How much will it cost?

There are five main types of membership - full, dual union, temporary, associate and student.

Your rate is determined by your membership type. There is also a reduced contribution rate for our lower paid members.

Applicants under 25 who are joining for the first time qualify for a discount for the first 12 months, while apprentices pay just £5 per month during the first year of their apprenticeship.

All the rates are decided by our own members at the NUJ’s biennial Delegate Meeting.

Full members

You can apply for full NUJ membership if:

• at least half of your earned income comes from journalistic work
• you have no other full-time job outside of journalism

If you are under the age of 30, the threshold for earned income from journalism is 25%. Your earned income from journalism must be 50% or more within 12 months of turning 30 in order to remain eligible for full membership.

Applicants can be working for a media organisation as:

• a staff member with a company contract
• a staff member employed via an agency
• a rostered casual with one employer
• a contractor with more than one employer
• a self-employed freelance

Full membership is also open to journalists seeking asylum in the UK and Ireland. 

The cost of full membership is based on your annual earnings, with three different grades:

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Dual union members

You can apply to be a dual union member if you:

• are eligible for full membership
• are employed
• belong to another union recognised by the NUJ, in a workplace where that union has a collective agreement and the NUJ does not negotiate on pay

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Temporary members

You can apply for temporary membership if you are:

• trying to establish or re-establish yourself as a journalist
• do not yet earn half of your income from journalism
• have no other full-time job

It is possible to be a temporary member for up to three years, with the rate rising in each year. 

Temporary members who qualify for a press card will not receive their card until after one monthly payment has been taken. This is to cover the cost of producing the cards.

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Associate members

You can apply to be an associate member if you:

• have a full-time job outside journalism, but prepare factual written, visual, or audio material of public concern for dissemination through public media
• support trade union rights and journalistic standards

Community journalists whose primary source of income is from non-journalist work may also qualify for associate membership.

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Student members

You can apply for student membership if you are:

• studying on a journalism course
• involved in student journalism supported by the National Union of Students in the UK or the Union of Students in Ireland

The annual payment is for each year of your course. When you finish your studies, you have three months to upgrade to full membership or temporary freelance membership.

Student members upgrading their membership qualify for 25% off the first year of full membership and 50% off the first year of temporary membership.

Any student member still aged under 25 qualifies for the larger discount on full membership.

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Discounts

Under 25s

If you are under the age of 25 and joining the union for the first time, you qualify for a discount in the first year. It means you only pay a third of the Grade 1 rate for full membership.

The discounted rate is £5.95 or €7 per month.

At the end of the first year, you will then pay subs at the standard full membership rate for your grade. This is based on your annual earnings.

Reduced contribution rate

Lower paid members in any sector can apply for the reduced contribution rate under what is known as the 1% Rule.

This means they pay no more than 1% of their taxable income, subject to a minimum rate of £13 or €13.80 per month.

Any member earning less than £16,000 or €17,500 should only pay the minimum rate for their full or temporary membership.

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