Any student in good academic standing and enrolled full-time at a member institution is eligible to participate in CARD tournaments with the approval of that institution’s Director or designated program authority.

Any accredited 2 or 4-year college or university in North America is eligible for membership.

Core member programs are schools that have participated in at least 4 sanctioned CARD tournaments over the previous 12 months or contributed equivalent organizational service in the event routine participation in competition is disrupted. Core members must also remain current with their program dues. Voting rights of the organization are vested in Core members. Core member programs are committed to the growth and development of CARD debate and participate in submitting topic papers, voting for topics, and producing the bulk of the community library.

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Core programs incur a $100 annual registration fee used for acceptable and limited purposes at the direction of the Treasurer upon a vote by core members. Acceptable and limited purposes 

include webhosting services for an institutional website, and other purposes as directed by a vote of core members.

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Core members become non-voting affiliate members if they fail to participate in at least 4 sanctioned CARD tournaments over the preceding 12 months (or provide equivalent organizational service in the event their ability to participate in competition is disrupted) or they fail to pay their annual registration fee.

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Affiliate member programs are schools attending 3 or fewer sanctioned tournaments in the preceding 12 months. Affiliate programs are invited to participate in community discussions, join the CARD communication platform(s) and contribute to the community topic library.  Affiliate members do not have voting rights and do not pay dues but must first pay dues and attend 4 or more sanctioned tournaments in the preceding 12 months to become a core voting member. 

Program leaders interested in participating in CARD debate should contact the current executive secretary. Upon joining, program directors will be connected to the organization's communication platforms and the Community Library and topic Library Guide.