Eagle Scout is the highest advancement rank in Boy Scouting

      • 2012 is the 100th Anniversary of the Eagle Scout.
      • In 2010, 56,176 Scouts earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
      • Around 5 percent of all Boy Scouts earned the Eagle Scout rank in 2010.
      • In 2010, the average age of boys earning the Eagle Scout rank was 17 years of age.
      • From 1912 to 2010, more than 2 million Boy Scouts earned the Eagle Scout rank.

Rank Advancement resources

To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, a Boy Scout must:

  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:
    1. First Aid
    2. Citizenship in the Community
    3. Citizenship in the Nation
    4. Citizenship in the World
    5. Communications
    6. Personal Fitness
    7. Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving
    8. Environmental Science
    9. Personal Management
    10. Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling
    11. Camping
    12. Family Life
    4. 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, instructor, Webmaster, or Leave No Trace Trainer.
    • Varsity Scout team. Captain, cocaptain, program manager, squad leader, team secretary, Order of the Arrow team representative, librarian, quartermaster, chaplain aide, instructor, den chief, Webmaster, or Leave No Trace Trainer.
    • Venturing crew/ship. President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, boatswain, boatswain's mate, yeoman, purser, storekeeper, Webmaster, or Leave No Trace Trainer.

      The 2009 printing of the Boy Scout Handbook inadvertently included bugler as a position of responsibility under Eagle Scout requirement 4; is is not. The requirements presented here and in the 2011 Boy Scout Requirements book are correct and official.
  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 project 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. 512-927, in meeting this requirement.
  6. Take part in a Scoutmaster conference.
  7. Successfully complete an Eagle Scout board of review.