Membership
Membership
The Senate Press Gallery handles accreditation for daily newspapers, wire services and on-line publications to cover Congress.
Reporters for new domestic publications, or current members moving to a different domestic publication, must submit a completed application and upload a letter of introduction from a bureau chief or supervisor, on the publication’s letterhead. Reporters for new foreign publications in addition to the above must also submit a letter of introduction from their embassy, on original letterhead.
Who Qualifies
Please review our Rules Governing The Press Galleries to see if your organization qualifies.
Membership in the press galleries is limited by Senate Rules to “to bona fide correspondents of repute in their profession” who are full-time, paid correspondents of recognized news organizations. Correspondents must require on-site access to Senate and House members and staff.
Applicants must reside in the Washington, D.C. area, and must not be engaged in any lobbying or paid advocacy, advertising, publicity or promotion work for any individual, political party, corporation, organization, or agency of the U.S. government. They must not be involved in prosecuting any claim before Congress or any federal government department, and will not do so while a member of the Daily Press Galleries.
Correspondents must agree to follow these rules for as long as they are members of the gallery.
Failure to provide information — or misrepresenting information — to the Standing Committee for its scrutiny of applications for gallery membership can result in the denial or revocation of credentials.
To begin the application process, please contact us with your name and your publication’s name.