Policies and Procedures

Guide to Advancement – the official source

The Guide to Advancement is the official source for administering advancement in all Boy Scouts of America programs: Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Varsity Scouting, Venturing, and Sea Scouts. It replaces the Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures and Advancement and Recognition Policies and Procedures, which are no longer valid.

Questions and Suggestions

The Guide to Advancement is intended to provide clear procedures and guidelines for a mission-oriented delivery of advancement. Administration of it, however, largely takes place locally. Therefore, volunteer advancement administrators should always consult first with the district and council—the district advancement chair, district executive, council advancement chair, or the council’s professional staff advisor for advancement.  These officials can provide many answers and a certain level of interpretation.  The national Advancement Team is available for recommendations or for questions that cannot be handled locally.  

Suggestions for new merit badges should be directed to the BSA Innovation Team at merit.badge@scouting.org.

Local Council Policies – coming soon