Rank Requirements

Boy Scout Rank Requirements

1. Complete the fifth grade, or be 11 years old, or have earned the Arrow of Light Award, but be younger than 18 years old.

2. Submit a completed Boy Scout application and health history signed by your parent or guardian.

3. Repeat the Pledge of Allegiance.
4. Demonstrate the Scout sign, salute, and handclasp.
5. Demonstrate tying the square knot (joining knot).
6. Understand and agree to live by the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout motto, the Scout slogan, and the Outdoor Code.
7. Describe the Scout badge.
8. With your parent or guardian, complete the exercises in the pamphlet "How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse and Drug Abuse".
9. Participate in a Scoutmaster conference.

Tenderfoot

These requirements may be worked on simultaneously with those for Second Class and First Class; however they must be earned in sequence.

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 1 night on a patrol or troop campout. Sleep in a tent you have helped pitch on a ground bed you have prepared.
3a. Demonstrate how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope.
3b. Demonstrate you know how to tie the following knots and what their uses are: two half hitches and the tautline hitch.
4. Explain the rules of safe hiking, both on a highway and cross-country, during the day and at night. Explain what to do if you are lost.
5. Demonstrate how to display, raise, lower, and fold the American flag.
6. Repeat from memory and explain in your own words the Scout Oath, Law, and Slogan.
7. Know your patrol name, give the patrol yell, and describe your patrol flag.
8. Explain why we use the buddy system in Scouting.
9a. Record your best in the following tests:
- Pushups
- Pull-ups
- Sit-ups
- Standing long jump
- Run/walk 500 yards.
9b. Show improvement in the activities listed above after practicing for 30 days.
10. Identify local poisonous plants; tell how to treat for exposure to them.
11a. Demonstrate the Heimlich maneuver and tell when it is used.
11b. Show first aid for the following:
- Simple cuts and scratches
- Blisters on the hand and foot
- Minor burns or scalds (first degree)
- Bites and stings of insects and ticks
- Poisonous snakebite
- Nosebleed
- Frostbite and Sunburn
12. Participate in a Scoutmaster conference and Board of Review.

Second Class

These requirements may be worked on simultaneously with those for the Tenderfoot and First Class ranks; however they must be earned in sequence.

1a. Demonstrate how a compass works and how to orient a map. Explain what map symbols mean.
1b. Using a compass and a map you've drawn, take a 5-mile hike (or 10 miles by bike) approved by your adult leader and your parent or guardian. (If you are using a wheelchairor crutches, or if it is difficult for you to get around, you may substitute "trip" for "hike" in this requirement.)
2a. Since joining, have participated in five separate troop/patrol activities (other than troop/patrol meetings), two of which included camping overnight.
2b. On one campout, demonstrate proper care, sharpening, and use of knife, saw, and ax.
2c. Use the tools listed above to prepare tinder, kindling, and fuel for a cooking fire.
2d. Light the cooking fire. Assist with the meal preparation and cleanup.
2e. On one of these campouts, select your patrol site and sleep in a tent that you pitched.
3. Participate in a flag ceremony for your school, religious institution, chartered organization, community, or troop activity.
4. Participate in an approved (minimum of 1 hour) service project.
5. Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of wild animals (birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, mollusks) found in your community.
6a. Show what to do for "hurry" cases of stopped breathing, serious bleeding, and internal poisoning.
6b. Prepare a personal first aid kit to take with you on a hike.
6c. Demonstrate first aid for the following:
- Object in the eye
- Bite of a suspected rabid animal
- Puncture wounds from a splinter, nail, and fish hook
- Serious burns (second degree)
- Heat exhaustion
- Shock
- Heatstroke, Dehydration, Hypothermia, and Hyperventilation
7. Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe swim. Demonstrate your ability to swim 50 yards using two different strokes. (This requirement may be waived by the troop committee for medical or safety reasons.)
8. Participate in a school, community, or troop program on the dangers of using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, and other practices that could be harmful to your health. Discuss your participation in the program with your family.
9. Demonstrate scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.
10. Participate in a Scoutmaster conference and Board of Review.

First Class

These requirements, and those for Tenderfoot and Second Class may be worked on simultaneously; however they must be earned in sequence.

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 1 mile and requires measuring the height and/or width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.)
3. Since joining, have participated in ten separate troop/patrol activities (other than troop/patrol meetings), three of which included camping overnight.
4. On one campout, serve as your patrol's cook. Prepare a breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu that requires cooking; secure ingredients; supervise your assistants in fire building; and prepare the meals. 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. Demonstrate tying the timber hitch and the clove hitch and their use in square, shear, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together.
7b. Use lashing to make a useful camp gadget.
8a. Demonstrate tying the bowline (rescue) knot and how it's used in rescues.
8b. Demonstrate bandages for injuries on the head, the upper arm, and collarbone, and for a sprained ankle.
8c. Show how to transport by yourself, and with one other person, a person:
- from a smoke-filled room
- with a broken leg, for at least 25 yards.
8d. Tell the five most common signs of a heart attack. Explain the steps (procedures) in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
9. Demonstrate your ability to swim 100 yards using one resting stroke and two other strokes, and to float (rest) as motionless as possible for 1 minute. (This requirement may be waived by the troop committee for medical or safety reasons.)
10. Demonstrate scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.
11. Participate in a Scoutmaster conference and Board of Review.

Star

1. Be active in your troop or patrol for at least 4 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 four from the required list for Eagle. (The required list for Eagle has 15 merit badges in 12 categories. Any of the 15 may be used for this requirement.) (NOTE: This means that, for example, a scout can use both Lifesaving AND Emergency Preparedness and/or Sports, Swimming AND Personal Fitness toward the requirement of 4 from the required list for Eagle when working toward Star Scout.)
4. While a First Class Scout, take part in service projects totaling at least 6 hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scoutmaster.
5. While a First Class Scout, serve actively 4 months in one or more of the following troop positions of responsibility (or carry out a Scoutmaster-assigned leadership project to help the troop):
- patrol leader,
- senior patrol leader,
- assistant senior patrol leader,
- den chief,
- scribe,
- librarian,
- historian,
- quartermaster,
- bugler,
- chaplain aide,
- instructor,
- junior assistant scoutmaster,
- troop guide,
- Venture crew chief, or
- Varsity team captain.
6. Take part in a Scoutmaster conference and Board of Review.

Life

1. Be active in your troop or patrol for at least 6 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. (The required list for Eagle has 15 merit badges in 12 categories. Any of the 15 may be used for this requirement.) (NOTE: This means that, for example, a scout can use both Lifesaving AND Emergency Preparedness and/or Sports, Swimming AND Personal Fitness toward the requirement of 3 more (7 total) from the required list for Eagle when working toward Life Scout.)
4. While a Star Scout, take part in service projects totaling at least 6 hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scoutmaster.
5. While a Star Scout, serve actively 6 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 and Board of Review.

Eagle

1. Be active in your troop or patrol for at least 6 months as a Life Scout.
2. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.
3. Earn a total of 21 merit badges (10 more than you already have), including the following:
- (a) First Aid
- (b) Citizenship in the Community
- (c) Citizenship in the Nation
- (d) Citizenship in the World
- (e) Communications
- (f) Safety
- (g) Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving
- (h) Environmental Science
- (i) Personal Management
- (j) Personal Fitness OR Swimming OR sports
- (k) Camping, and
- (l) 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 6 months in one or more of the following troop positions of responsibility:
- assistant senior patrol leader,
- chaplain aide,
- den chief,
- instructor,
- junior assistant scoutmaster,
- librarian,
- patrol leader,
- quartermaster,
- scribe,
- senior patrol leader,
- troop guide,
- historian,
- Venture crew chief, or
- Varsity team captain.
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 idea must be approved by your Scoutmaster and Troop Committee and approved by the Council or District before you start. YOU MUST USE THE "Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook", No. 18-927, IN MEETING THIS REQUIREMENT.
6. Take part in a Scoutmaster conference and District Board of Review.

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 3 months after becoming an Eagle Scout or after award of last 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 and 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.

Last updated: March 4, 1997

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Boy Scout Rank Requirements

Scout - Joining Requirements

Tenderfoot

Second Class

First Class

Star

Life

Eagle

Eagle Palms