Private members club application, step by step

01/ How to join a private members club

Five steps most clubs share.

The Oxford and Cambridge Club sets out the classic sequence: an eligible candidate is “proposed and seconded by existing members, known personally to the candidate”, the committee may enter the name in the candidates’ book, and “after not less than 20 clear days (usually a month), the Committee decides whether or not to elect” (Oxford and Cambridge Club).

Membership is only complete once you pay. The same club says the election lapses if the first subscription and any entrance fee are not paid within 20 clear days.

Newer, commercially run clubs often shorten the path to an application form and a committee review. Soho House’s High Road House page says applications “are reviewed quarterly by our Committee” (Soho House, High Road House).

03/ Applying without a proposer

Most clubs now offer a route in.

The Lansdowne Club invites applicants without a proposer and seconder to an applications panel, “an informal drinks reception with other prospective members”, held four times a year (Lansdowne Club).

Roehampton Club asks such applicants for CVs, ID and two character references from professional people, then helps them find a proposer once they are on the waiting list (Roehampton Club).

The Oxford and Cambridge Club’s membership department “is available to assist candidates who have difficulty in locating a proposer and seconder” (Oxford and Cambridge Club).

For an operator, an open route widens the pool without dropping the vetting: the panel or references replace the personal introduction.

04/ Committee approval

Who elects, and how strictly.

Election is the committee’s decision, and clubs say so plainly. The Lansdowne Club “reserves the right to refuse membership and is not obliged to provide reason for doing so” (Lansdowne Club).

Some clubs set a demanding bar. At the Savile Club, the General Committee members present “must vote unanimously in favour of a candidate”, and “an abstention counts as a vote against” (Savile Club).

Others route through two bodies: at the Carlton Club the Membership Committee recommends and the General Committee elects (Carlton Club).

How a club’s committee is constituted and runs is covered under membership committee.

05/ Private members club waiting list

Waiting lists run on resignations.

A waiting list exists because places are capped. Roehampton Club explains the mechanics: the number of resignations at the end of each year “determines the number of vacancies available for the following year”, membership is offered in chronological order, and the predicted wait is “at least five years” (Roehampton Club).

Some clubs have no list at all. The Oxford and Cambridge Club states that “there is no waiting list for either UK or overseas membership” (Oxford and Cambridge Club).

Others gate the list itself. MCC enters a candidate on its waiting list only after an endorsing interview and a registration fee, and runs nominations in an annual window (MCC).

06/ Private members club membership criteria

Criteria must be lawful as well as clear.

Criteria fall into two kinds: eligibility, which a club can state objectively (a university, a military commission, a minimum age), and fit, which the proposer, letters and committee judge.

In England, Wales and Scotland, the Equality Act 2010 applies to associations of at least 25 members whose admission “is regulated by the association’s rules and involves a process of selection” (Equality Act 2010, s.107).

Such an association must not discriminate “in the arrangements A makes for deciding who to admit to membership”, in the terms of admission, or by not accepting an application (Equality Act 2010, s.101). Take advice on how the Act applies to your own rules.

This is general information, not legal advice.

07/ If you run a club

Design admissions as a journey.

The process above is also the first experience a future member has of your club. Slow replies and unclear rules lose good applicants to other clubs.

Publish the steps and the timescale, say who to contact, and give applicants without a proposer a defined route in.

Collect only what you need on the form; our membership application form guide covers the fields. Make sure applicants can see the private members club membership fees before they apply, and choose private members club software that tracks each application from enquiry to election.

Our private members club marketing service builds the applicant journey for clubs.