How to start a club at UCLA

A student group becomes official at UCLA by registering with Student Organizations, Leadership & Engagement (SOLE). Once approved it is a Registered Campus Organization, or RCO, and it can book rooms, apply for university and student government funding, and fundraise on Bruin Walk. SOLE says UCLA has over 1,300 student organizations; this directory lists 1,614 registered ones.

The paperwork is short. The timing is what catches people: new groups can only register during a window of about two weeks at the start of a quarter.

Check what already exists

Before writing a constitution, search for the club you have in mind. Some areas are crowded. 16 groups here have "Consulting" in their name, and 12 are a cappella groups. The table counts registered organizations by area.

A similar name does not always mean the same club. Debate Union is a team built around the British Parliamentary format and takes members by application. Bruin Competitive Debate describes debate in several formats for UCLA and high school students, plus coaching for students in the wider Los Angeles community. Read the descriptions, go to a meeting of the closest match, and ask whether your idea could be a project or committee there. If it could not, you have a clear reason for a new group.

The directory search covers names and descriptions; SOLE has its own organization search.

What SOLE asks for

SOLE lists five things for a new organization: a name, a short description, three signatories, a constitution, and attendance at a New Signatory Workshop. Signatories can be any UCLA student, faculty member or staff member. UCLA's regulations add that an RCO's membership must be made up predominantly of UCLA students or university personnel. None of the SOLE pages we read set a minimum number of members.

The name can use UCLA only as a place. The regulations give the example: "Undergraduate English Association at UCLA" is acceptable, "UCLA Undergraduate English Association" is not.

SOLE's constitution requirements sheet asks for the organization's name, a statement of purpose matching your registration description, your officer structure, who can vote, how and when you vote, how the constitution is amended, and a general provisions section. It also says that if you have only two officers, the constitution should say so. SOLE posts a sample constitution on its registration page.

Registering, step by step

1. Write the constitution from SOLE's requirements sheet and sample.
2. Choose three signatories. They are the group's official contacts and take responsibility for its activities, so pick people who will be around all year.
3. Submit the registration in the RCO portal at sa.ucla.edu/RCO during the open window, with the three signatories' names and UIDs and the constitution attached.
4. Each signatory approves the request in MyUCLA.
5. All three attend a New Signatory Workshop and sign in there to get credit. Approval waits until all three have attended.

When you can register

SOLE opens registration for new organizations at the beginning of each quarter. In fall 2026 the window ran from September 21 at noon to October 9 at 5 pm, so it has closed. The winter 2027 window opens January 4 at noon and closes January 15 at 5 pm. Spring dates were not posted when we checked.

The workshop depends on the quarter. In fall it is part of Days O'SOLE: in 2026, in person on October 15 at Pauley Pavilion and on Zoom on October 21. SOLE gives groups that attend the in-person workshop priority approval. In winter and spring the workshop is part of One-Stop. When we read the Winter One-Stop page it listed an in-person session on January 21 in the Kerckhoff State Rooms and Zoom sessions on January 22, without a year, so confirm before you plan around it.

Registration lasts one academic year. Every group re-registers each fall; in 2026 that ran September 8 to October 9, and a group that has not finished by October 31 loses its registered status. A group that misses fall can register again as a new organization in winter or spring, workshop included.

Your SOLE advisor

Every registered group has a SOLE advisor, listed with the group in SOLE's organization search. SOLE's advice is to talk with your advisor first when planning any event. The advisor also approves signatory and profile changes when no signatory or admin can make them. SOLE's list of what a new group needs does not include a faculty advisor.

What registration gets you

• Rooms and space. Start with your advisor, then contact the venue's scheduler for an application. Only one of the three signatories can reserve a room and complete the application. SOLE takes reservations for Bruin Plaza and Meyerhoff Park, and Bruin Walk fundraising is only for registered organizations.
• Funding. Signatories and group admins submit proposals through SOLE's funding system. Most USAC programming funds require registration with SOLE, and several also want three signatories and an anti-discrimination form on file. For the Campus Programs and Community Activities Committees, SOLE asks you to contact your advisor before submitting; proposals are due by 4 pm on the deadline, with no late submissions. Days O'SOLE and One-Stop include a Funding 101 session.
• A group email account. A signatory requests it through the form on SOLE's registration page.

The Enormous Activities Fair happens in week 0 of fall. In 2026 it was on September 22, the day after the fall registration window opened, so a group that registers this year will be looking at next fall's fair. The pages we read do not explain how a group gets a table, so ask your advisor.

Your first quarter

The regulations say a registered group may not imply that UCLA sponsors it, so recruiting is up to you. 730 groups here link a sign-up form and 420 a Discord or group chat; set up at least one before your first meeting. The 220 organizations that first registered in 2025–26 are under New this year, which shows how recently started groups describe themselves and take members.

Sources

• SOLE home page: registration and workshop dates for 2026–27, Bruin Walk, Bruin Plaza and Meyerhoff Park.
• SOLE registration page: signatories, constitution requirements, naming, workshops, the October 31 deadline.
• SOLE FAQs: what a new organization needs, advisors, room reservations.
• Days O'SOLE 2026 and Winter One-Stop: workshop schedules.
• SOLE funding and USAC programming funds: funding sources and eligibility.
• SOLE policies and the UCLA Regulations on Activities, Registered Campus Organizations, and Use of Properties: who can register, signatories, use of the UCLA name.
• SOLE's constitution requirements: what a constitution must cover.