The purposes of the Association are to encourage the systematic study of child language, and to foster international and interdisciplinary cooperation in such study.

The association shall sponsor an International Child Language Congress or Symposium every three years, to be held each time in a country other than the host country for the previous Congress or Symposium, to be planned by an Organizing Committee in consultation with the Executive Committee of the Association. The Regular Business Meeting of the Association shall be held in conjunction with each Congress or Symposium. Mail (regular or e-mail) ballots to the membership may also be used for IASCL between Congresses. In these cases, 51% of the ballots returned shall constitute a majority.

Membership in the Association shall be open to anyone with a professional interest in the study of child language. An individual becomes a member upon payment of the registration fee for the Symposium, such membership to continue until the first day of the next following Symposium. The registration fee shall be set by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Organizing committee of the Symposium for which the fee is paid; supplementary fees may be set for full privileges of attendance.

Individuals who want to become members of the Association between congresses can do so upon payment of a membership fee set by the Executive Committee.

The officers of the Association have up until 2021 consisted of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer. The statutes were amended in 2021 to specify that a new President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be nominated, and their election be conducted, one year before the conference when their tenure will begin. During that year, they will shadow the incumbent officers. Any newly elected Officers who are not IASCL members at the time of their election are granted IASCL member status. Any IASCL membership fees will also be waived at this point, unless the newly elected Officers have already paid a membership contribution.

The IASCL President and Vice-President are elected for one (three year) term. Following changes agreed by the Executive Committee in 2016, the offices of Secretary and Treasurer are now held for a 6-year term, with only one vacated in each cycle to ensure continuity. As agreed at the Regular Business Meeting in July 2021, after the Vice-President's 3-year term, to encourage continuity in conference delivery, the VP will then serve as an ex-officio member of the new conference committee and will act in an advisory capacity to the committee in this role. S/he will continue on the Executive Board as "Conference Liaison". In addition, the Association established a remunerated "Media Coordinator" position. The IASCL Media Coordinator works closely together with IASCL Board Members (especially the IASCL President) and members of the Executive Committee. The Media Coordinator's role is to update the IASCL website, continue developing a social media presence, and supporting the IASCL with any online surveys.

The election of officers is carried out through a Nominating and Appointing Committee. The Committee will request, via the Child Language Bulletin and other means as available, the membership to submit suggested nominations. Such nominations shall be submitted in writing, or the electronic equivalent (i.e. email). Nomination details shall include the mailing address of the nominee, a brief statement of his or her qualifications for office, his or her signature or other evidence of agreement, the signature and contact details of the nominator who must be a member of the Association. The Nominating and Appointing Committee may make additional nominations directly. The Nominating and Appointing Committee will recommend the new officers in consultation with the Executive Committee. In making their selection the members of the Committee will take into consideration the credentials of the nominees and the logistics of the organization of the next congress.
The appointment of the officers will be ratified at the Business Meeting of the Association at the following congress.

The Association shall have two standing committees: the Executive Committee and the Nominating and Appointing Committee. In addition, the President may from time to time, in consultation with the Executive Board (that is, the Officers), appoint special committees for carrying out the purposes of the Association. Officers of the Association, the editors of our two affiliated journals (Journal of Child Language and First Language), and the Child Language Bulletin Editor shall be members of the Executive Committee ex-officio, without privilege of vote. Seven elected members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum. The outgoing President of the Association will automatically become a member of the Executive Committee, as Chair of the Governing Board, for the term following his or her term of service.

The Nominating and Appointing Committee shall be appointed by the President no later than two years before the next Congress. It shall consist of three members, none of whom is currently an officer of the Association. First, no later than one and a half year before an upcoming congress, the Committee will request nominations from the membership for the new officers' positions. These nominations will have to have been approved by the nominees themselves. The Nominating and Appointing Committee may make additional nominations directly. The nominated officers will shadow the standing officers during the year before the upcoming Congress. The appointment of the officers will be ratified at the Business Meeting of the Association at the upcoming congress. In making their selection the members of the Committee will take into consideration the credentials of the nominees and the logistics of the organization of the next congress. The Nominating and Appointing Committee will recommend new officers in consultation with the Executive Committee.

At least six months before the upcoming conference, the Nominating and Appointing Committee shall also submit a slate of nominees for the open positions on the Executive Committee. The slate will be based on suggested nominations from the membership, together with additional nominations from the Committee. The slate will preferably include twice as many nominees as there are open positions. Members shall cast as many votes as there are open positions on the Executive Committee. Nominees receiving the highest votes will be elected, subject to the requirement that no more than 3 members of the Executive Committee shall be from the same country. Balloting will take place no later than two months before the next congress when all appointments and elected member positions will be ratified at the Business Meeting. The President may upon consultation with members of the Executive Committee fill vacancies on committees. Such appointments shall stand until the next congress.

The official languages of the Association shall be English and French. In addition, communications presented at Symposia may be in the language(s) of the host country provided that a resume in English or French is provided.

The Executive Committee shall decide on the site of the next Congress or Symposium, normally within one year after the conclusion of a Congress or Symposium, on the basis of invitations from host countries and institutions. The Executive Committee will then notify the membership of the Association of this decision and will, in consultation with the host institution, select an organizing Committee of no more than ten members which will be representative of the Association and the host institution.

The Child Language Bulletin shall be the official organ of communication within the Association, distributed to all Association members. The Editor of the Bulletin shall be appointed by the President and will automatically become a member of the Executive Committee. The info-childes electronic bulletin board shall be used as a supplementary communications organ. The Association supports the Journal of Child Language and First Language as a forum for academic publication, and the Editors of these journals shall serve ex-officio on the Association Executive Committee.

Proposed amendments to this Statute shall be sent in writing to the President and the Secretary of the Association no later than one month prior to the Regular Business Meeting, and the Statute may be amended by a two-thirds vote at the Business Meeting.

On November 21st, 2007, IASCL was granted charitable status by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulators (OSCR), Registered Charity No. SC038873. For more information, see IASCL Charity.