Desire Chip
A chip or token given to someone who expresses a desire to stop drinking or using substances. Taking a desire chip is often the first public step in acknowledging the need for help.
The desire chip — also called the surrender chip, white chip, or 24-hour chip — is the most humble and arguably most courageous token in the sobriety coin system. It is offered at AA meetings to anyone who wants to stop drinking, no matter how many times they have tried before. Picking it up is an act of vulnerability and hope.
The chip is typically white, representing a clean slate and new beginning. When someone picks up a desire chip at a meeting, the group responds with a moment of recognition — applause, a handshake, or a hug — that communicates that they are not alone and that they are welcome exactly as they are.
Many long-timers in recovery say that picking up their desire chip was the hardest and most important thing they ever did. Some carry their original white chip alongside their current milestone coin as a reminder of where they started. It is the coin that begins every sobriety story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Terms
AA Chip
An AA chip is a token given at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to mark sobriety milestones, with different colors representing different time periods.
Sobriety Coin
A sobriety coin is a physical token marking milestones in recovery from addiction, originating in Alcoholics Anonymous.
Sobriety Date
A sobriety date is the date a person last used alcohol or drugs, marking the starting point from which all recovery milestones are measured.