What are Merit Badges
Merit badges are awards earned by members of the Boy Scouts of America, based on activities within the area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to further pursue them as a career or vocation.
How do I prepare for a T5 T6 Merit Badge?
1. Get a signed application
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Request a blue card from your unit leader. If you know who the counselor is, have their name to discuss with your unit leader. If you need help finding a counselor, you can ask your unit leader or any adult scout leader for help.
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If your unit leader approves, they will sign the front of your blue card.
2. Contact the counselor
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Call the merit badge counselor and explain that you want to earn the badge. The counselor may ask to meet with you to explain what is expected and to start helping you meet the requirements.
3. Read requirements
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Scouts are expected to read the merit badge requirements and the BSA merit badge pamphlet before arriving at their class(es).
4. Meet with the counselor
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The counselor will establish meeting times and dates.
5. Submit the completed card
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Depending on the counselor, they may hand you back the card with their signature, or they may give it directly to your unit leader or advancement chair. If they give it directly to you, it is your responsibility to give it to your unit leader or advancement chair.
6. Receive the emblem and certificate
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At a suitable occasion, typically a Court of Honor, you will be awarded the merit badge emblem and certificate.
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Always remember to show good scout etiquette and practice the scout law! These adults are volunteering their time to help you explore various skills and concepts that will help introduce you to real-world experiences. Very often, through your scouting journey, a merit badge will have given you your first introduction to a possible future career.
How do Merit Badges work?
Pick a Subject. Talk to your unit leader about your interests. Read the requirements of the merit badges you think might interest you, and pick one to earn. Your 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.
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Scout Buddy System. You must have another person with you at each meeting with the merit badge counselor. This person can be your parent or legal guardian, or another registered adult.
Call the Merit Badge Counselor. Get a signed Application for Merit Badge, No. 34124 or No. 34130, from your unit leader. Get in touch with the merit badge counselor and explain that you want to earn the 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 you have already started or possibly completed.
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At the first meeting, you and your merit badge counselor will review and may start working on the requirements. In some cases, you may share the work you have already started or completed.
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Unless otherwise specified, work on 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. Many troops, schools, and public libraries have them.
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.
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Get the Badge. When the counselor is satisfied you have met each requirement, he or she will sign your application. Give the signed application to your unit leader so your merit badge emblem can be secured for you.
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Merit badge requirements are revised as needed to reflect updated information and technology. Refer to the latest Scouts BSA Requirements book for merit badge requirement updates. The current Scouts BSA Requirements book is available from your local Scouting merchandise distributor. It may also be ordered online at ScoutShop.org.
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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.”
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The requirements listed below are the current and official requirements of the Boy Scouts of America. Occasionally, the requirements will not match those in the printed Scout Handbook, the annual Scouts BSA Requirements book, or some merit badge pamphlets because of the timing of their printing schedules.
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If a new edition of a merit badge pamphlet is introduced with updated requirements after the Scouts BSA Requirements book has been released, a Scout who is starting the badge may choose to follow either set of requirements until the end of the year. At the start of the new year, Scouts who are beginning must use only the new requirements.
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If a Scout has already started working on a merit badge when a new edition of the pamphlet is introduced, they may continue to use the same pamphlet and fulfill the requirements therein to earn the badge. They need not start over again with the new pamphlet and revised requirements.
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There is no time limit for starting and completing a merit badge, but all work must be completed by the time a Scout turns 18.
