Criteria for Nomination and Selection
Anyone may make nominations for this award and a majority vote by the Association for Women Journalists Chicago board may grant the award at any time. The Association for Women Journalists Chicago board has the latitude to determine what other contributions should be considered in selecting a recipient.

The actual award is a type of certificate, plaque or trophy, and its physical format may vary from year to year.

Frequency
Both induction into the Association for Women Journalists Hall of Fame and the Association for Women Journalists Chicago Distinguished Service Award may be presented annually; however, there is no requirement to present either award in any given year.

Recipients per year
No more than one Association for Women Journalists Chicago Distinguished Service Award may be presented during a calendar year. More than one woman may be inducted into the Association for Women Journalists Chicago Hall of Fame in a given year., as decided by the Hall of Fame Committee and the Association for Women Journalists Chicago board.

Historical record
The Association for Women Journalists Chicago shall keep an archival list of award recipients and chronicle these award winners and their contributions online at the AWJ website.