8 Rules You Didn’t Know Mrs. American Contestants Have to Follow (Exclusive)

The Mrs. America beauty pageant is currently underway and there are some important rules that contestants must follow during the competition.

After Heidi Stephens was officially crowned the new Mrs. American 2024 on August 27, taking over the title from Hannah Neeleman, the competition will continue on August 28 with the Mrs. America beauty pageant.

The Mrs. America beauty pageant, which includes Mrs. America, Mrs. American and Miss for America Strong competition classes, was first created in 1938 and aims to “showcase America’s most accomplished married and single women,” according to the official website.

Each year, 51 delegates from across the country are selected to compete for the coveted title, and the winners of Mrs. America and Mrs. American ultimately compete for the title of Mrs. World.

Miss for America Strong 2021 winner and current judge Kayelin Tiggs spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about the pageant’s rules, noting that it’s important for contestants to “have a cause” they’re passionate about.

“I think a woman who is passionate about what she’s doing and can talk about it is the one who can connect with the judges,” she continues. “A woman who can say, ‘This is what I do, this is why I do it, this is how I make an impact. And this is how the title will amplify that impact,’ I think is the one who can really be successful.”

Since winning her title in 2021, Tiggs has been working on Ohio House Bill 30, which would require “every single correctional facility, prison, workhouse to provide incarcerated women with menstrual hygiene products at no cost” and allow them “one shower a day” during their cycle, Tiggs tells PEOPLE.

“I have a background in behavioral neuroscience and I worked for the Air Force base,” she explains. “At the time, I had been doing research for the Naval Medical Research Unit for about four and a half years. I took that research background and started talking to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections and our local prisons to just try to do research on this topic.”

“And so I discovered that there was no legislation and that was the gap,” she said, mentioning how she spoke to various incarcerated women about their experiences. “I wanted to create consistency across Ohio because a woman can move from one facility to another,” she continued. “It’s rare that a woman stays in just one facility for her entire sentence, so I wanted to make sure that no matter where a woman was, whether it was a small rural prison or a larger city, there were basic access products available to her.”

Ahead of the rest of the competition, Tiggs shared some additional information with PEOPLE about the rules each contestant must follow to compete for one of the coveted titles. Read on to learn the most important rules for the beauty pageant.

To qualify for the Mrs. category, contestants must be married. However, divorced women can still compete in the Miss category.

Contestants who are eyeing the title of Mrs. America or Mrs. American must be legally married to participate. Tiggs explains that you can still enter these pageants even if you are separated from your partner but still legally married.

“We have divorced women,” she says. “We’ve had women who competed in the Mrs category, then got divorced and are now competing in the Miss category.”

“We all understand that,” she says of divorced contestants. “We all understand that as women, things happen that are beyond our control.”

Tiggs adds that a contestant does not have to be accompanied by her husband in the pageant and there are no penalty points for doing so. Heidi Stephens, Mrs. American 2024, told PEOPLE that just hours before her Mrs. American interview, she wasn’t sure if her husband would be able to compete in the pageant because of his work, although he joined at the last minute.

“We as judges give 100 percent of our time to every woman who sits in front of us because that’s what every single person deserves,” Tiggs continues. “And as someone who has competed, a lot of them, you want a judge who cares about you and listens to you.”

You must resign as Mrs. America if you get divorced within the year you won the crown

If the winner of the title of Mrs. America or Mrs. American were to divorce during her term, she would have to step down and the runner-up would receive the title in her place.

“If you get divorced for any reason while you are on the job, you are no longer married and are no longer eligible,” Tiggs notes.

Participation in rehearsals and other activities is mandatory

Tiggs explains that contestants must arrive for the competition “a week in advance,” and it typically lasts about 10 days. During that time, “contestants go on trips, they rehearse, they eat a different dinner every night,” Tiggs notes.

Rehearsals are mandatory for participants and attendance is checked in advance, “because everyone has a specific position on stage” and “they are taken into account in the dance,” says Tiggs.

“If a state is missing, it’s either because she’s not here or something happened to her,” Tiggs says. “So we want to make sure she’s here and she’s OK.”

The competition interviews will be held in a round-robin style.

Tiggs confirms that contestants must take part in a round-robin style interview with a panel of five judges. She reveals that “the interviews are four minutes long” and that each contestant must sit with each judge individually and answer their questions.

Although there are no specific rules for the interview, candidates must submit a resume in advance that includes basic information about themselves, their family, their profession and their interests.

Tiggs says the women who participate are usually “not amateurs” in such pageants and have “won all the state titles” to qualify for these beauty pageants. “They prepare for this for a year, sometimes years,” she says.

There are no “formal rules” for the appearance of a candidate

Tiggs explains that while there are “no formal rules” regarding what contestants should wear during the pageant, they “want to look appropriate for their category.”

Single women who take part in the Miss World pageant are therefore allowed to be “a little more free” when it comes to their appearance and clothing, says Tiggs.

“The Mrs. contestant is a little more confident and mature,” she continues. “They go on stage with their husbands and represent their families. So I think it’s just a difference in maturity and a difference in overall presentation.”

The jury does not select the winning costumes

As for the costume portion, Tiggs says there are no specific rules or regulations that participants must follow, other than not wearing “things that could burn down the theater.”

She adds that there is a prize for the costumes, but they are not chosen by the judges. “Pageant staff and directors choose the best costumes,” she notes.

Participants can also compete while pregnant

Expectant mothers are allowed to enter the pageant. Tiggs says, “There have been Miss (contestants) who have entered the pageant while pregnant” and even contestants who “were not married but were having a baby.”

Participants must be over 18 years old to participate, but there is no age limit.

While contestants must be at least 18 years old to take part, there is no age restriction beyond that. In fact, one of the contestants who made it into the top 15 was 60 years old before Heidi Stephens was crowned the winner.

Tiggs emphasizes: “Age doesn’t matter. If she’s good, she’s good.”