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

# What is a membership in Uplifter?

> A membership is a reusable product athletes hold as a subscription, sold through your online store.

<Note>
  **Must know**

  * A membership is a reusable product *definition* you create once; each athlete then *holds* their own copy of it as a subscription.
  * Available on plans that include **Memberships** — if you don't see it, ask your Uplifter contact.
  * A new membership starts as a **Draft** and needs only a name to save; everything else is filled in before you publish.
</Note>

A membership is a time-bound access product — think an annual or seasonal club membership, or a recurring monthly one. You build the membership on the **Memberships** page, and it sells through the same online checkout your families already use for programs and passes.

Under the hood there are two things worth knowing about:

* **The membership** — the definition you create: its name, price, billing interval, dates, and who's allowed to buy it. This is what you manage on the Memberships list.
* **A member's holding** — each athlete who buys or is added gets their own subscription with its own coverage dates, so one athlete cancelling never affects anyone else.

Memberships do two useful things beyond simply selling access:

* **Gate registration.** A program can require that an athlete hold a membership before they can register — holding one satisfies that requirement at checkout.
* **Unlock member pricing.** A program can set a member-only price — usually a discount, though you can set it to any amount — that applies automatically when the athlete holds a qualifying membership.

Once a membership is live, Uplifter handles the recurring billing, renewals, and coverage tracking for you — there are no billing periods to build by hand.

**Related:** [What is the membership lifecycle?](/club/memberships/membership-lifecycle-states) · [How do I create a membership?](/club/memberships/how-do-i-create-a-membership) · [What families see](/families/families-memberships-passes/what-is-a-membership)