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Eagle Scout

Scouts BSA · Rank

Printable worksheet (PDF)

Eagle Scout is the highest rank in Scouts BSA, and it reflects years of skills, service, and leadership. The big pieces are your merit badges, a leadership role, and a service project you plan and lead yourself. Break it into steps, ask for help, and keep a steady pace.

Why it's worth it

Eagle is less about the badge and more about who you've become on the way: someone who can plan a project, recruit adults and Scouts to help, lead them through a real work day, and leave something lasting in your community. You'll have 21 merit badges' worth of skills, six months of leading as a Life Scout, and a project an organization will use for years. People who know Scouting know what that takes.

Start this week

  1. Make a one-page checklist: the 13 Eagle-required badges, which are done, which are partial, and the date you became Life. Your Scoutmaster can check troop records with you.
  2. Start a project idea list. For a week, notice what schools, parks, places of worship, and community groups near you could use, and write each idea down.
  3. Get the current Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook from scouting.org and read the proposal section, so you know what you'll be asked.
  4. Ask two or three adults who know you well, like a teacher, coach, or employer, whether they'd be willing to be references.
  5. Ask your Scoutmaster whether your troop or district has an Eagle coach you and a parent can meet with.

Plan ahead: Requirements 1 and 4 each need 6 months as a Life Scout, and the project must be done as a Life Scout too, so start all three soon after you make Life. Eagle has an age deadline tied to your 18th birthday, so count back from it with your Scoutmaster and leave extra weeks for approvals.

Stay safe

  • Your project plan should cover worker safety: adult supervision for power tools, gloves and eye protection, water and breaks, and a first-aid kit on site.
  • Follow the Guide to Safe Scouting and your beneficiary's rules for tools, ladders, and heavy lifting, and match each job to the age of the volunteers doing it.

Requirements · 7

Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).

Note: Citizenship in Society stopped being Eagle-required on Feb 27, 2026; Scouts who started it before then may still count it if they finish by Dec 31, 2026.

  1. Requirement 1

    Stay active in your troop for 6 months or more as a Life Scout

    Tip: Stay active in your troop. Keep coming to meetings and outings and help where you can.

    For example: Being active can look like steady attendance at meetings and campouts, helping at troop events, and showing up for the newer Scouts. If school, a job, or sports limit your time, talk with your Scoutmaster about how you're staying involved.

  2. Requirement 2

    As a Life Scout, show Scout spirit; share how you've done your duty to God, lived the Oath and Law, and how they'll guide your future; on your Eagle application, list references: parent/guardian, religious (a parent gives it if you have no faith affiliation), educational, employer (if any), and two others

    Tip: Think about the people who know you well, like teachers, coaches, employers, or faith leaders, and ask early if they'll serve as references.

    For example: Pick references who've seen you at your best and at your hardest: a teacher, coach, employer, faith leader, or family friend. Ask in person first, then send a short note with a parent copied, explaining what Eagle is and when someone might contact them.

  3. Requirement 3

    Earn 21 merit badges in all (10 beyond Life), including the 13 required ones below; pick only one badge in each OR choice, and any extras there count toward your 8 electives

    Tip: Make a checklist of the 13 Eagle-required badges and the electives you've earned. Start the longer badges early and ask counselors what each one involves.

    For example: Plan by time, not just by list: Personal Fitness has a 12-week program, Personal Management a 13-week budget, and Family Life 90 days of chores. Start those early and fill in the shorter badges around them.

    1. Requirement 3a

      First Aid merit badge

    2. Requirement 3b

      Citizenship in the Community merit badge

    3. Requirement 3c

      Citizenship in the Nation merit badge

    4. Requirement 3d

      Citizenship in the World merit badge

    5. Requirement 3e

      Communication merit badge

    6. Requirement 3f

      Cooking merit badge

    7. Requirement 3g

      Personal Fitness merit badge

    8. Requirement 3h

      Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving merit badge

      Tip: Pick Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving based on your interests. Lifesaving involves water work, so build your swimming skills first.

      For example: Choose by interest and schedule: Emergency Preparedness fits if you like planning and community safety, and Lifesaving fits strong swimmers who want to learn water rescues, often at summer camp.

    9. Requirement 3i

      Environmental Science OR Sustainability merit badge

      Tip: Choose Environmental Science or Sustainability. Ask your counselor which one fits your interests and schedule better.

    10. Requirement 3j

      Personal Management merit badge

    11. Requirement 3k

      Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling merit badge

      Tip: Choose the outdoor badge you'll enjoy most: Swimming, Hiking, or Cycling. Plan time for training, and do the activity with proper supervision.

      For example: Swimming suits Scouts who have pool or waterfront access, Hiking suits those who love trails and a series of long hikes, and Cycling suits riders ready for long rides. Pick the one you'll actually enjoy training for.

    12. Requirement 3l

      Camping merit badge

    13. Requirement 3m

      Family Life merit badge

  4. Requirement 4

    As a Life Scout, actively serve 6 months in troop roles (chaplain aide, den chief, historian, instructor, junior assistant Scoutmaster, librarian, OA troop rep, outdoor ethics guide, patrol leader, quartermaster, scribe, senior or assistant senior patrol leader, troop guide, webmaster); a leadership project can't substitute; Lone Scouts: a school, faith, club, or community leadership role

    Tip: Pick a position where you can make a real difference. Ask your Scoutmaster for feedback during your term.

    For example: Strong positions leave a mark: as senior patrol leader you run meetings and plan the year with patrol leaders; as instructor you teach skills each month; as a scribe or historian you keep the troop's records alive. Ask for feedback halfway through.

  5. Requirement 5

    As a Life Scout, plan, develop, and lead others in a service project for a religious institution, school, or your community (not Scouting America); before starting, get the proposal approved by the group that benefits, your Scoutmaster, your unit committee, and the council or district; use the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook

    Tip: Start your project idea early and get it approved before you begin. Use the workbook to plan carefully, then lead others to carry it out.

    For example: Strong projects meet a real need and give you something to lead: raised garden beds for a school, a restored trail section with a park, shelving and an organized storeroom for a food pantry, bike repairs for a nonprofit, a native pollinator garden, or benches for a place of worship.

  6. Requirement 6

    As a Life Scout, have a Scoutmaster conference

    Tip: Share your journey, your project, and your plans for the future. This is a chance to reflect on how far you've come.

  7. Requirement 7

    Before your board of review, attach to your Eagle application a written statement of your goals and life purpose, plus a list of leadership positions held and honors received; then pass your Eagle board of review (it may happen after age 18)

    Tip: Write your ambitions statement and leadership list thoughtfully. At the board, relax and tell your story in your own words.

    For example: Your ambitions statement can be a few honest paragraphs: what you hope to study or do for work, how you want to serve your community, and which leadership moments in Scouting shaped you. Specific stories beat big words.

Places to visit

Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.

  • An organization that might benefit from your project

    Meeting the people and seeing the place helps you find a need that's real and sized right for you to plan and lead.

    How: Have a parent join the visit or call. Ask: What do you need that volunteers could do? Who approves the plan? Who pays for materials? What rules or permits apply? When could work happen?

  • An Eagle court of honor in your troop or district

    New Eagle Scouts often describe their projects and what they'd do differently, which is the best advice you can get.

    How: Ask your Scoutmaster when the next one is and go with your family.

Ask yourself

  • What need in your community do you care about enough to spend months on?
  • When your project hit a snag, how did you handle it, and who did you ask for help?
  • What did leading adults and other Scouts teach you about yourself?
  • Which Scouting moment changed you most between Scout rank and now?
  • Now that you can plan and lead something big, what do you want to do with that?

Good questions to ask your Scoutmaster at your conference

  • What did you see me learn from planning and leading my project?
  • What do Eagle Scouts you've known do with what they learned here?
  • How can I keep helping the troop after my board of review?
  • What should I expect at the Eagle board of review, and how can I prepare?
  • Is there anything about my leadership you think I should keep working on?

Helpful reads

For leaders & parents

  • Help Life Scouts map out their remaining merit badges, leadership, and project with a simple timeline.
  • Connect Scouts with an experienced Eagle coach or mentor for project planning and workbook questions.
  • Encourage Scouts to choose projects that genuinely benefit their community and let them lead it.

People & places that can help

Pairs well with

Eagle-required merit badges

Into this? Explore more

Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.