How does a candidate apply to join a Craft lodge under the Grand Lodge of India, and what procedure must the lodge follow before he can be balloted for?

Candidates seeking to join a Craft lodge must apply of their own free will and accord, as canvassing for members is not permitted, and applications must be duly proposed and seconded by members of the lodge (Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India; Albert G. Mackey 1).

Once a petition for membership is received, it is read at a regular communication of the lodge and referred to an investigating committee of three members 1. This committee is charged with making due inquiry into the moral, physical, intellectual, and political qualifications of the applicant to determine whether he is of good report 1. The Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India notes that all applications are scrutinized by the lodge before the candidate can be balloted for.

General Masonic regulation requires a mandatory probation period—typically one month—between the initial reading of the petition and the submission of the committee's findings 1. The committee cannot present its report at a special meeting, as restricting the report to a regular communication ensures that the full lodge receives adequate notice and prevents any improper election in the absence of members 1. Only after the committee has completed its investigation and presented its report at a regular stated communication may the candidate be balloted for 1.

Age requirements for a candidate seeking to join a Craft lodge governed by the Grand Lodge of India stipulate that an applicant must have completed 21 years of age, though this is reduced to 18 years of age in the case of a Lewis, who is the son of a Freemason (the Grand Lodge of India). The Regional Grand Lodge of Northern India likewise states that any man of 21 years of age or more is eligible to become a Mason.

Residency qualifications are not detailed in the available constitutional rules for these bodies, so any specific minimum length of local residence required before petitioning is unstated in these findings.

Rejection of a candidate by ballot in a Craft lodge carries specific consequences regarding reapplication, though the exact timeframe for making a second petition depends upon local regulations. Where the local rules or Grand Lodge constitutions are silent on the timeframe, general Masonic jurisprudence holds that a rejected candidate may reapply to the same lodge at any time 21. In such instances, the second application must pass through the identical ordeal and be governed by the same standard rules as an original petition 1.

Regarding the ability of a rejected candidate to seek admission elsewhere, established Masonic law indicates that a rejected candidate cannot apply to any other lodge 1.

Registration of a newly raised Master Mason with the Grand Lodge is an administrative duty fulfilled directly by the leadership of the individual lodge. The Regional Grand Lodge of Northern India indicates that the Master or Secretary of the lodge must ensure statutory compliance by submitting the application for a Grand Lodge Certificate for Master Masons along with the lodge's Half-Yearly Returns to the Grand Lodge.

Through this regular reporting process, the lodge formally submits the necessary records confirming that the candidate has been raised to the third degree. Upon receipt and processing of these Half-Yearly Returns and the attached application, the Grand Lodge registers the new brother on its central rolls and issues his official Grand Lodge Certificate.