The Fine Print
Parent Consent | Copyright Policy | Code of Conduct | Appeal Process | Entering Singers | Rule of 90 | ITA
Across every NSA genre and category, there are a few important rules and responsibilities that help keep auditions fair, consistent, transparent, and safe for everyone involved. This section brings those shared requirements together in one place — including singer eligibility, teacher designations and responsibilities, advancement criteria, the Rule of 90, expectations for minors and chaperones, required forms, and the NATS Code of Conduct. These details may not be the most glamorous part of the audition experience, but they are essential to making sure singers, teachers, families, adjudicators, and volunteers all understand how NSA works and what is expected at every level.
Parent Consent: Expectations for Minors and Chaperones
A parent or guardian must complete the NATS NSA Minor Chaperone Form for their student who will be under the age of 18 on the date of the audition. Failure to submit this form AT LEAST two weeks (14 days) prior to the beginning of the chapter, region, or national event will remove the minor student from the competition. Late forms will not be accepted.
Copyright Policy
NATS has unwavering support for the importance of compliance with copyright laws, and the encouragement of our colleagues whose creative works sustain a vibrant and living art form. NATS encourages its members, their students, collaborative musicians and the general population to become educated about, and to comply with, all applicable copyright laws. Reproduction of a copyrighted work constitutes copyright infringement unless a license to reproduce such work has been obtained, the use is considered fair use, the work is in the public domain, or a valid exception to copyright infringement exists.
NATS requires students, teachers and other participants in NATS affiliated events, auditions, and competitions to affirm compliance with the NATS Copyright Policy & FAQ and to use only authorized reproductions of copyrighted works. Copyright law protects musical works and prohibits unauthorized reproduction, including photocopying, scanning, photographing, or taking screenshots of copyrighted sheet music. Students and collaborative pianists are responsible for using only authorized music. Failure to comply with copyright law may render the singer Ineligible to Advance (ITA) in NSA auditions.
View the Copyright Policy & FAQ
Code of Conduct
To ensure that all involved in the NSA auditions at every level have a positive experience, NATS has established a Code of Conduct. Please take the time to review it in detail. The Code of Conduct applies to members, students, guests, presenters, volunteers, and staff.
Appeal Process
To ensure that all involved in the NSA auditions at every level have an opportunity to appeal a decision in a fair and structured process, NATS has established a formal NSA Appeal Process. Please take the time to review it in detail.
Entering Singers in NSA
Only the student's voice teacher may enter that student into an NSA audition.
Who May Enter NSA?
When entering a singer, there is an age and voice type requirement as well as a length of study component to determine category eligibility. The relevant date for age is September 1st of the 2026-2027 audition season. The singer is required to be currently studying with a NATS Professional, Emeritus or Emerging Professional member who is in good standing. Where applicable, teachers are to provide the information of any former or other instructors on the list with whom the student has studied within 8 months of the audition.
Eligibility to Enter Singers
Singers may be entered in chapter, region and national auditions by Professional or Emerging Professional members. Emeritus members with an active chapter membership may enter singers at the chapter level only. The NSA Audition process is not open to Pre-professional or Affiliate members to enter singers. An exception can be made for Canadian chapters that have charitable organization status. In the case of a teacher with membership in more than one chapter, or region, entry into NSA auditions for each singer is limited to a single region.
Voice Teacher Designations
- Primary Voice Teacher - main instructor teaching regular lessons
- Concurrent Voice Teacher - teaches regularly alongside primary
- Supplemental Voice Teacher - teaches occasionally (less than weekly)
- Former Voice Teacher - previously taught singer but no longer teaching
- Remote Voice Teacher - teaches singer from a remote online location
Transparency and respect for singer choice are emphasized in all auditions.
The Rule of 90
A singer must earn two scores of 90+, or an average score of 90+ from the three adjudicators, in the preliminary region rounds to be eligible to advance to the NSA YouTube rounds
Eligibility & Advancement
- Students must meet age & study requirements as of Sept 1 of the current cycle
- May enter multiple genre categories
- Place 1st–5th with qualifying score (two scores of 90+ or an average of 90+) to advance to nationals
- Chapter winners do NOT automatically advance to region events in all chapters.
- Students may only enter one region's NSA per genre and cycle
- Not all NSA categories advance to nationals; consult each genre's regulations guide to confirm advancing categories.
Region & National Rules
- Teacher's region based on NATS address
- Students follow that region's specific procedures regarding chapter/ advancement to region
- Qualify for nationals only through regional participation
- Singers must score 90+ (two scores or average) from preliminary round to advance
- Teachers may belong to multiple chapters and regions
Teacher Responsibilities
- Coordinate with co-teachers before registration
- Submit all forms and materials on time
- Cannot submit telephone numbers nor emails of minor singers in any NATS auditions.
- All information for minors must be that of the parent/guardian.
- Follow repertoire & copyright policies
- Cannot accompany singers live
- Must not appear in video submissions
- Serve as adjudicator when requested
- Assist singers advancing to nationals
Key Rules for Students
- Each singer can only be entered once per cycle in one region’s auditions
- Must currently study with entering teacher
- Age/study level fixed as of September 1
- Member-teachers cannot enter themselves into an audition
- Post-high school categories are open to age-eligible singers studying with NATS member depending on the length of study and degree enrollment and progress
Understanding Ineligible to Advance (ITA)
Although uncommon, a singer, singer’s teacher or the singer’s collaborative pianist may make a decision during a live or recorded audition that renders the singer Ineligible to Advance to the next round of the competition because they violated a rule of the NSA Auditions. An Auditions Chair may issue an ITA at any stage of the audition process once the matter has been reviewed, even if the protocol violation was not identified by previous adjudication panels or Auditions Chairs. An ITA is issued to ensure the consistency of the auditions throughout chapter, region, and national auditions.
What actions might render a singer Ineligible to Advance?
- entering repertoire that does not meet the category's requirements
- entering repertoire that does not contrast by composer, tempo and text
- entering the same repertoire in multiple categories and/or regions in the same season
- entering a song originally written for a stage musical, film musical, television musical, opera, or other dramatic work in the Commercial Music categories
- entering the auditions under the name of a teacher who is not the singer's primary or concurrent teacher
- failure to submit required documents by published deadlines at any level of the audition
- performing in a category for which one's age and grade or level of study as of 9/1/2026 does not qualify them
- performing repertoire not entered in the qualifying audition in National NSA
- performing with any visual or auditory cues to assist with recollection of text or music (Exception: Oratorio, mass, requiem and cantata arias may be performed with a score, consistent with common practice)
- performing invalid cuts of vocal content
- performing with invalid accompaniment for the given category
- performing in costume, using props, and/or set pieces during the audition
- performing WITHOUT a microphone amplifying the voice through an external speaker in CM auditions
- violating copyright law when accompanying musician performing from a score that is not compliant with U.S. copyright law
- violating the NATS Code of Conduct
- violating anything listed on the Video Submission Guidelines as making a video audition invalid (page 39)
- visually or audibly revealing the identity of one's teacher, or the teacher's or singer's school, location, chapter, or region
Please Note: This is not an exhaustive list but provides the most common ITA violations.
