ICAR Membership

ICAR currently offers the following membership types:

• Type A: Rescue organizations of a Nation or national importance* who cover all the aspects of mountain rescue and fulfill recommendations set out by the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. Type A member organizations have 4 delegate votes at the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. The annual membership fee is € 1'000.
• Type B1: Rescue organizations of regional importance including alpine associations** and organizations who cover part of the aspects of organized mountain rescue. They should fulfill recommendations set out by the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. Type B1 member organizations have 2 delegate votes at the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. The annual membership fee is € 500.
• Type B2: Subject specific organizations who cover part of the aspects of mountain rescue. Their rescue activities should fulfill recommendations set out by the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. Type B2 member organizations have 1 delegate vote at the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. The annual membership fee is € 400.
• Type C: Organizations within the field of mountain rescue who are not directly active in the ICAR and organizations that aspire to be members who cannot currently meet the guidelines for A or B membership. Their rescue activities should fulfill recommendations set out by the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. Type C member organizations do not have any voting right at the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. The annual membership fee is € 200. A waiver of this fee for a limited amount of time in specific and justified cases is at the discretion of the ICAR Executive Board.
• Type D: A person of special merit with regard to ICAR may be appointed as Honorary Member or Honorary President by the ICAR Assembly of Delegates, following the nomination by an ICAR Member Organization. Type D members do not have any voting right at the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. There is no annual fee for this membership type.
• Type E: Organizations, with no organized mountain rescue mission, who support ICAR goals. Type E members do not have any voting right at the ICAR Assembly of Delegates. There is no annual fee for this membership type.

* National importance is determined by a relationship with the national government which states the organization will be called upon in national need.
** An alpine association that maintains an organized mountain rescue component within their membership.

Benefits of an ICAR membership:

• Worldwide networking
• Exchange of know-how and experience
• Participation in the technical forum for new insights in mountain rescue
• Participation in the mountain rescue safety forum
• First-hand contacts with manufacturers
• Access to the internal area of this website

Interested in becoming an ICAR member?

Contact office@alpine-rescue.org, all necessary ICAR membership application forms (and detailed instructions how to proceed) will then be sent to you (or download them from the link below).

Please complete, sign and return the forms as soon as possible (but not later than May 31, for an approval in the same year) via e-mail. If you do not have a scanner available, you can also fax us the documents or send us hard-copies to our postal address.

We will then check if your application is complete (ICAR Membership Work Group of the ICAR Executive Board) and scan for any potential interference with existing ICAR members within the same country (ICAR Member consultation). If so far positive, the ICAR Executive Board (at its meeting end of August) will then prepare a proposal to the ICAR Assembly of Delegates (which usually takes place in October, upon the ICAR convention).

That's where the final decision about your application will be taken by the ICAR Assembly of Delegates, after a brief presentation of your organization, either by yourself or a delegation of your organization.