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General Assembly Youth Registration

Youth Registration for General Assembly

Important: General Assembly 2026 is following a different process for youth attendance than previous years. Please read GA 2026 Information below.

Youth Registration is required for all General Assembly (GA) attendees who have been in grades 9-12 (or the equivalent for home-schooled youth) in the previous school year. Fourteen year-olds may attend GA as youth if they will have completed 9th grade (or the equivalent for home-schooled youth) before GA.

For youth under 18 years at the start of GA, a parent or legal guardian must sign a parent permission form, acknowledging their youth’s registration and confirming they are responsible for their youth while attending GA.

Youth Registration for GA Is a Two-Part Process

  1. Complete the online registration form
  2. Submit the Parent Permission Form:  Your parent/legal guardian will receive an email invitation to e-sign the form in SignNow after you register for GA. Make sure your parent looks for that email in their inbox; it will come from either SignNow or Lifespan Faith Engagement. If they don’t see the email, be sure they look in their junk email box as well.

If you are having trouble with the SignNow system, check out our

GA 2026 Information

This year GA is happening differently than usual, so the following advice applies only to GA26.

GA 2026 is a virtual event with opportunities to gather for fellowship in person at Satellite and Community hosted sites during the second weekend. Youth registration for GA includes access to the Whova App and all GA Live-Streaming and On-Demand events — everything that Adult registration includes! With virtual GA and the opportunities for smaller, more localized GA gatherings, the Lifespan Faith Engagement Office (LFE), who normally runs extensive Youth and Emerging Adult community programs at GA, is taking this year off, to focus on some other exciting projects with and for young people. Here are some suggestions for how Youth may want to engage in GA26:

  • Youth who want to engage with the business of our association should talk to their congregational leadership about being a delegate.
  • Synergy is traditionally the worship service where we recognize the transition from high school age youthdom to emerging adulthood. This year we’re re-envisioning Synergy as a youth focused, multigenerational worship service that will be pre-recorded. GA Satellite sites and virtual attendees will be able to watch this pre-recorded service on-demand during GA. Following GA, it will be available on the UUA website for congregations, groups and individuals to watch as well. Keep reading to learn how we’re celebrating Bridgers this year!
  • We’re creating a video to celebrate Bridgers during GA. This video will be available to view on demand and after General Assembly on the UUA website. To be included in the celebration video: Youth, parents/guardians or religious educators/ministers can submit names until Friday, May 1, 2026. Additionally, youth groups are invited to create and upload artwork symbolizing our Shared UU Values to be used in the celebration video:
  • It’s a tradition when youth bridge on the GA stage, to gift them with a chalice pendant. This year we’re mailing these pendants to congregations to present to their bridging youth or to individual bridgers who are not part of a congregational celebration. These pendants are free, and limited to one per bridger. You can request them here. We prefer to mail in bulk to a congregation when possible, to save on shipping costs. The deadline for requesting pendants is March 15, 2026.
    • Please note: If you are a bridger or parent, check with your congregation’s religious education staff to make sure they haven’t already requested a necklace for you.
  • Check out the GA website and subscribe to the GA newsletter to find out what kinds of virtual opportunities are being offered!

Thinking about Going to GA?

Learn what and when it is, and how to participate.

Questions about 2026

Below we’ve anticipated some questions that may arise, as we try out this new way of doing GA. But you, your parent, or religious educator/minister are always welcome to reach out to the LFE office if you have additional questions.

Who is responsible for the supervision of minors attending GA virtually and at in-person sites?

The parent or guardian of each youth or minor attending GA is ultimately responsible for their safety and wellbeing during GA. Similarly to a parent bringing a minor to a festival or concert, the parent is responsible for their supervision and for making sure their child understands the rules and boundaries of the event. This applies to virtual and in-person attendance.

What if I’m a youth attending a GA Studio, Satellite Site or Community Gathering without my parent?

If you are under the age of 18 your parent, or another adult, must be responsible for you, and onsite, during GA. It is the responsibility of your parent or guardian to arrange for this if they will not be onsite, similarly to if your parent gives permission for you to attend a festival or concert with a relative or other trusted adult.. If you are attending with a group from your congregation, your parent should be in communication with the organizer of the trip.

I’m a religious educator coordinating a youth group attending GA at an in-person site, what do I need to know?

Unlike other GAs, there is no UUA organized and led youth programming at GA26 and LFE is not involved with programs or schedules at studio, satellite or community gatherings. We recommend reaching out to the site, to discuss your group’s attendance and what they can expect. This smaller venue format gives a great opportunity for multi-generational engagement which can be a rich experience, especially when youth experience it, and have opportunities to process together, over a meal or at your lodging.

Youth and adults agree to the same GA covenant. In addition, we recommend being clear with your group that the rules and covenant they follow at your congregation apply to this event as well. And always be clear about the repercussions in the event of a rule or covenant violation. The GA parent permission form applies to virtual GA and in-person GA if the parent/guardian will be present. We recommend using your own congregation’s permission forms or adapting this generic youth event permission (Word, 2 pages) form to get consent from parents to travel and supervise youth during in-person GA. As the coordinator of your group trip, you are responsible for receiving and holding these forms and the well being of the youth in your care during GA.

More Questions?

The LFE office is very interested to hear what additional supports or resources we could be providing in the future, if this GA format is repeated. Please reach out to us at faithengagement@uua.org to let us know your suggestions or ask us questions

For questions about GA parent permission forms, faithengagement@uua.org

For questions about GA registration, generalassembly@uua.org