residents in the below countries and territories, you are eligible for reduced membership rates in the Professional & Academic and Student categories. Any other category can be purchased at the standard rate.

Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Democratic Republic of Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Republic of Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Adjusted Rates and Categories

• Professional & Academic: $50.00
• Student: $25.00

A senior member is any individual who has been a regular member of the Society for five consecutive years.

Your membership can be purchased online here. We can also accept a paper form with payment paid via credit card, check, wire, or electronic payment. We can also invoice you for your membership if that is needed. Purchase orders can not be accepted as a form of payment. Please contact STC at membership@stc.org or call at +1 (703) 522-4114 for more details.

You may be able to deduct membership fees or dues you pay to STC. However, you can deduct only the amount that is more than the value of the benefits you receive.

If you pay taxes in the United States, keep in mind that STC dues are tax deductible. Please note, however, that dues must be deducted from the tax return filed for the year in which they were paid. In other words:

• Dues paid in 2022 for your 2023 dues (paid on or before December 31, 2022) may be deducted only from 2022 tax returns.
• If you paid your 2023 dues in 2023 calendar year, they may be deducted from your 2023 tax returns.

Members who have questions should contact their local IRS office, read IRS publication 526 and 17, or contact their accountant.

You can claim dues as a deduction in one of several ways: as a charitable expense, a business expense, or a miscellaneous deduction.

Charitable Expense

Gold members may not deduct their membership as a charitable contribution since the Gold membership is valued at an amount that exceeds the dues charged for that membership. It may still be deductible as a business expense as noted below.

As a 501(c)(3) organization, STC is a qualified organization and is required by law to notify members of the value of tangible benefits received as part of their dues payment. The tangible value is $30 ($14 for Technical Communication journal and $16 for Intercom magazine). This amount or prorated portion (if a member for less than 12 months) should be deducted from total dues payment to arrive at charitable contribution amount.

Example: $240 for Professional & Academic membership minus $30 in tangible benefits equals a deductible amount of $210.

Business Expense

Employers and self-employed consultants may consider amounts paid as a business expense for all STC membership categories, including Gold membership.

Money, Not Time

While dues, contributions, and out-of-pocket expenses may be deducted, personal services may not.

Please Note

The information provided above is for your convenience only and should not replace the advice of your tax professional. STC does not provide formal tax advice for individuals regarding their personal tax situation.

Because the full range of STC products and services are available to members immediately upon joining or renewing, STC dues are nonrefundable and nontransferable at all times. The only exception are members who are a part of our Corporate Value Program.

You may cancel your membership at any time by contacting STC's membership department at +1 (703) 522-4114 or membership@stc.org

We will require your cancellation request in writing via email or by letter. Cancellation of your membership will not generate a refund of dues, but will cease your receiving membership benefits and online access.

All STC memberships run on a calendar year basis and expire on 31 December. A grace period for access to member benefits will extend through 15 January. Members who fail to renew on or before 31 January will have a membership status of “inactive” and will be ineligible to vote in the STC elections. Renewal notifications will be sent in the fall.

You can enroll in our communities at the time of your membership activation by joining STC, or with your renewal. Current members who wish to add communities to their existing membership can enroll by  contacting STC membership at +1 (703) 522-4114 with payment information and your community selection. Gold and Student members who have not used their free community allotment can also email membership@stc.org. Unless included in your membership level, chapters are $25 each and SIGs are $10/$15 each. For a complete list of professional chapters, student chapters, and SIGs, please click here. Current membership in the STC is a requirement for joining a Chapter or SIG.

You cannot enroll in a community without a first being a member with the STC. This is a requirement for joining a Chapter or SIG.

Contact information may be updated by logging into https://access.stc.org, clicking on your name in the upper left corner, and then clicking on the pencil in each section you want to update under the About Me tab. Information about your membership can be found under the My Account History tab.

Do not create a new account . This results in the creation of a duplicate record. Please use the forgot password link or contact membership@stc.org.

Please contact STC at membership@stc.org or call +1 (703) 522-4114 with your credit card information to verify the transaction is complete.

Yes. The membership and education purchase pages are secured using PCI Compliant practices and SSL Certificates. If you visit a page under the subdomain http://access.stc.org that appears to be unsecure please send an email to webmaster@stc.org detailing the source link. Also, you can enable a secure connection by entering https:// instead of http:// to secure your entire visit to access.stc.org.