Eligible nominations are first reviewed by the Section Fellows Review Committees. Each Section may forward up to 0.2 percent of their primary membership to the final selection committee (Union Fellows Committee) for review. AGU provides all Section Review Committees with the number of candidates they may forward to the Union Fellows Committee each year.

Section Fellows Review Committees are charged with selecting the most deserving candidates from their respective Section to advance to the final selection committee for consideration.

Sections Fellows Review Committees are not responsible for selecting each year's Class of Fellows.

The Union Fellows Committee reviews all nominations forwarded by the Sections, meeting multiple times to vote on and finalize each year's Class of Fellows. In order to be elected, each candidate must receive a majority of the Union Fellows Committee votes. The number of Fellows elected each year shall not exceed 0.1 percent of the total AGU membership and is based on the previous year's membership numbers.