Meetings registration guide: Helpful hints and tips

Before you register

1. Sign in to your APS account at my.aps.org, or if you do not have an account, you may create one. Confirm your membership details, including your membership type, membership status, education details, and reciprocal society membership.
2. Check your name, email address, and billing address on your profile.
3. Add your emergency contact on your registration order, including your full name, email address, and phone number. Registration cannot be completed without it.
4. Know your selections for the meeting, such as whether you will be attending in person or virtually, for one or multiple days, or any workshops, banquets, or receptions you may also wish to attend.
5. Register for the meeting. If the above steps are completed, anyone can register online and the correct rate will apply. If you are still unable to register successfully, please email the APS Registration Help Desk with your emergency contact and selections.

Update your APS account

If anything on your profile looks incorrect and you can’t edit, please contact the APS Membership team to resolve any issues before you register. We recommend that you review the following:

• Your membership type: The most common types for registration are APS regular member, early career, graduate student, undergraduate student, senior/retired, and non-member.
• Membership status: You do not need to be a member to register, but you must be a Full member to receive a discounted rate. If you are a non-member and want the lower rate, join APS before you register.
• Education details: If you are a student, answer "Yes" to "Are you a student?" and enter your expected degree and graduation date. Student rates are based on this information.
• Reciprocal society membership: Make sure the membership section on your profile names your reciprocal society. You can enter it yourself online.
• Name: Your registration, invitation letter, and order invoice use your name exactly as it is spelled on your APS profile and your institution.
• Email address: Use the same email address for registration that you use in the abstract management system.
• Billing address: If you need a different billing address on your invoice, update it on your APS profile before you complete registration.
• Duplicate accounts: Multiple APS accounts can cause problems with registration, abstract submission, and video uploads to the meeting platform. Contact the APS Membership team or the APS Registration Help Desk to merge them.
• Emergency contact: Provide a full name, email address, and phone number for someone APS can contact if you have an emergency during the meeting. This is required to complete registration.

Registration types

Some registration types need an extra step. If you are registering as one of the following, please review some additional information:

• APS Student Member: Make sure your APS account identifies you as a student member and lists your expected degree and graduation date. Your registration rate is based on this information.
• Reciprocal Society Member: Make sure your account shows your reciprocal society. Students, retirees, and early career members (such as postdocs) should contact the Registrar to confirm a rate plan matches their registration type. Some APS meetings exclude the reciprocal society benefit. Provide your emergency contact information and your selections, such as in-person, virtual, one day, and any workshops.
• International attendee: Review the international attendee registration and invitation letter information.
• Exhibitor: Exhibitors usually receive a limited number of registrations with the purchase of a booth. Wait for instructions from APS after the booth is purchased. Each exhibitor representative must have their own APS account and register themselves online.
• Press: Request registration by completing the press credentials form.
• Prize and award recipient: Before registering, ask your APS representative to notify the registrar of your status.

Payment options

APS accepts credit cards and checks. You can pay online, by mail, or by fax.

Accepted payments

• Credit card: The billing zip code in your APS profile must match the billing zip code on the card you use, or your card may be declined.
• Check: Mail to American Physical Society, Attn: Accounting Department (Meetings), One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740.
• Fax: Fax the pre-onsite registration form (when available for your meeting) to 240-582-9369.
• Bank or wire transfer: Accepted only for amounts over $500. Contact the APS Registrar for instructions.
• Purchase orders: Not accepted.

Paying for another attendee

1. Ask the attendee to start their registration and stop at the payment screen.
2. The attendee will need to email the registration staff to request a third-party payment URL.
3. The registration staff will reply with a payment URL that anyone can use to pay.

Group registration

A group requires five or more registrants. Send the registration office the following for each person in your group: full name, email address or APS account number, registration type (in-person or virtual), any add-ons, and emergency contact information. We will review the list, tell you about any potential issues, then create an invoice and send your billing payment options.

Each person in the group, including the group administrator, needs an APS account that is up to date (see Update your APS account first). An invoice cannot be paid with a purchase order: payment must be made by check or credit card.

One-day registration policy

Badges can be picked up only on the day of the event, or the previous day after 2 p.m., unless otherwise specified. No refunds are given to attendees who do not pick up their badges. One-day registration does not include access to the virtual program.

Guest badge policy

Registered attendees can request a guest badge for their guest or companion at the registration desk. Guests can attend only the presenter's talk, the reception or banquet, and general activities open to all registered attendees. They can also socialize in the common areas. Guests are not permitted to attend pre-meeting tutorials or workshops. The registered attendee must accompany their guest to pick up the guest badge.

For the Division of Nuclear Physics Meeting, no guest badges will be available. This policy supersedes standard APS policy. Attendees will need to purchase an "Accompanying Persons" badge.

Changes, letters, and other requests

• Registration changes: Please contact the Registration Help Desk before the respective deadline to make changes to your registration.
• Unable to register online: For most APS meetings, a downloadable PDF pre-onsite registration form is available through your My APS Account. You may log in or create an account if you don't have one, access the form by selecting "Forms, Policies, and Guidelines," and then selecting and downloading the PDF pre-onsite registration form for the meeting you will attend.
• Visa invitation letters for international attendees: You will receive an invitation letter when you complete your online registration. If you have submitted an abstract and need a letter for a visa before you complete registration, contact the Abstract Help Desk.
• Certificate of attendance: Certificates are provided on-site at the registration desk during the meeting. If you cannot pick one up, please log in to your APS account at my.aps.org after the meeting concludes to download it. Certificates are kept by the Registration Help Desk for up to two years after the meeting, and you must have a paid registration in your own name.
• Requests for someone else's registration information: We need the registrant's permission to change or cancel a registration or to share an order invoice, registration status, or certificate of attendance. If you email the Registration Help Desk on someone's behalf, include the registrant on the email thread.

Contact

If you have questions or concerns related to APS meetings and events, please reach out to one of the following:

• The APS Registrar for registration, payments, invoices, and changes
• The APS Membership team for membership types, membership status, or questions about your My APS account
• APS Abstracts Help for questions about your abstract or the scientific program
• The APS Virtual Events team for assistance with a video upload or the meeting platform; you may also visit the Speaker Ready Room for assistance at a live meeting
• The APS Meetings team for general inquiries