Join 4-H

Youth Age Requirements:

Children who are 5 years old by December 31st of the program year are eligible to participate as a Primary 4-H member. There are conditions on projects and activities.

Regular 4-H members must be 9 years old by December 31st of the program year and have not reached the age of 19 years old by December 31st of that program year.

Please note there are various membership types within this age range (junior, intermediate, and senior) and some activities and opportunities are only available to certain membership types to ensure that the program is developmentally appropriate. 

Procedure for Selecting Projects:

First select the Primary 4-H Club of which you will be a member, based on where you live and meeting times. Then select the projects you will be taking this coming 4-H year from the list your Primary club has to offer. Check out the countywide project list for additional options of available projects.

Primary clubs reserve the right to make their projects available to their own club members first and then if a project leader has room and the desire for additional youth in their project, arrangements might be negotiated. You must first check with the project leader of the other club to determine if space is available and if your schedule is such that you are going to be a regular participant. Please be realistic when determining the volume of projects you are taking so that you can do each justice. It is not reasonable to take a space in a project and then not attend on a regular basis as this prevents another from having this opportunity.

Parents: Consider what project you can volunteer to lead thereby giving a broader selection for the youth. If you do volunteer be certain you are able to devote a minimum of six instructional hours to the project. It is a great disappointment for youth to sign up for a project that never happens. Start project as soon as possible so time doesn’t fly by and the project never happens.

The Club Enrollment Year:

The Club Year starts July 1 and ends June 30 of the following year. New members are welcome to join 4-H until April 1; although most of the project and club activities are held from August through May.