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 the importance of eating together.
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.
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.
10a.	Record your best in the following tests: Push-ups, Pull-ups, Sit-ups, Standing long jump, 1/4-mile walk/run. Record them again 30 days later.
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.
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.
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.

• 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.

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

 

1.	Demonstrate how to find directions during the day and at night without using a compass.
2.	Using a compass, complete an orienteering course that covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/or width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.).
3.	Since joining, have participated in 10 separate troop/patrol activities (other than troop/patrol meetings), three of which included camping overnight.
4a.	Help plan a patrol menu for one campout that includes at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner, and that requires cooking at least two of the meals. Tell how the menu includes the foods from the food pyramid and meets nutritional needs.
4b.	Using the menu planned in requirement 4a, make a list showing the cost and food amounts needed to feed three or more boys and secure the ingredients.
4c.	Tell which pans, utensils, and other gear will be needed to cook and serve these meals.
4d.	Explain the procedures to follow in the safe handling and storage of fresh meats, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, and other perishable food products. Tell how to properly dispose of camp garbage, cans, plastic containers, and other rubbish.
4e.	On one campout, serve as your patrol's cook. Supervise your assistant(s) in using a stove or building a cooking fire. Prepare the breakfast, lunch, and dinner planned in require- ment 4a. Lead your patrol in saying grace at the meals and supervise cleanup.
5.	Visit and discuss with a selected individual approved by your leader (elected official, judge, attorney, civil servant, ?principal, teacher) your constitutional rights and obligations as a U.S. citizen.
6.	Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of native plants found in your community.
7a.	Discuss when you should and should not use lashings.
7b.	Demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch and their use in square, shear, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together.
7c.	Use lashing to make a useful camp gadget.
8a.	Demonstrate tying the bowline knot and describe several ways it can be used.
8b.	Demonstrate bandages for a sprained ankle and for injuries on the head, the upper arm, and the collarbone.
8c.	Show how to transport by yourself, and with one other person, a person From a smoke-filled room With a sprained ankle, for at least 25 yards
8d.	Tell the five most common signals of a heart attack. Explain the steps (procedures) in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
9a.	Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe trip afloat.
9b.	Successfully complete the BSA swimmer test.
9c.	With a helper and a practice victim, show a line rescue both as tender and as rescuer. (The practice victim should be approximately 30 feet from shore in deep water.)
10.	Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.
11.	Tell someone who is eligible to join Boy Scouts, or an inactive Boy Scout, about your troop's activities. Invite him to a troop outing, activity, service project, or meeting. Tell him how to join, or encourage the inactive Boy Scout to become active.
12.	Describe the three things you should avoid doing related to use of the Internet. Describe a cyberbully and how you should respond to one.
13.	Participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
14.	Complete your board of review.

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 troop and patrol 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. (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 First Class Scout, take part in service projects totaling at least six hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scout?master.
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 troop): Boy Scout troop. Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, ?senior patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, bugler, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, or instructor. Varsity Scout team. Captain, cocaptain, program manager, squad leader, team secretary, Order of the Arrow troop representative, librarian, historian, quartermaster, chaplain aide, instructor, or den chief. Venturing crew/ship. President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, boatswain, boatswain's mate, yeoman, purser, or storekeeper.
6.	Take part in a Scoutmaster conference.
7.	Complete your board of review.

Life Rank Requirements

 

1.	Be active in your troop and patrol 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 projects 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.	Take part in a Scoutmaster conference.
7.	Complete your board of review.

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: First Aid Citizenship in the Community Citizenship in the Nation Citizenship in the World Communications Personal Fitness Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving Environmental Science Personal Management Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling Camping 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, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, or instructor. Varsity Scout team. Captain, cocaptain, program manager, squad leader, team secretary, Order of the Arrow team representative, librarian, quartermaster, chaplain aide, instructor, or den chief. Venturing crew/ship. President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, boatswain, boatswain's mate, yeoman, purser, or storekeeper.
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 should benefit an organization other than Boy Scouting.) The proj?ect plan must be approved by the organization benefiting from the effort, your Scoutmaster and troop committee, and the council or district before you start. You must use the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook, BSA publication No. 18-927, in meeting this requirement.
6.	Take part in a Scoutmaster 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 while registered as a Venturer up to his 18th birthday. Scouts and Venturers who have completed all requirements prior to their 18th birthday may be reviewed within three months after that date with no explanation. Boards of review conducted between three and six months after the candidate's 18th birthday must be preapproved by the local council. A statement by an adult explaining the reason for the delay must be attached to the Eagle Scout Rank Application when it is submitted to the Eagle Scout Service. The Boy Scout Division at the national office must be contacted for procedures to follow if 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, 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. See Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures, No. 33088 for details.

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 Leadership Service Project Workbook — via their Web site at www.nesa.org.

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 any merit badge at any time. You don't need to have had rank advancement to be eligible.

Pick a Subject. Talk to your Scoutmaster about your interests. Read the requirements of the merit badges you think might interest you. Pick one to earn. Your Scoutmaster will give you the name of a person from a list of counselors. (The Merit badge Counselor list is under the "Forms" section of our web site for you to pick from.) These counselors 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, a relative, or a friend.

Call the Counselor. Get a signed merit badge application from your Scoutmaster. 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 of you and to start helping you meet the requirements.

When you know what is expected, start to learn and do the things required. 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 and school or public libraries have them.

Show Your Stuff. When you are ready, call the counselor again to make an appointment to meet the requirements. 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 ask you to do each requirement to make sure that 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 Scoutmaster 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 are expected to 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."