Life to Eagle Process and Resources

Eagle Rank Requirements

Below is a complete list of the requirements to earn Eagle Scout Rank. For each requirement, we have added text to provide more clarity and guidance related to them. Troop guidance in Italics.

• 1. Be active in your troop for at least six months as a Life Scout.

Most Scouts earn Life Rank in their early teen years. As Scouts enter High School, we acknowledge that school, family, work and other things that can take focus away from Scouting. We encourage Scouts to still make time for Scouting though their High School years, even if only for part of the year between sports seasons or when not in School. The Leadership they have developed and lessons learned from their elder Scouts we count on to help develop younger Scouts. We encourage Scouts to pay it forward and help keep our unit strong. Opportunities like Order of the Arrow or working at a Council Camp are great ways to keep active in Scouting.

• 2. As a Life Scout, demonstrate Scout Spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Tell how you have done your duty to God, how you have lived the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your everyday life, and how your understanding of the Scout Oath and Scout Law will guide your life in the future. List on your Eagle Scout Rank Application the names of individuals who know you personally and would be willing to provide a recommendation on your behalf, including parents/guardians, religious (if not affiliated with an organized religion, then the parent or guardian provides this reference), educational, employer (if employed), and two other references.

This requirement will be fulfilled on the Eagle Rank application and during the Scoutmaster Conference and Eagle Board of Review. What said, we encourage Scouts to keep this requirement in mind as they continue to work toward Eagle by incorporating the Scout Oath and Law in their everyday lives. This is another example of "Becoming and Eagle" vs. "Earning" Eagle Rank. Scouts will work with their Eagle Coach and will be requested to provide the names and contact information for adults whom the Scout believes will provide a good reference for their Eagle Application. The Eagle Coach will solicit these reference letters and will hold them to include with the Eagle Application that will be turned into Council.

• 3. Earn a total of 21 merit badges (10 more than required for the Life rank), including these 13 merit badges: (a) First Aid, (b) Citizenship in the Community, (c) Citizenship in the Nation, (d) Citizenship in the World, (e) Communication, (f) Cooking, (g) Personal Fitness, (h) Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving, (i) Environmental Science OR Sustainability, (j) Personal Management, (k) Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling, (l) Camping, and (m) Family Life.

You must choose only one of the merit badges listed in categories h, i, and k. Any additional merit badge(s) earned in those categories may be counted as one of your eight optional merit badges used to make your total of 21.

The BSA will soon create a new Citizenship in Society MB and will require it for Eagle. Scouts who complete their Life Rank Board of Review before the new requirements go into effect, will NOT be required to complete the new requirement. Scouts who earn more than the minimum 21 total Merit Badges can earn Eagle Palms for each 5 MBs beyond 21. Eagle Palms earned at the same time as the Eagle Board of Review are awarded at the same time as the Eagle Rank. If the Scout continues to earn MBs for Eagle Palms must continue to be active in Scouting and have age eligibility to earn them.

• 4. While a Life Scout, serve actively in your troop for six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility¹¹:

Scout troop. Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quarter-master, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, webmaster, or outdoor ethics guide.

Venturing crew. President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, den chief, historian, guide, quartermaster, chaplain aide, or out- door ethics guide.

¹¹Assistant patrol leader and bugler are not approved positions of responsibility for the Eagle Scout rank. Likewise, a Scoutmaster-approved leadership project shall not be used in lieu of serving in a position of responsibility.

In Troop 9626, PLC positions like MB Coordinator, Camping Coordinator, Troop Quartermaster, Service Coordinator, etc. are ASPL positions and are perfect to demonstrate leadership for Eagle. We also encourage a demonstration of growth in leadership between Life and Eagle rank positions of Responsibility.

• 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 the Boy Scouts of America.) A project proposal must be approved by the organization benefiting from the effort, your Scoutmaster 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 9.0.2.16.)

This the the largest and most unique requirement for Eagle. Details, advice and instructions for how to plan and manage an Eagle project is covered on a separate web page, here.

• 6. While a Life Scout, participate in a Scoutmaster conference.

In preparation for your board of review, prepare and attach to your Eagle Scout Rank Application a statement of your ambitions and life purpose and a listing of positions held in your religious institution, school, camp, community, or other organizations, during which you demonstrated leadership skills. Include honors and awards received during this service.

Unlike all previous ranks, prior to arranging your Scoutmaster, the Scout MUST complete all 5 prior requirements as well as complete the official BSA Eagle Rank Application. The Eagle Application instructions are covered on a separate web page, here. Once the Scoutmaster Conference has been completed, the clock stops for the Eagle Rank requirements related to the age of the Scout and their 18th Birthday. The final requirement of the Eagle Board of Review can be completed up to 90 days past the Scouts 18th Birthday without requesting an extension.

• 7. Successfully complete your board of review for the Eagle Scout rank.¹² (This requirement may be met after age 18, in accordance with Guide to Advancement topic 8.0.3.1.13).

After the Scoutmaster Conference, the Eagle Application, the completed Eagle Project Workbook and the received Letters of Recommendation will be collected and reviewed by the Eagle Coach who is then responsible for delivering the materials to the Council office for review. Once the Council has approved the application, it will be send to the District Advancement committee who will arrange and schedule the Eagle Board of Review.

For the Eagle Board of Review, the Scout should have prepared their BSA Uniform shirt with their Merit Badge sash to conform with BSA uniform requirements. This includes a shirt that fits the Scout and can be properly tucked in. BSA pants are not required.

Notes: For Venturers working on Scouts BSA requirements, replace “troop” with “crew” and “Scoutmaster” with “crew Advisor.” For Sea Scouts working on Scouts BSA requirements, replace “troop” with “ship” and “Scoutmaster” with “Skipper.”

¹¹Assistant patrol leader and bugler are not approved positions of responsibility for the Eagle Scout rank. Likewise, a Scoutmaster-approved leadership project shall not be used in lieu of serving in a position of responsibility.

¹²APPEALS AND EXTENSIONS

If a Scout believes all requirements for the Eagle Scout rank have been completed but a board of review is denied, the Scout may request a board of review under disputed circumstances in accordance with Guide to Advancement topic 8.0.3.2.

If the board of review does not approve the Scout’s advancement, the decision may be appealed in accordance with Guide to Advancement topic 8.0.4.0.

A Scout who foresees that, due to no fault or choice of their own, it will not be possible to complete the Eagle Scout rank requirements before age 18 may apply for a limited time extension in accordance with Guide to Advancement topic 9.0.4.0. These are rarely granted and reserved only for work on Eagle.

¹³AGE REQUIREMENT ELIGIBILITY

Merit badges, badges of rank, and Eagle Palms may be earned by a registered Scout or a qualified Venturer or Sea Scout. Scouts may earn these awards until their 18th birthday. Any Venturer or Sea Scout who has achieved the First Class rank as a Scout in a troop or as a Lone Scout may continue working up to their 18th birthday toward 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, the candidate’s 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, topic 8.0.3.1, 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, Venturer, or Sea Scout with a disability may also qualify to work toward rank advancement after reaching 18 years of age if the guidelines outlined in section 10 of the Guide to Advancement are met.