A CRL (Costume Reference Library) is a guide for GMLs to judge a costume. CRLs are published documents that can be updated as new or more accurate references are available.
Detachments are Legion communities that are helpful for members who wish to create a costume. CRLs do not offer advice or give specifics on on how to construct a costume. Detachments do offer guidance and support for costumers in that area. They also offer a place for like costumes to post tips and tricks or tutorials, host “Work in Progress” of other members’ costumes and ongoing information on current CRL development. A listing of Detachments, their "themes" and their contact information can be found at at the Detachments page. Detachment CRL building is supervised by the LMO (Legion Membership Officer).
While Detachments develop new CRLs, the LMO edits and has the final say on what goes into a published CRL. From the Legion Charter, the Legion Membership Officer is appointed by the LCO, and ratified by Council. They are "responsible for reviewing and processing applications for membership and maintaining member information in the Legion database. The LMO drives costume policies, including acceptable costume types for membership and quality control of costume submissions. The LMO is the final arbiter of member costume issues and approvals. The LMO supervises and advises Detachments, Garrison Membership Liaisons, and Garrison Web Liaisons." There can be a single LMO, or a team of multiple LMO's. In the case of the latter, there is typically a Head LMO. Want advice on where to make your build thread, or do you want to know if your costume will have inclusion into the 501st? Email LMO@501st.com.
The costume should be based on an official Star Wars canon source. Legends media is still acceptable, provided it is licensed. Assuming the quality of the build is in keeping with the level expected of the 501st, and that the character is affiliated with the darker side of the stories at the time that the costume in question is worn, anything from the current canon is eligible by default.
The costume must work within the constraints of human anatomy. Costumes that can only be accurately rendered as puppets (IG-88, Battle Droids) are considered props and as such not allowed. Costumes must be a complete ensemble, not a partial version or in a state of undress. Video game characters must be part of the official story line of the game, and cannot be player customized. For example, Starkiller's Sith Stalker costume is acceptable, but a player character from Star Wars Galaxies would not be.
The character must be represented visually by an officially authorized Star Wars publication. Ideally, clear full body front/back/side reference should be available, but can be examined on a case by case basis. Costumes based only on text descriptions cannot be approved. An action figure or statue may be used as supplemental reference, but cannot not be the sole reference. McQuarrie concept characters, and other characters whose only reference exists in concept are open for Legion consideration on a “case-by-case basis”.
Some costumes, while approved for Legion membership, may be deemed inappropriate for certain events. The local command staff / event coordinator reserves the right to make this judgement as needed.
Whenever you begin work on a “New to the Legion” costume, it is always best to connect with the relevant Detachment before proceeding as the Detachment leader will need to request the costume inclusion into the 501st. If the detachments do not feel the costume is appropriate then the Legion membership officer may be contacted. It is recommended that a “New to the Legion” costume is not kept a secret. One of the best ways to receive feedback on a “New to the Legion” costume is to make an account with the relevant detachment forum, and solicit feedback from the membership base.
Effective January 2016, the 501st Legion requires that all “New to the Legion” costumes must have a CRL before being approved in the database.
A “New to the Legion Costume” is a costume that has no CRL. Below are the steps for a “New to the Legion” costume and how it is added to the membership database.