- Form
- #1831
- Due
- As needed (no annual deadline)
- Signed
- Grand Knight & Financial Secretary
- Prepared by
- Financial Secretary (with the member)
The form that keeps a disabled Brother a member
Fellow FS here. Sometimes a member stops paying not because he forgot, but because he genuinely can't — illness or injury has put him out of work. The Order doesn't make that man choose between his dues and his membership. Form #1831, the Application for Per Capita Disability Exemption, relieves a totally disabled member from all council dues and from Supreme and state per-capita charges — and keeps him a member in good standing.
It's a small form with a real human purpose, and the FS should know it exists before reaching for a suspension notice.
Certifies that a member is in good standing and eligible for relief from payment of council dues plus Supreme and state per-capita taxes, due to total disability. Eligibility (per Section 118(e)): unable to engage in any occupation for at least six months. Once granted, the exemption stays in effect until the council removes it.
Who qualifies
The standard is total disability — a member unable to engage in any occupation for a period of at least six months, under Section 118(e) of the Order's laws. This isn't a hardship discount or a "fell behind" waiver; it's specifically for a Brother who cannot work.
The current revision removed the requirement for a physician's signature and disability documentation. The Grand Knight and Financial Secretary approve the exemption themselves — which means the FS can act compassionately and quickly, without making an ailing member chase paperwork from his doctor.
How it works
A member is unable to work and falling behind — or you already know his situation. Don't run him through the delinquency pipeline; reach for the #1831 instead.
The form certifies the member by name and member number as in good standing and eligible for relief due to total disability. The FS prepares it.
Both officers approve the exemption — no physician signature required. That's the whole authorization.
Once granted, the status remains in effect until the Grand Knight and Financial Secretary remove it (for example, if the member recovers and returns to work). It doesn't auto-expire each year.
What it does — and doesn't — waive
Council dues, and the Supreme and state council per-capita taxes. The member is also dropped from the per-capita basis, so the council isn't billed assessments on him. See per capita.
He remains a member in good standing — the exemption protects his standing, it doesn't diminish it. He's simply relieved of the payments he can't make.
Common mistakes
The #1831 exists precisely so this doesn't happen. If you know a member is unable to work, the exemption — not a Knight Alert — is the right tool.
The current form removed that requirement. Don't reintroduce a barrier the Order took away — GK and FS approval is sufficient.
An exempt member should drop out of your assessment headcount. Leaving him in overstates what the council owes Supreme and state.
The exemption persists until removed. If the member returns to work, the GK and FS should end it so billing resumes correctly.
How DuesSync handles this
DuesSync treats disability as a waived billing class: an exempt member is skipped by the dues-notice pipeline and dropped from the per-capita basis automatically, so he never receives a delinquency notice he shouldn't and your assessment headcount stays correct. Record the class once; the billing engine respects it until you change it.
There's no public #1831 builder, but the #185 and #365 builders show the pattern. See the platform overview.
Built by a Financial Secretary
Stop running this by hand.
DuesSync keeps the Form 1831 paper trail ready and runs your dues collection — notices, online payments, and reconciliation — without the kitchen-table grind.
Free for Founding Councils through June 2027 — no council vote, no credit card.
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