ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú

Start a new SIGN chapter

• Per our guidelines, SIGN chapters can be started at any accredited medical school. As of the 2025-2026 chapter year, your institution must be accredited by an agency recognized by the World Federation for Medical ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú in the
• There is no cost to starting a SIGN chapter. Check if your institution already has a chapter by looking at the 

Apply for chapter status

• Assemble a group of interested students, and select a chapter president to lead the group. You may optionally select co-presidents and other leadership (i.e., secretary, treasurer). See the chapter guidelines for details.

• Identify a faculty advisor at your institution to oversee the chapter. The faculty advisor's role is to provide guidance on neurology-related events and serve as the institutional memory of the chapter through leadership turnover. 

• Optionally, identify residents/fellows who can assist the chapter with educational content and mentorship.

• Fill out the  to apply for SIGN chapter status, being sure to select the "registering new chapter" option.

• • You'll need to submit your roster following this  through the or directly to sign@aan.com. The roster may change as you hold recruitment events—please update it on a yearly basis after recruitment events are held. As a reminder, the roster must contain the following for each student:

    • First name
    • Last name
    • Institution email address
    • Anticipated graduation year
    • Role (e.g., "member," "faculty advisor," "resident mentor", or chapter leadership such as "President" / "Co-president," Vice President," "Secretary," etc.)
    • Alternate (non-institutional) email address 

After applying:  

• Your chapter will be reviewed by the AAN. Please allow at least one week for the AAN to review your application.
• If approved, you will receive an email confirmation, and your chapter will appear as active on the
• Your SIGN chapter will remain active until July 31. You can renew your chapter for the next year, beginning August 1.

Renew your chapter

To renew your chapter status and stay an active chapter, chapter leadership should:

• Complete the
• Complete the , and select the "renewing existing chapter" option.
  Note that you will need your 7-digit chapter ID to renew your chapter - contact sign@aan.com if you need a reminder
• Update your chapter roster. See above for details.

After completing these items, you will receive an email confirmation, and your chapter will appear as active on the . Please allow at least one week for the AAN to process your renewal request. Your SIGN chapter will remain active until July 31. You can renew your chapter again for the next year, beginning August 1.

Leadership transition

To update your chapter contacts (primary contact, president, faculty advisor, resident mentor) after a leadership transition, please email sign@aan.com. See whether your contacts are up to date by checking the

Apply for reimbursement

Eligibility 

Your chapter must have active status to submit for reimbursement. Please ensure that you've renewed your chapter status and check the  to make sure your status is active before submitting reimbursement requests. 

Setting your chapter up for reimbursement  

• First, be sure that your chapter has active status for the year by checking the .
• Then, identify a designated “vendor” within your chapter. A vendor is someone who can be reimbursed; this person could be a chapter member, an administrative assistant, or a faculty advisor. Other members can make purchases on behalf of the chapter, but it is the vendor who receives reimbursement from the AAN and who is responsible for distributing it to members who have made purchases on behalf of the chapter, if applicable.
• The vendor will provide the AAN with financial information (W-9, banking info) so that reimbursements can be sent to the chapter. There is a 2-3 business-day process involved in adding a new vendor to our system, so we recommend that chapters choose someone who will stick around the longest.
• SIGN chapters may only have one active vendor at a time. Please email sign@aan.com to confirm or update your vendor prior to submitting for reimbursement.  

Submitting for reimbursement

Keep all receipts for SIGN-related purchases. When ready to submit for reimbursement, the vendor should complete the . You will need to include the event agenda and itemized receipt(s) for the expenses, as well as complete an evaluation of the event. 

• Common reimbursable expenses include food and beverage costs, trivia prizes, speaker costs, and printing supplies. 
• Reimbursement limits are unaffected by external funding. We encourage chapters to seek funding from their institutions or other sources as needed. 
• All requests must be submitted within 30 days of the event.

Reimbursement tiers

Reimbursement request limits reset with the new chapter year (August 1). All new chapters start at Tier 1. For renewing chapters, tiers are based on your chapter activities per the previous cycle's . 

Tiers: 

1. Have active chapter status - $100
2. Submit previous cycle end-of-year form and host a community outreach event - $400
3. Create mentorship, shadowing, and/or research opportunities, or host a regional or large inter-institutional event - $800

Example: Based on your 2023-2024 activities, you were eligible to request $400 and had requested $270 as of April 1. Between April 1 and July 31, you would be able to request up to $130 more once the new chapter year starts on August 1, 2025, reimbursement resets, and is based on your 2024-2025 activities.

Please email sign@aan.com with any questions or to indicate that your chapter should be eligible for another tier based on new activities.