> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bethelchms.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Age groups

> Configure organisation-wide age groups and understand how Bethel ChMS assigns members to age brackets.

Age groups define the age brackets Bethel ChMS uses for member demographics, member filters, group rosters, reports, imports, and related workflows.

Age groups are organisation-wide. They apply across all branches.

<Info>
  **Who can do this:** Org-scoped roles can view age groups from the organisation sidebar. Only the Org Owner can edit age groups or restore defaults.
</Info>

## How age groups are assigned

Bethel ChMS uses two assignment paths:

* **Date of Birth provided:** Bethel ChMS derives the age group from the member's date of birth and your current age-group configuration.
* **Date of Birth blank:** You can assign an age group manually on the member record or through import.

If both **Date of Birth** and **Age Group** are present, **Date of Birth** takes precedence.

## Default age groups

The default configuration is:

* `0-12`
* `13-19`
* `20-34`
* `35+`

You can restore these defaults from the age groups page.

## Configure age groups

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Age Groups">
    In the organisation section of the sidebar, click **Age Groups**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Edit the brackets">
    Update **From**, **To**, **Label**, or **Color** for each row.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add or reorder rows">
    Click **Add Age Group** to add a row, or drag rows to reorder them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save changes">
    Click **Save Age Groups**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Validation rules

Age groups must meet these rules before you can save:

* You must have at least 1 age group.
* You can have at most 12 age groups.
* The first group must start at age `0`.
* Groups must be contiguous with no gaps or overlaps.
* Only the highest group can be open-ended.
* The highest group must be open-ended.
* **Label** is optional and can be up to 40 characters.
* **Color** must use one of the app's supported colour tokens.

Leave **To** blank for the open-ended highest group.

## What happens when you save

When the Org Owner saves age groups, Bethel ChMS reassigns members across the organisation.

* Members with **Date of Birth** are re-bucketed from their date of birth.
* Members with manually assigned age groups are preserved when their previous bracket maps clearly into the new configuration.
* Members with manually assigned age groups are cleared to **Not Set** when their previous bracket cannot be uniquely mapped.

After saving, the confirmation panel shows how many members were re-bucketed, how many manual entries were preserved, and how many manual entries were cleared.

If manual entries are cleared, click **View affected members** to open the member list filtered to **Age Group = Not Set**.

## Restore defaults

Use **Restore Defaults** to replace your current age-group configuration with the default brackets.

<Warning>
  Restoring defaults reassigns members with a date of birth and may clear manual entries that cannot be uniquely mapped. This cannot be undone from the page.
</Warning>

## Where age groups appear

Age groups appear in several people workflows:

* Member create and edit forms
* Member detail tags
* Member list filters and sorting
* Group rosters and bulk assignment dialogs
* Member import mapping and validation
* Demographics reports and dashboards

Use [importing members](/guides/importing-members) when you need to set age groups during a CSV import.