Registering and Being Approved

Stage 1 of 8 Can start now

• 7.0.2.4. An adult wants to counsel a merit badge

  District and council advancement committees are charged with recruiting enough counselors to meet unit needs, so the first move is as often theirs as the volunteer's.

  Milestone

• 7.0.1.1. All activity supervised by a trained adult of 21 or over

  Safe Swim Defense for swimming, Safety Afloat for watercraft, Winter Activities for snow sports. Every physical activity in any Scouting programme must also follow the SAFE Checklist.

  Requirement

• 7.0.1.1. Aquatics badges: the named certifications

  Swimming, Lifesaving, Canoeing, Kayaking, Rowing, Small-Boat Sailing, Scuba, Whitewater. The Guide names acceptable credentials for each; a council advancement committee may approve someone with similar experience and training.

  Requirement

• 7.0.1.1. Range and target badges: the named certifications

  Archery, Rifle Shooting, Shotgun Shooting. Supervision by a National Camping School Range & Target Activities Director or the named NRA, NFAA, USA Archery or NMLRA credential. For live fire the range safety officer and the instructor may not be the same person.

  Requirement

• 7.0.1.1. Climbing and snow sports: the named training

  Climbing, belaying and rappelling need a rock-climbing instructor of 21 or over who has completed Climb On Safely, with someone holding current first aid, CPR and AED certification present. Snow sports need an adult of 21 or over committed to Winter Sports Safety.

  Requirement

• 7.0.1.1. CPR instruction: a nationally certified instructor

  Wherever CPR is required, it must be taught by someone currently trained as a CPR instructor by a nationally certified provider such as the American Red Cross, the Emergency Care and Safety Institute or the American Heart Association.

  Requirement

• 7.0.1.1. Or use helpers who hold the qualification Recommended

  A counselor who does not meet a specific safety requirement is not shut out of the badge: they may use the services of helpers who do.

  Task

• 7.0.1.2. Merit Badge Counselor Information, No. 34405 Recommended

  The sheet the Guide names as a tool for the approval process. It lists the badges an applicant is offering to counsel.

  Document

• 7.0.1.6. Merit Badge Counselor Position Specific Training Recommended

  Available online at training.scouting.org. Every counselor should take it. The council or district advancement committee must make sure counselors understand Scouting America's mission, aims and methods, and how Scouts learn and grow through the process.

  Training

• 7.0.2.2. The list is not given to Scouts Often forgotten

  Scouts must not have access, on any list, at any level. Getting a counselor's name and contact details from the unit leader is a required part of the merit badge process, and counselor privacy is the other half of the reason.

  Requirement

  This applies to unit lists as well as council ones. The Scout gets the counselor's name and contact details from the unit leader, and that conversation is a required part of the merit badge process.

• 7.0.2.3. A unit may keep a subset list Optional

  Units may keep their own lists, but they are subsets of the official district or council list. Every counselor on one, including those serving a single unit, must be registered and approved the same way.

  Task

• 7.0.1.1. You may approve badges for Scouts in any council Optional

  Important where counselors are scarce, where a Scout is away from home, or where a badge has a high-quality online component from another council. Every procedure still applies, including the Scout's conversation with the unit leader beforehand.

  Requirement

• 7.0.1.4. A Scoutmaster who wants to sign off must register as a counselor too

  Wishing to counsel and sign merit badges means qualifying and registering in the position of merit badge counselor and being approved under council procedures, just like any other adult leader.

  Requirement

• 7.0.1.4. Reporting concerns about a counselor Optional

  Where a counselor is found not to be working with the requirements as written, unit leaders or other volunteers complete the Reporting Merit Badge Counseling Concerns form and submit it to the council advancement committee.

  Document

Stage 2 of 8

• 7.0.1.3. Aged 18 or over, and of good character

  The whole of the personal qualification. Rapport with unit leaders and with Scouts matters too, though it is not a test anyone applies.

  Requirement

  Usually comes after 7.0.2.4. An adult wants to counsel a merit badge.

• 7.0.1.4. Decide which badges to offer

  The National Council sets no limit on how many badges one person may be approved for. A council may set one, as long as it does not narrow a Scout's choices — especially in a small or remote unit — into a barrier to advancement.

  Decision

  Usually comes after 7.0.2.4. An adult wants to counsel a merit badge.

Stage 3 of 8

• 7.0.1.4. Have the skills, education and training for those badges

  The council's approval procedure exists to establish this. The intent is that Scouts learn from someone with a real level of expertise and enthusiasm for the subject.

  Requirement

  Usually comes after 7.0.1.4. Decide which badges to offer.

• 7.0.1.1. Check whether the badge carries a named qualification Often forgotten

  Several badges involve activities that must be supervised by someone holding specific credentials. Consult the current merit badge pamphlet: the lists change as pamphlets are revised, and the Guide to Safe Scouting supersedes any other publication.

  Requirement

  Usually comes after 7.0.1.4. Decide which badges to offer.

  All certifications must be current. The Guide to Safe Scouting holds the policies in force and supersedes any other publication or literature on these activities.

Stage 4 of 8

• 7.0.1.4. The council approves the badges to be counseled Often forgotten

  The second, and the one that is skipped. Counselors are approved for specific merit badges and may only sign off those. The procedure that establishes it is the council advancement committee's responsibility.

  Approval

  Usually comes after 7.0.1.4. Have the skills, education and training for those badges and 7.0.1.1. Check whether the badge carries a named qualification.

  A counselor may only sign off the badges the council advancement committee, or its designee, has approved them for. Registration in the position is not approval for any particular badge.

• 7.0.1.3. Complete the adult application, position code 42 Often forgotten

  Scouting America's standard adult application. Anyone who wants to counsel must complete one, whether currently unregistered or already registered in another position.

  Document

Stage 5 of 8

• 7.0.1.3. The council approves registration in the position

  The first of the two approvals. Council advancement committees decide who at council or district level approves the adult application; the responsibility for the approval itself is the committee's.

  Approval

Stage 6 of 8

• 7.0.1.2. Registered and approved

  Both halves done. Neither one alone is enough to counsel anything.

  Milestone

  Usually comes after 7.0.1.3. The council approves registration in the position and 7.0.1.4. The council approves the badges to be counseled.

Stage 7 of 8

• 7.0.2.1. Added to the council or district counselor list

  The council advancement committee is responsible for keeping the list current, council-wide or by district. It is made available to troops, crews and ships.

  Task

  Usually comes after 7.0.1.2. Registered and approved.

  Online counselor lists should only be available from official council websites or tools such as Scoutbook Plus that meet National Council guidelines. Access is limited to people with merit badge responsibilities — advancement committee members and chairs, unit leaders and selected assistants.

• 7.0.1.2. Camp, virtual and group settings need the same approval

  Both halves of counselor approval apply to summer camp staff and to anyone counseling in a virtual or group instruction setting. Resident camp standards require a letter from the council advancement committee approving the camp's counselors.

  Requirement

  There are no camp-related exemptions from the qualifications in 7.0.1.1, and councils are not permitted to change the rules about who qualifies. Staff members under 18 must not serve as, or be treated as, merit badge counselors; those with subject knowledge may assist an approved counselor with instruction.

• 7.0.1.5. Reregister every year Often forgotten

  National sends an email around the anniversary of the registration date. A counselor who does not renew is dropped from the rolls and is no longer approved to verify that any requirement was completed.

  Task

  Usually comes after 7.0.1.2. Registered and approved.

  Adding and removing individual badges for a counselor is handled by the local council, not nationally.

Stage 8 of 8

• 7.0.1.4. Counsel Scouts, and sign only your approved badges

  The point of all of it. What happens in a counseling session is modelled separately, in the merit badge process plan.

  Event

  Usually comes after 7.0.1.2. Registered and approved and 7.0.1.5. Reregister every year.