How do I Become Merit Badge Counselor

Merit Badges are a critical part of the BSA Advancement program for Scouts, and the process of Counseling them can be a very rewarding way to volunteer one’s time. So how do you become a registered Merit Badge Counselor? Following these simple steps, and understanding where to find available resources, can ensure a smooth approval process and get you on the right path to a successful experience working with Scouts. Northern Star Scouting has over 2,000 approved Merit Badge Counselors. Here are a few suggestions to help the approval process.

1. All Merit Badge Counselors need to complete Youth Protection Training be officially registered in Scouting.
2. Take Online Merit Badge Counselor Training at: my.scouting.org In the BSA Learning Center.
3. The next step is to review the merit badge requirements for each Merit Badge being considered to determine if you have the passion, knowledge, and skills necessary to work with Scouts.
4. The next step is to fill out the Merit Badge Counselor Application which includes basic contact information, a list of merit badges to drop or add (It’s good to revisit your list now and then) and personal qualifications. The key to approval is to carefully describe qualifications to counsel the Merit Badge (experience, interest, training, education, employment etc). Please note that some Merit Badges, like boating, shooting sports or aquatics-based badges and others require the counselor to have specific certifications. If you want to be approved for any of the badges requiring special certifications and you do personally have them, you must communicate to our approval team that you will commit to partnering with an individual with the appropriate certifications to facilitate the Merit Badge session. (See a link to resources below)
5. Application should be forwarded to the council registrar who will refer the completed application to a volunteer member of the review committee for approval.
6. As allowed by the National Council, Northern Star Scouting has a limited the number of Merit Badges any single counselor can counsel to 20. Special approval for certain circumstances may be granted after discussion with the Merit Badge Counselor Approval Team or Northern Star Advancement Director.
7. You will stay approved to counsel the badges you register for as long as you maintain your Youth Protection Certification and your primary registration with Scouting. You must notify [email protected] to be removed from the Merit Badge Counselor List.

Northern Star Scouting follows the guidelines as referenced in section 7 of the BSA Guide to Advancement. They can be found at: https://www.scouting.org/resources/guide-to-advancement/