Two different things people call "membership"
Fellow FS here. "What degree is he?" and "what type of member is he?" sound like the same question. They're not — and conflating them causes real billing and reporting errors. One is about the ceremony a man has completed; the other is about his standing and how he's billed. Let's separate them cleanly.
Degree = the exemplification (ceremony) a member has completed — it's about formation, not billing. Member type/class = his current standing (associate, insurance, honorary, etc.), which does drive dues, assessments, and reporting. A man's degree rarely changes; his type can change over a lifetime.
Degrees — the post-2020 reality
For decades there were three separate degrees — Charity, Unity, and Fraternity — exemplified in three ceremonies. Since 2020, those were combined into a single ceremony: the Exemplification of Charity, Unity and Fraternity (the "CUF" degree). A man becomes a full member by completing this one exemplification.
The modern exemplification runs roughly 25 minutes, can be held any day (not just a Saturday morning), and is offered both in person and online. If your recruiting copy still says "three degrees" or "a Saturday-morning ceremony," it's out of date — and it makes joining sound harder than it is.
The Fourth Degree (patriotism) is separate — it's the Patriotic Degree, joined through an Assembly, and is optional. It sits on top of full membership; it isn't part of becoming a member.
Member types — what actually drives billing
This is the part the Financial Secretary lives in. A member's type determines whether and how he's billed:
A member who does not hold KoC insurance. Billed council dues; counts in the membership total for assessments.
A member who holds a KoC insurance product. Same council-dues obligation; the distinction matters for the Order's reporting and the agent relationship.
Age 65 and 25 consecutive years in the Order. Exempt from general-fund (council) charges — but they still pay the State and Supreme per-capita charges and levies.
Age 70 with 25 consecutive years, or 50 years of membership regardless of age. Exempt from dues, per capita, and assessments. (Priests and religious become Honorary Life automatically on taking the First Degree.)
Still a member and still counted in compliance denominators, but not actively engaged. Don't confuse 'inactive' with 'suspended.'
A Brother unable to engage in any occupation for at least six months is eligible for a dues/per-capita waiver under Section 118(e) — filed on Form #1831, approved by the GK and FS, and in effect until they remove it.
Why the FS has to get this right
Honorary life and disabled members are exempt. A dues notice — let alone a delinquency notice — to one of them is an avoidable insult to a Brother who's earned his standing.
Inactive members still count toward your membership total for Supreme assessments and many compliance denominators. Dropping them from your counts understates what you owe and what you report.
A man who completed the exemplification last week and a 40-year honorary-life member both 'have the degree.' Their billing could not be more different. Record both fields.
It dates your council and oversells the difficulty of joining. One exemplification, ~25 minutes.
How DuesSync handles this
DuesSync tracks member type alongside the roster, and the billing engine respects it automatically — waived classes (honorary life, disability) are skipped by the notice pipeline, inactive members stay in the compliance denominators where they belong, and first-year waivers are honored. New members added via Form #100 land as current, not delinquent. You record the type once; the system bills correctly from then on.
The thresholds above are drawn from the 2025 Charter, Constitution and Laws — but always confirm a member's class against current Supreme rules before changing how he's billed. See the platform overview.
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