Life Rank Patch

Life
Rank Requirements


Requirements were REVISED effective November 1, 2021 and a minor change was made to reuirement 3 in June, 2022.

To see the changes which were made, Click here.

For the previous requirements, Click here.



These rank requirements are official as of Jan. 1, 2022. If a Scout has started work toward a rank before that date using requirements that were current before Jan. 1, 2022, except as noted below, the Scout may complete that rank using the old requirements. Any progress toward a rank that is begun after Jan. 1, 2022, must use the requirements as they are presented on scouting.org.

  1. Be active in your troop for at least six months as a Star Scout.
  2. As a Star Scout, demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Tell how you have done your duty to God and how you have lived the Scout Law in your everyday life.
  3. Earn five more merit badges (so that you have 11 in all), including any number more from the list for Eagle so that you have a total of seven from the required list of Eagle in that total number of 11 merit badges. You may choose any of the merit badges on the required list for Eagle to fulfill this requirement. See Eagle rank requirement #3 for this list.
  4. Note: On November 1, 2021, BSA introduced a new merit badge, CITIZENSHIP IN SOCIETY. Scouts could use Citizenship in Society as one of the Eagle-Required merit badges for Star rank requirement #3 or Life requirement #3 anytime after Nov 1, 2021. For the rank of Eagle Scout, it could be used as an optional merit badge until July 1, 2022. For Scouts who did not complete all requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout by July 1, 2022, Citizenship in Society became required.

    Name of Merit Badge Date Earned
    (Eagle required) _________________________ _________________________
    (Eagle required) _________________________ _________________________
    (Eagle required) _________________________ _________________________
    _________________________ _________________________
    _________________________ _________________________

     

  5. While a Star Scout, participate in six hours of service through one or more service projects approved by your Scoutmaster. At least 3 hours of this service must be conservation related.
  6. While a Star Scout, serve actively in your troop for six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility (or carry out a unit leader-assigned leadership project to help the troop):
    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,
    • instructor,
    • webmaster, or
    • outdoor ethics guide 9
    Venturing crew
    • President,
    • vice president,
    • secretary,
    • treasurer,
    • den chief,
    • historian,
    • guide,
    • quartermaster,
    • chaplain aide, or
    • outdoor ethics guide
    Sea Scout ship.
    • boatswain,
    • boatswain's mate,
    • purser,
    • yeoman,
    • storekeeper, or
    • crew leader,
    • media specialist,
    • specialist,
    • den chief, or
    • chaplain aide.

    Lone Scout.

    Leadership responsibility in your school, religious organization, club, or elsewhere in your community.
     
  7. While a Star Scout, use the Teaching EDGE method to teach another Scout (preferably younger than you) the skills from ONE of the following choices, so that the Scout is prepared to pass those requirements to their Scoutmaster's satisfaction.
    1. Tenderfoot - 4a and 4b (first aid)
    2. Second Class - 2b, 2c, and 2d (cooking/camping)
    3. Second Class - 3a and 3d (navigation)
    4. First Class - 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d (tools)
    5. First Class - 4a and 4b (navigation)
    6. Second Class - 6a and 6b (first aid)
    7. First Class - 7a and 7b (first aid)
    8. Three requirements from one of the required Eagle merit badges, as approved by your Scoutmaster.
  8. While a Star Scout, participate in a Scoutmaster conference
  9. Successfully complete your board of review for the Life rank. 10

NOTE:

For Venturers working on Scouts BSA Requirements, replace "troop" with "crew" and "Scoutmaster" with "Crew Advisor."
For Sea Scouts working on Scouts BSA Requirements, replace "troop" with "ship" and "Scoutmaster" with "Skipper."

9 Assistant patrol leader is not an approved position of responsibility for the Star, Life, or Eagle rank.

10 If the board of review does not approve the Scout’s advancement, the decision may be appealed in accordance with Guide to Advancement, topic 8.0.4.0.


VENTURERS and SEA SCOUTS

The following additional requirements apply to boys registered in the Venturing Program or as Sea Scouts.

  • Any male Venturer or Sea Scout who has achieved the First Class rank as a member of Scouts BSA in a troop may continue advancement toward Star, Life and Eagle Scout ranks up to his 18th birthday.
  • He must meet the requirements as prescribed in the official Boy Scout Handbook and the current Boy Scout Requirements book.
  • A board of review will be conducted by the crew or ship committee.

Worksheet for use in working on these requirements: Format
Word Format PDF Format

Blanks in this worksheets table appear when we do not have a worksheet for the badge that includes these requirements.


NOTE: The footnote to Requirement 3 means that, for example, a Scout can use both Lifesaving AND Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Science AND Sustainability, and/or Swimming, Hiking, AND Cycling toward the requirement of 3 more from the required list for Eagle when working toward Life Scout.) Also note that the asterisks are specifically placed on the lines marked "(Eagle required )" signifying that the note applies to these badges. The Guide to Advancement explicitly states this:

7.0.4.5 Earning Eagle-Required Merit Badges for Star or Life Rank
Candidates for Star or Life, in the selection of “any four” or “any three,” respectively, of the merit badges required for Eagle, may choose from all those listed, including where alternatives are available: Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving; Cycling OR Hiking OR Swimming; and Environmental Science OR Sustainability. For example, if a Scout earns Cycling, Hiking, and Swimming, all three of them count as Eagle required for Life rank. Only one, however, would serve toward the required merit badges for the Eagle Scout rank. The other two would count toward the optional merit badges required to make up the total of 21 merit badges.

Note that Star and Life requirements each allow two non-Eagle-required merit badges. It is the Scout’s decision, however, to earn more—or all—of his Star and Life badges from the Eagle-required list.

Also note that Requirement 8 - (Successfully complete your board of review for Life rank.) MAY be done AFTER the Scout has reached age 18. All other requirements must be completed BEFORE the Scout's 18th Birthday.

Source: SCOUTS BSA REQUIREMENTS 2022  (SKU 656269)


Page updated on: January 17, 2024



Scouts Using the Internet Cartoon - Courtesy of Richard Diesslin - Click to See More Cartoons
© 1994-2024 - U.S. Scouting Service Project | Site Map | Disclaimer | Project Team | Contact Us | Privacy Policy

Materials found at U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. Websites may be reproduced and used locally by Scouting volunteers for training purposes consistent with the programs of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) or other Scouting and Guiding Organizations. No material found here may be used or reproduced for electronic redistribution or for commercial or other non-Scouting purposes without the express permission of the U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. (USSSP) or other copyright holders. USSSP is not affiliated with BSA or WOSM and does not speak on behalf of BSA or WOSM. Opinions expressed on these web pages are those of the web authors. You can support this website with in two ways: Visit Our Trading Post at www.ScoutingBooks.com or make a donation by clicking the button below.
(U.S. Scouting Service Project Donation)


(Ruth Lyons Memorial Donations)