Parliamentarian?

[Guest Ralph]

Is a Parliamentarian someone who, in all cases, has been made official in some way? 

[Hieu H. Huynh]

No.

[Josh Martin]

5 hours ago, Guest Ralph said:

Is a Parliamentarian someone who, in all cases, has been made official in some way? 

In its most basic sense, a parliamentarian is someone who is knowledgeable in parliamentary law. All this requires is a willingness to learn, a fair amount of spare time, and a copy of the book.

There are also private organizations which offer certifications for persons who have completed certain tests and courses. The best known of these are the National Association of Parliamentarians and American Institute of Parliamentarians. Achieving these certifications often has benefits within the association, such as inclusion in their referral list.

The term parliamentarian may also refer to someone who performs parliamentary services for organizations (often in exchange for payment), such as serving as a meeting parliamentarian or to draft amendments to bylaws. Such a person may or may not have the certifications mentioned above. No jurisdiction I am aware of requires someone to have a “license” to offer their services as a parliamentarian.

Finally, when RONR itself refers to a parliamentarian, it refers to a person who is serving as an advisor to the chair on parliamentary law. This may be a person who does this for a living (as described above) or perhaps a member of the organization or friend of the chair who does it on a voluntary basis.

[Guest Ralph]

Very helpful thank you