What are Merit Badges?
Merit badges are awards earned by youth members of Scouts of America (BSA) based on activities within a specific area of study. Earning a merit badge involves completing a list of requirements that are updated periodically.
The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to explore subjects to determine if they would like to further pursue them as a career or vocation. Originally, the program also introduced Scouts to the life skills of contacting an adult they hadn’t met before, arranging a meeting, and then demonstrating their skills, similar to a job or college interview.
Increasingly, though, merit badges are earned in a class setting at troop meetings and summer camps. Each merit badge has a pamphlet (booklet) published by Scouts of America associated with it; the pamphlet contains information on completing the requirements for the badge. Scouts must meet with their Scoutmaster to receive a signed blue card to begin working on a merit badge. The Scout then contacts an adult who is registered as a counselor for that merit badge to learn which badge requirements they must complete before meeting with the counselor. Once these requirements are completed, the Scout meets with the counselor to demonstrate that they have completed the requirements. The counselor then “signs off” on each requirement. After completing the merit badge, the Scout will be presented the merit badge patch at the next Court of Honor.
The award of a merit badge is represented by a circular patch with an image representing the badge’s topic. The patches for the Eagle-required merit badges are distinguishable by the silver ring on the outside edge. Merit badges are displayed on a sash which can be worn with the Scout uniform on formal occasions. Every year, the National Council reviews and updates a certain number of merit badges. There are over 130 merit badges.
Eagle-Required Merit Badges
The current requirement for Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Scouting, involves earning a minimum of 21 merit badges, including 14 “Eagle Required” badges from this list:
- First Aid
- Personal Fitness
- Swimming, Hiking, or Cycling
- Environmental Science or Sustainability
- Personal Management
- Family Life
- Citizenship in the World
- Citizenship in the Nation
- Citizenship in the Community
- Citizenship in Society
- Lifesaving and/or Emergency Preparedness
- Communication
- Cooking
- Camping
PLUS, choose any 7 or more “elective” merit badges of your choice to learn about all sorts of new topics.
Working on a Merit Badge
- PAMPHLETS: You will want to understand the requirements for the merit badges you work on.
- WORKBOOKS: You will need to print your own workbooks for each merit badge that you work on.
- BLUE CARDS: You must obtain a signed Blue Card (pictured above) from your Scoutmaster with approval before starting any merit badge work! Keep all 3 sections of the blue card attached. Do not tear them apart on the perforation.
- MERIT BADGE COUNSELORS: You will work with a Merit Badge Counselor (MBC) to sign off on the requirements for each merit badge. When you start with a counselor on a badge, you will continue working with that same counselor until the badge is complete.
Completed Merit Badges
Once the work is completed, your MBC will sign off on the blue card and keep one of the 3 sections for their records. You will bring the other two sections of the card to the meeting and turn it into the Advancement Chair to get it signed as completed by the Scoutmaster. The Advancement Chair will then record the merit badge in our tracking software.
The Advancement Chair will keep the completed blue card. It will be returned when the merit badge is presented at the next Court of Honor.
You will never turn in your merit badge workbook to a counselor or the Advancement Chair—only the blue card!
Tips & Record-keeping
Remember, it is not up to the Troop, the Scoutmaster, or the MBC to complete merit badges. It is not up to the parent to complete or turn in the merit badges. It is completely up to the Scout to get that done. We are not responsible for their merit badges; we are merely enablers for them to be successful with the merit badges.
It is the scout’s responsibility to keep track of the workbooks and blue cards. DO NOT LOSE THEM! You will then have no proof of your work completed.
You will want to keep all of your merit badge workbooks in a 2-inch, 3-ring binder. You will also want to keep all of the blue cards and award cards that are returned at the court of honor when the patches are presented. If something happens in the record-keeping process, it is up to the scout to prove that they have met the requirements for rank advancement and Eagle. The Advancement Chair does keep digital records, but if there is a discrepancy in our records, your records will help correct a possible error or oversight in the future!
