How Much Does It Cost to Join Screen Actors Guild?

Screen Actors Guild on Sunset, 1956, Image by James Herman via Flickr

We paid for my daughter to join Screen Actors Guild before we absolutely had to do it.

She was still in ‘must join‘ status at that time (see ‘How Do You Qualify to Join Screen Actors Guild?‘ for more info on that topic).

Her talent manager urged us to go ahead and join Screen Actors Guild for a very good reason.

The SAG initiation fees were about to go up, and we could avoid that increase if we went ahead.

So I went to the Screen Actors Guild Office on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and paid the initiation fees.

I got some grief from a few people who said we should have  waited until we absolutely had to join. I hoped I would not regret my decision.

It turned out I was really glad we went ahead, because she would have had to join a very short time later.  And by then, the SAG initiation fees had gone up, so it would have cost us even more!

The current initiation fee for joining  SAG is no small sum of money.

So, “How much does it cost to join Screen Actors Guild?”

The current initiation fee for joining SAG is $2,277.

Wow!  No small sum of money.

At the time you join you also pay the first semi-annual basic dues payment of $58. This brings your total fees to join up to the rather large sum of $2,335!

If you are not in the Los Angeles area, the SAG dues may be lower for you. So be sure to check with your nearest SAG office to find out what your amount will be.

And after joining, dues must be paid twice yearly based on the amount of money paid to you under SAG contracts in a year.

If you have no SAG earnings in a year, you still must pay the base amount of $116.00 per year (2 payments of $58).

For earnings between $1 and $200,000, the rate you pay on top of the base dues is 1.85% of your SAG earnings.  If you earn more than $200,000, different percentages apply for the earnings above $200,000. Refer to the SAG site for more details on this.

The cost to join Screen Actors Guild went up in 2007. Prior to then the initiation fee had been around $1474.

The cost of joining SAG is certainly enough to make you think long and hard about it. You really don’t need to rush into it.

However, there are many benefits available to you as a SAG member. Make sure you check out what the current member benefits are, and when you do join, be sure to utilize the benefits. You are, after all, paying for them.

Sincerely,

Debbie Sikkema