Boy Scout Joining Requirements

1. Meet the age requirements. Be a boy who is 11 years old, or one who has completed the fifth grade or earned the Arrow of Light Award and is at least 10 years old, but is not yet 18 years old.
2. Find a Scout troop near your home.
3. Complete a Boy Scout application and health history signed by your parent or guardian.
4. Repeat the Pledge of Allegiance.
5. Demonstrate the Scout sign, salute, and handshake.
6. Demonstrate tying the square knot (a joining knot).
7. Understand and agree to live by the Scout Oath or Promise, Law, motto, and slogan, and the Outdoor Code.
8. Describe the Scout badge.
9. Complete the pamphlet exercises. With your parent or guardian, complete the exercises in the pamphlet How to Protect Your Children From Child Abuse: A Parent’s Guide.
10. Participate in a Scoutmaster conference. Turn in your Boy Scout application and health history form signed by your parent or guardian, then participate in a Scoutmaster conference

Online Resources

• The application form to join Boy Scouting is available online for download here .
• The troop locator on the Scout Zone web site www.thescoutzone.org  will show you a list of some of the Boy Scout troops in your area.
• Your local council service center can put you in touch with your future troop. Contact information for your council can beretrieved here.
• The pamphlet How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse: A Parent's Guide is available online for download here. 

Tenderfoot Rank Requirements

1. Present yourself to your leader, properly dressed, before going on an overnight camping trip. Show the camping gear you will use. Show the right way to pack and carry it.
2. Spend at least one night on a patrol or troop campout. Sleep in a tent you have helped pitch.
3. On the campout, assist in preparing and cooking one of your patrol’s meals. Tell why it is important for each patrol member to share in meal preparation and cleanup, and explain theimportance of eating together.
4. Demonstrate
   • 4a. Demonstrate how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope.
   • 4b. Demonstrate that you know how to tie the following knots and tell what their uses are: two half hitches and the taut-line hitch.
   • 4c. Using the EDGE method, teach another person how to tie the square knot.
5. Explain the rules of safe hiking, both on the highway and cross- country, during the day and at night. Explain what to do if you are lost.
6. Demonstrate how to display, raise, lower, and fold the American flag.
7. Repeat from memory and explain in your own words the Scout Oath, Law, motto, and slogan.
8. Know your patrol name, give the patrol yell, and describe your patrol flag.
9. Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is and how you should respond to one.
10. Record your best in the following tests:

Current results

Push-ups ________

Pull-ups ________

Sit-ups ________

Standing long jump (______ ft. ______ in.)

1/4-mile walk/run _____________

30 days later

Push-ups ________

Pull-ups ________

Sit-ups ________

Standing long jump (______ ft. ______ in.)

1/4-mile walk/run _____________

10b. Show improvement in the activities listed in requirement 10a after practicing for 30 days.

11. Identify local poisonous plants; tell how to treat for exposure to them.
12. 12a. Demonstrate how to care for someone who is choking.
    12b. Show first aid for the following:
    • Simple cuts and scrapes
    • Blisters on the hand and foot
    • Minor (thermal/heat) burns or scalds (superficial, or first-degree)
    • Bites or stings of insects and ticks
    • Venomous snakebite
    • Nosebleed
    • Frostbite and sunburn
13. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life. Discuss four specific examples of how you have lived the points of the Scout Law in your daily life.
14. Participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
15. Complete your board of review.

Notes

• Alternate requirements for the Tenderfoot rank are available for Scouts with physical or mental disabilities - click here .
• The requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks may be worked on simultaneously; however, these ranks must be earned in sequence.

Online Resources

• A series of videos that demonstrate how to meet all of the requirements for the Tenderfoot rank is available on the BSA Web site here.

Second Class Rank Requirements

Notes

• Alternate requirements for the Second Class rank are available for Scouts with physical or mental disabilities - click here to learn more.
• The requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks may be worked on simultaneously; however, these ranks must be earned in sequence.
• If you use a wheelchair or crutches, or if it is difficult for you to get around, you may substitute “trip” for “hike” in requirement 1b.

Online Resources

• A series of videos that demonstrate how to meet all of the requirements for the Second Class rank is available on the BSA Web site here.

First Class Rank Requirements

Notes

• Alternate requirements for the First Class rank are available for Scouts with physical or mental disabilities - click here to learn more.
• The requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks may be worked on simultaneously; however, these ranks must be earned in sequence.

Online Resources

• A series of videos that demonstrate how to meet all of the requirements for the First Class rank is available on the BSA Web site here.

Star Rank Requirements

1. Be active in your unit (and patrol if you are in one) for at least four months as a First Class Scout.
2. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.
3. Earn six merit badges, including any four from the required list for Eagle.

4. While a First Class Scout, take part in service project(s) totaling at least six hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scoutmaster.
5. While a First Class Scout, serve actively for four months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility (or carry out a Scoutmaster-assigned leadership project to help the unit): 
   
   Boy Scout troop. Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, Venture patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, bugler, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, troop Webmaster, or Leave No Trace trainer.
   
   Varsity Scout team. Captain, cocaptain, program manager, squad leader, team secretary, Order of the Arrow troop representative, librarian, historian, quartermaster, chaplain aide, instructor, den chief, team Webmaster, or Leave No Trace trainer.
   
   Venturing crew/ship. President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, den chief, quartermaster, historian, guide, boatswain, boatswain’s mate, yeoman, purser, storekeeper, crew/ship Webmaster, or Leave No Trace trainer.
   
6. Take part in a Scoutmaster conference.
7. Complete your board of review.

A Scout may choose any of the 15 required merit badges in the 12 categories to fulfill requirement 3. See a complete list of required badges for Eagle.

Life Rank Requirements

1. Be active in your unit (and patrol if you are in one) for at least six months as a Star Scout.
2. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.
3. Earn five more merit badges (so that you have 11 in all), including any three more from the required list for Eagle. (See the Eagle Rank Requirements, number 3, for this list.) A Scout may choose any of the 15 required merit badges in the 12 categories to fulfill this requirement.
4. While a Star Scout, take part in service project(s) totaling at least six hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scoutmaster.
5. While a Star Scout, serve actively for six months in one or more of the troop positions of responsibility listed in requirement 5 for Star Scout (or carry out a Scoutmaster-assigned leadership project to help the troop).
6. While a Star Scout, use the EDGE method to teach a younger Scout the skills from ONE of the following six choices, so that he is prepared to pass those requirements to his unit leader’s satisfaction.
   a. Second Class—7a and 7c (first aid)
   b. Second Class—1a (outdoor skills)
   c. Second Class—3c, 3d, 3e, and 3f (cooking/camping)
   d. First Class—8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d (first aid)
   e. First Class—1, 7a, and 7b (outdoor skills)
   f. First Class—4a, 4b, and 4d (cooking/camping)
   g. Three requirements from one of the required Eagle merit badges, as approved by your unit leader.
7. Take part in a Scoutmaster conference.
8. Complete your board of review.

A Scout may choose any of the 15 required merit badges in the 12 categories to fulfill requirement 3. See a complete list of required badges for Eagle.

Eagle Rank Requirements

1. Be active in your troop, team, crew, or ship for a period of at least six months after you have achieved the rank of Life Scout.
2. Demonstrate that you live by the principles of the Scout Oath and Law in your daily life. List the names of individuals who know you personally and would be willing to provide a recommendation on your behalf, including parents/guardians, religious, educational, and employer references.
3. Earn a total of 21 merit badges (10 more than you already have), including the following:
   1. First Aid
   2. Citizenship in the Community
   3. Citizenship in the Nation
   4. Citizenship in the World
   5. Communication
   6. Personal Fitness
   7. Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving
   8. Environmental Science
   9. Personal Management
   10. Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling
   11. Camping
   12. Family Life

You must choose only one merit badge listed in items g and j. If you have earned more than one of the badges listed in items g and j, choose one and list the remaining badges to make your total of 21.

4. While a Life Scout, serve actively for a period of six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility:
   • Boy Scout troop. Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, Venture patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, Webmaster, or Leave No Trace Trainer.
   • Varsity Scout team. Captain, cocaptain, program manager, squad leader, team secretary, Order of the Arrow team representative, librarian, historian, quartermaster, chaplain aide, instructor, den chief, Webmaster, or Leave No Trace Trainer.
   • Venturing crew/ship. President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, quartermaster, historian, den chief, guide, boatswain, boatswain's mate, yeoman, purser, storekeeper, Webmaster, or Leave No Trace Trainer.
5. While a Life Scout, plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to any religious institution, any school, or your community. (The project must benefit an organization other than Boy Scouting.) A project proposal must be approved by the organization benefiting from the effort, your unit leader and unit committee, and the council or district before you start. You must use the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook, BSA publication No. 512-927, in meeting this requirement. (To learn more about the Eagle Scout service project, see the Guide to Advancement, topics 9.0.2.0 through 9.0.2.15.)
6. Take part in a unit leader conference.
7. Successfully complete an Eagle Scout board of review.

Notes

AGE REQUIREMENT ELIGIBILITY. Merit badges, badges of rank, and Eagle Palms may be earned by a registered Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, or Venturer. He may earn these awards until his 18th birthday. Any Venturer who achieved the First Class rank as a Boy Scout in a troop or Varsity Scout in a team may continue working for the Star, Life, and Eagle Scout ranks and Eagle Palms. An Eagle Scout board of review may occur, without special approval, within three months after the 18th birthday. Local councils must preapprove those held three to six months afterward. To initiate approval, the candidate, his parent or guardian, the unit leader, or a unit committee member attaches to the application a statement explaining the delay.Consult the Guide to Advancement in the case where a board of review is to be conducted more than six months after a candidate’s 18th birthday.

If you have a permanent physical or mental disability, or a disability expected to last more than two years, or beyond age 18, you may become an Eagle Scout by qualifying for as many required merit badges as you can and qualifying for alternative merit badges for the rest. If you seek to become an Eagle Scout under this procedure, you must submit a special application to your local council service center. Your application must be approved by your council advancement committee before you can work on alternative merit badges.

A Scout or Venturer with a disability may work toward rank advancement after he is 18 years of age if he meets the guidelines outlined in the Guide to Advancement.

Online Resources

The National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) provides a number of online resources to assist Scouts in earning the Eagle rank — including an electronic version of the Eagle Scout Rank Application and the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook — via their Web site at www.nesa.org 

Eagle Palms

After becoming an Eagle Scout, you may earn Palms by completing the following requirements:

1. Be active in your troop and patrol for at least three months after becoming an Eagle Scout or after award of last Palm. (Eagle Palms must be earned in sequence, and the three-month tenure requirement must be observed for each Palm.)
2. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.
3. Make a satisfactory effort to develop and demonstrate leadership ability.
4. Earn five additional merit badges beyond those required for Eagle or last Palm. (Merit badges earned any time since becoming a Boy Scout may be used to meet this requirement.)
5. Take part in a Scoutmaster conference.
6. Complete a board of review.

You may wear only the proper combination of Palms for the number of merit badges you earned beyond the rank of Eagle. The Bronze Palm represents five merit badges, the Gold Palm 10, and the Silver Palm 15.

Introduction to Merit Badges

You can learn about sports, crafts, science, trades, business, and future careers as you earn merit badges. There are more than 100 merit badges. Any Boy Scout may earn them.

Pick a Subject. Talk to your unit leader (Scoutmaster) about your interests. Read the requirements of the merit badges you think might interest you. Pick one to earn. Your unit leader will give you the name of a person from a list of counselors. These individuals have special knowledge in their merit badge subjects and are interested in helping you.

Scout Buddy System. You must have another person with you at each meeting with the merit badge counselor. This person can be another Scout, your parents or guardian, a brother or sister or other relative, or a friend.

Call the Counselor. Get a signed merit badge application from your unit leader. Get in touch with the merit badge counselor and tell him or her that you want to earn the merit badge. The counselor may ask to meet you to explain what is expected and to start helping you meet the requirements. You should also discuss work that you have already started or possibly completed.

Unless otherwise specified, work for a requirement can be started at any time. Ask your counselor to help you learn the things you need to know or do. You should read the merit badge pamphlet on the subject.

Show Your Stuff. When you are ready, call the counselor again to make an appointment. When you go take along the things you have made to meet the requirements. If they are too big to move, take pictures or have an adult tell in writing what you have done. The counselor will test you on each requirement to make sure you know your stuff and have done or can do the things required.

Get the Badge. When the counselor is satisfied that you have met each requirement, he or she will sign your application. Give the signed application to your unit leader so that your merit badge emblem can be secured for you.

Requirements. You are expected to meet the requirements as they are stated—no more and no less. You must do exactly what is stated in the requirements. If it says "show or demonstrate," that is what you must do. Just telling about it isn't enough. The same thing holds true for such words as "make," "list," "in the field," and "collect," "identify," and "label."

The requirements listed here are the official requirements of the Boy Scouts of America. However, the requirements presented here might not match those in the Boy Scout Handbook and the merit badge pamphlets, because these requirements are updated only when the Boy Scout Requirements book is updated. The only significant difference is that as new merit badges are introduced, the requirements are posted here.

If you have already started working on a merit badge when a new edition of the pamphlet is introduced, you may continue to use the same merit badge pamphlet and fulfill the requirements therein to earn the badge. You do not need to start all over again with the new pamphlet and revised requirements.

Resources

• Introductory Guide for Merit Badge Counselors 

Merit Badge Requirements

Below is a list, in alphabetical order, of all of the current merit badge subjects. Click each subject to see the requirements for that merit badge.

American Business	American Cultures	American Heritage	American Labor	Animal Science
Archaeology	Archery	Architecture	Art	Astronomy
Athletics	Automotive Maintenance	Aviation	Backpacking	Basketry
Bird Study	Bugling	Camping	Canoeing	Chemistry
Chess	Cinematography	Citizenship in the Community	Citizenship in the Nation	Citizenship in the World
Climbing	Coin Collecting	Collections	Communication	Composite Materials
Computers	Cooking	Crime Prevention	Cycling	Dentistry
Disabilities Awareness	Dog Care	Drafting	Electricity	Electronics
Emergency Preparedness	Energy	Engineering	Entrepreneurship	Environmental Science
Family Life	Farm Mechanics	Fingerprinting	Fire Safety	First Aid
Fish and Wildlife Management	Fishing	Fly-Fishing	Forestry	Gardening
Genealogy	Geocaching	Geology	Golf	Graphic Arts
Hiking	Home Repairs	Horsemanship	Indian Lore	Insect Study
Inventing	Journalism	Kayaking	Landscape Architecture	Law
Leatherwork	Lifesaving	Mammal Study	Medicine	Metalwork
Model Design and Building	Motorboating	Music	Nature	Nuclear Science
Oceanography	Orienteering	Painting	Personal Fitness	Personal Management
Pets	Photography	Pioneering	Plant Science	Plumbing
Pottery	Public Health	Public Speaking	Pulp and Paper	Radio
Railroading	Reading	Reptile and Amphibian Study	Rifle Shooting	Robotics
Rowing	Safety	Salesmanship	Scholarship	Scouting Heritage
Scuba Diving	Sculpture	Search and Rescue	Shotgun Shooting	Skating
Small-Boat Sailing	Snow Sports	Soil and Water Conservation	Space Exploration	Sports
Stamp Collecting	Surveying	Swimming	Textile	Theater
Traffic Safety	Veterinary Medicine	Truck Transportation	Water Sports	Weather
Welding	Whitewater	Wilderness Survival	Wood Carving	Woodwork

Boy Scout Merit Badges > > > Triple Prizes < < <

Boy Scout merit badges give scouts the opportunity to investigate around 120 different areas of knowledge and skills. The merit badge program plays a major role in the scouting advancement program and participation can begin as soon as a scout registers with a troop. Each scout can explore topics from American Business to Woodworking as he has interest. The only limitations are his ambition and availability of adult merit badge counselors to offer instruction.