Joining the 501st Legion

Joining the 501st

In order to join the 501st Legion you new members must meet the following criteria:

  • Members must be 18 years of age or older.

  • Own a high-quality costume representing any of the characters conforming to our character approval statement.


There are no membership fees and the only joining requirements pertain to age and costume quality.

The 501st is simply a fun, all-volunteer group of fans representing characters from the Star Wars saga. For more information on the goals of the club, read the 501st Legion Mission Statement.

If you are under 18, please check out the Galactic Academy, a group created for our younger cadets.

If you are looking to create a Jedi, X-wing pilot or other hero character visit the Rebel Legion.

Choosing your Costume

The 501st legion has many different costuimes to chose from, before you begin building a costume you will need to decide which costume to build.

You can find a list of the currently recognised costumes in the Costume Reference Library (CRL).

You can search for costumes alphabetically, or by Detachment (more on those later).

How do I get a costume / Building your Costume

Once you’ve decided on a costume, do your research. The Legion has very exacting standards when it comes to accuracy and quality, and it can be frustrating to spend time, effort, and money on something that won’t meet approval standards.

Generally speaking, our members make their own costumes. Star Wars costumes that are commercially available in stores or online may not be acceptable for membership! It is recommended that you contact your Garrison Membership Liaison (GML) before purchasing a retail costume to find out if it is accepted or what modifications might be required.

To make it easier to get help with your desired costume, the 501st has formed detachments focused on particular costumes. Joining a Detachment forum is strongly recommended as a part of the costume building process. Detachments are sub-groups within the Legion that focus on specific groups of costumes and can be a wealth of knowledge when it comes to building your costume. Click here to View the list of Detachments

We also strongly encourage you to join the Southern Dewback Garrison forum and start a build thread. This will not only give you an opportunity for feedback and advice from other experienced members but is also a great motivator to keep going. The build threads are monitored by the GML's so this is a great opportunity to get feedback directly and prevent unnecessary rework. The build thread will also be used by the GML to help support the approval decision, and can speed the process up considerably.

I've finished my costume, what's next?

Your local Garrison Membership Liaison (GML) will need to verify your qualifications, which include costume ownership. To do this, they will need to see pictures of you in your costume for validation. See the 501st Legion unit listings to identify your local GML for picture submission.

If you have already joined the Southern Dewback Garrison Forum there is a dedicated section containing all the information about the submission process and who to contact and what photos and information are required.

The GML will work with you to ensure you supply the correct photos and information however the following tips will help make sure that you get the right photos to the GML on your first try:

  • Make sure to submit pictures of you in your costume against a plain or non-busy background (no convention photos, please).

  • We will need photos with your helmet/mask on and off (if applicable).

  • You must include full-length views of your costume from the front, back and both sides.

  • Be sure to take your photos with adequate lighting and at a high-resolution to help us inspect the details.

  • Ensure there are no extra filters applied when taking the photos!

  • Do not wear any non-canon accessories or addons, including jewelry, sunglasses, earrings, (unit patches, extra weapons, pauldrons when not part of the canon costume etc...)

  • If you include any weapons such as a blaster or lightsaber, please ensure that they conform to the weapons policy.

  • Be prepared to take more photos during the application process if asked, as we may wish to see closer details or verify individual ownership of the costume. As costumes are individual to the member, joint ownership isn't recognized.

I have been Approved What Now?

Congratulations! You've made it to the fun part: Trooping!

We strongly recommend that you take some time and read the Trooper Survival Guide. This is the definitive guide to being a 501st member, and should help you get familiar with all the things you need to know.

If you haven't already, get to know your fellow Garrison members, Join the Southern Dewback Garrison Forum and register on 501st.com so you can get out there and help bring order to the galaxy!

The Southern Dewback Garrison uses our forum to arrange troops and notify members of upcoming events so joining the forum is the most reliable way to find out when and where our up coming troops are.

You can also join our public social media groups on Facebook, Instagram.