Candidates for Active Fellowship must be certified by either the American Board of Plastic Surgery or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Plastic Surgery. The AAPS considers applicants based on their contributions to the specialty of plastic surgery in the areas of academic achievement, teaching, research, administration and service as well as remarkable personal accomplishments.

Each candidate for membership must be sponsored by a Fellow and endorsed by another Fellow of the Association, and either the sponsor or endorser must be from the candidate's community or (if no Fellow resides in his community) from his region. A Fellow may sponsor or endorse for membership five new candidates per calendar year. The candidate must have had five (5) years of practice in the field of plastic surgery following certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or certification in plastic surgery by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. An exception to Board certification may be made in instances where an outstanding person widely recognized for competence and contributions and offering national leadership in a specialized area of Plastic Surgery may not be Board Certified, but may still be deemed worthy of election to membership. This should include outstanding specialty surgeons with unique qualifications who have made substantial contributions, as well as distinguished foreign plastic surgeons.