Form #185 — Report of Officers Chosen for the Term

What Form #185 actually does

Fellow FS here. Form #185 is how your council tells Supreme who got elected in May and will be taking office July 1.

Twelve elected slots: Grand Knight, Deputy Grand Knight, Chancellor, Recorder, Advocate, Treasurer, Warden, Inside Guard, Outside Guard, and three Trustees (1-year, 2-year, 3-year). That's it. No Chaplain (not elected), no Financial Secretary (appointed by Supreme on GK recommendation), no program directors (they go on #365).

It's due June 30 at the close of the fraternal year. In practice, file as soon as elections conclude so you're never the thing holding up downstream paperwork — Form #365, SP-7, and the audit all depend on Supreme knowing who your current officers are.

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Why #185 matters

Your state and district deputies need to know who's running your council for the upcoming year. So do Supreme's records, the insurance Field Agent, and every other Knight or officer who might need to contact your council. Without #185 on file:

• The transition from outgoing officers to incoming officers is undocumented at Supreme.
• Your incoming GK isn't on record as the council's signatory for Supreme correspondence.
• Your council can drift out of Good Standing for missing required filings.

Filing on time is rarely the hard part. Filing accurately is the part that catches councils.

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Who goes on #185 (and who doesn't)

On #185 — elected officers only:

• Grand Knight
• Deputy Grand Knight
• Chancellor
• Recorder
• Advocate
• Treasurer
• Warden
• Inside Guard
• Outside Guard
• 1-Year Trustee (the Trustee serving their final year)
• 2-Year Trustee (middle year)
• 3-Year Trustee (newly elected)

Not on #185 — and why:

• Financial Secretary — appointed by the Supreme Knight (not elected) and serves at the Supreme Knight's will per Order L&R §128. The incoming or outgoing GK submits Form #101 ("Application for Appointment as Financial Secretary"), which goes to the Knights of Columbus Financial Secretary Division (financial.secretary@kofc.org). FS appointments are for three-year terms, renewable on review.
• Chaplain — not an elected officer. Goes on Form #365 instead.
• Program Director, pillar directors, Membership Director, Retention Chairman — program team, goes on #365.

If your council elected someone as "assistant treasurer" or "co-recorder" as an informal role, that doesn't go on #185. Only the Supreme-recognized 12 slots.

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The data fields per officer

For each of the 12 officers, #185 typically requires:

• Full legal name
• Membership number
• Mailing address
• Phone
• Email

Check every Membership number against Member Management — typos here cascade into wrong-address correspondence from Supreme for the whole fraternal year.

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The election → #185 → installation sequence

The typical sequence, for the fraternal year starting July 1, 2026:

1. March – April: Nominating committee forms. Nominees announced.
2. May – June 15: Officer elections. Per Order L&R §128, all elected officers (every slot except Chaplain, Lecturer, and Financial Secretary) must be elected by ballot at a monthly council meeting held between May 1 and June 15. College council officers get a March 1 – June 1 window.
3. June: Outgoing FS compiles #185 data from election results. Incoming GK reviews and signs.
4. Late June or July: #185 filed with Supreme.
5. Late June or early July: Officer installation ceremony — new officers formally take office.
6. July 1: New fraternal year begins; new officers are official.

If your installation happens in late June (common pattern), the incoming GK is the person who signs #185 — even if they haven't formally installed yet. The form reports who will take office, not who is in office today.

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What to do if officers change mid-year

Officer resignations, deaths, moves, or removals happen. When an elected officer can't complete their term:

• Chancellor (or in some councils, the GK) identifies a replacement.
• Council votes to fill the vacancy at a business meeting.
• Hold a new election at the next regular monthly meeting. Order L&R §131 is clear: vacancies in elective offices are filled by election at the monthly council meeting following the one where the vacancy was created. No specific replacement form exists — file an amended #185 (or update through Member Management) to register the new officer with Supreme. If the council fails to fill the vacancy itself, the District Deputy or State Deputy appoints someone to the unexpired term.

Don't wait until next year's #185 to notify Supreme — the records drift, and your state deputy loses visibility.

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Common mistakes

• Filing before elections are fully complete. If a contested election goes to a runoff, don't file a guess — wait for the runoff result.
• Missing Trustee rotation. Every July, the 1-year Trustee rotates off, the 2-year becomes the 1-year, the 3-year becomes the 2-year, and a newly elected Trustee becomes the 3-year. Make sure the form reflects the post-July 1 state, not the pre-July 1 state.
• Outgoing GK signing instead of incoming GK. Some forms have signature lines that are ambiguous. Incoming GK is the correct signer because #185 reports the new slate.
• Copy-paste from last year. Similar mistake to #365 — every year needs a fresh #185. Addresses and emails go stale fast.
• Leaving the FS slot blank or filled incorrectly. The FS is not on #185. If the form has a line that looks like FS, it's not — don't fill it.

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What happens after you submit

Supreme processes #185 in a few weeks, updates the council's officer records, and notifies your state deputy and district deputy. Your Insurance Field Agent gets copied. Your installation ceremony then formally seats the new officers.

If you're using paid DuesSync, we email the filled PDF directly to Supreme with the GK's signature and track delivery.

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One more thing

The single best reason to file #185 early: it unblocks everything downstream. #365 is due July 1 and references the new GK; Per Capita assumes the new slate; Insurance Field Agents need the new GK's contact info. Filing #185 late doesn't just delay #185 — it ripples.

Get elections clean, compile data once, file within a week. That's the trick.

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Source notes. Draws on Supreme Council Form #185 instructions, Form #101 (Application for Appointment as Financial Secretary), the Grand Knight Handbook (#915), and Charter, Constitution and Laws (Order L&R, 2025 edition — §126 officers list; §128 election window; §131 vacancies; §135 GK duties). Send feedback if anything's off.

Last reviewed: April 18, 2026. Fraternal year 2025–26.