Around here (Tidewater VA) we give out chips but each home group seems to do it a bit differently. Some give one for every month up to 12 months, some give them out for 30, 90, 180 days etc. I've been to meetings in Beverly Hills where that group's method is the same as my home group's. I've been to meetings in Massachusetts where they only give you a chip when you reach one year. The only commonality I've seen in this process is that the first chip is almost always white. I'll pick up "birthday" chips each year but only to show newcomers that the program works. I always carry my white chip, however, to remind me of a place I never want to go back to.