THE JOURNEY FROM LIFE SCOUT TO EAGLE SCOUT
Effective 1 July 2022 the Citizenship in the Society Merit Badge will be a required merit badge for Eagle.
Citizenship in the Society Merit Badge Information Flier
To assist you in earning the Citizenship in the Society the below Merit Badge Counselors have been approved by the Council’s Advancement Committee.
Citizenship in the Society Requirements
Click below to find a list of Council approved Citizenship in the Society Merit Badge Counselors.
The Merit Badge Counselors are not limited to their associated District.
District Eagle Chairs
Each district has dedicated volunteers who will assist each Scout as the work towards the Eagle Scout Rank. From project approvals to Eagle Boards of Review, the volunteers are a great resource for the scouts and troops.
Dear Life Scout:
Congratulations on achieving your Life Scout rank, you are now ready to begin the journey
to Eagle Scout.
The rank of Eagle Scout is the highest rank in Scouts BSA. It represents years of active
participation in a scouting unit where the scout has worked to gain skills, earn merit badges
and developed as a leader through their fulfillment of the duties in positions of responsibility
within their unit. The Scout does not travel this trail to Eagle Scout alone. Their fellow Scouts,
family, unit leadership, district and Council volunteers all have a role in guiding them to the
attainment of the Eagle Rank.
The trail to Eagle starts well before the achievement of the Life Scout rank, it begins as the
Scout works to earn the rank of First Class. The scout, their parents/guardian and the adult
leadership of their unit should make themselves familiar with not only the requirements that
must be completed but also the time frames required to achieve the Eagle rank before the 18th
birthday. With rare exception, a scout should never “run out of time.”
The National Boy Scout office designates the process and forms and applications which must be
used to complete the rank of Eagle. The Guide to Advancement is the best reference for the
process of advancement. It clearly states, “No council, committee, district, unit, or individual has
the authority to add to, or subtract from, advancement requirements.” To avoid confusion, this
Life to Eagle Packet uses the same terminology as The Guide to Advancement when discussing
what is required versus desired or optional.
The Guide to Advancement states “This publication clearly identifies mandated procedures with
words such as “must” and “shall.” Where such language is used, no council, committee, district,
unit or individual has the authority to deviate from the procedures covered without written
permission of the National Advancement Committee. Recommended best practices are offered
using words like “should” while other options and guidelines are indicated with terms such as
“may” or “can.”
The most recent edition of the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook and the Eagle Scout Rank
Application must be used by the Eagle candidate. The South Florida Council Eagle Scout
Reference letter form must be used.
This Life to Eagle Packet explains the process specific to South Florida Council, the intent is to
make the process clear to scouts, their parents/guardians, unit leadership and district and
Council volunteers.
The Eagle candidate will find that there are some steps, specific to their district, not included
here that they must research. These might include items such as day and location of the district
Eagle board meetings and the name and to whom and where to address to send Eagle
candidate references letters.
This Life to Eagle Packet updated April 2021 covers the following topics:
Trail to Eagle Timeline
Special Transition Rules
Documents and Forms you will need
Fundraising for Eagle Scout Service Projects and Crowd‐funding
How to obtain Eagle Scout Letters of Reference
The South Florida Council Eagle scout letter of Reference form
Completion and submission of the Eagle Scout Rank Application
The Trail to Eagle Timeline
One aspect of achieving the rank of Eagle that is often misunderstood is the timeline that must
be considered. While most Scouts and their parents/guardians are aware that the rank of Eagle
Scout rank must be completed before the age of 18 they are often unaware of the timeline
necessary for completing the ranks from First Class to Life.
To progress from the rank of First Class to Eagle the scout must complete a specified term in an
approved position of responsibility in their unit: four months from First Class to Star rank, and six
months from Star rank to Life, and six months from Life rank to Eagle. The scout must also
complete a specified number of Eagle required merit badges and a specified number of
approved community service hours to complete the Star, Life and Eagle ranks.
This means that a Scout must complete ranks within a strict time frame. To achieve the rank of
Eagle, the Scout must have:
completed the rank of First class before the Scout is 16 years and 8 months old
complete the rank of Star before the Scout is 17 years old
complete the rank of Life before the Scout is 17 years 6 months old
complete the rank of Eagle before the Scout’s 18th birthday (the Eagle Board of Review may be completed after the 18th birthday)
Because volunteers have busy schedules, the Scout must allow plenty of extra time for each of
these ranks to also complete the Scoutmaster/Unit Leader Conference and Board of Review by the required dates shown.
Please contact your District Advancement Team for further information. Their contact information is listed on the council website.
Documents and Forms you will need
The Eagle candidate must use the up-to-date Eagle Project Workbook and Eagle Rank Application. Thoroughly reading the information on these forms along with the up-to-date Guide to Advancement and Guide to Safe Scouting will help ensure a successful proposal, planning and execution of the Eagle Service Project.
Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook, No 2021c https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/advancement-and-awards/eagle-scout-workbook/
Important Note: When you download and start to fill out the project workbook make sure you save it to you computer by going to “save as” and giving it a name such as your name and Eagle Project workbook, for example “Greg’s Eagle Workbook.” This will ensure that your work is saved.
Eagle Scout Rank Application, No 512-728 (NEW) With the Citizenship in the Society Merit Badge https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/512-72822c-Eagle-Scout-Application_WEB.pdf
The easiest way to complete this application is to access it via the Scout’ personal Scoutbook account. See the Eagle Scout Rank Application later in this document
Guide to Advancement, No 33088 https://www.scouting.org/resources/guide-to-advancement/
Sections 8.0.3.0 address Boards of Review and Section 9 covers all aspects of the Eagle Rank.
Guide to Safe Scouting’s section of tool use https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/
Fundraising for Eagle Scout Service Projects and Crowd‐funding
Fundraising is not a required aspect of the Eagle Scout Service Project, in fact many Eagle Scout
Service Projects require minimal sums of money to successfully plan, execute and complete.
If the Eagle Candidate finds that they need to raise funds for the Eagle Scout Service Project
there are several factors that the Scout and their parents/guardians should consider including:
Amount of money needed to be raised
Timeline for the fundraising
Fundraising approach (i.e. car washes, bake sales, yard sales)
National and local Council rules regarding fundraising
The South Florida Council does allow Eagle Scout candidates to use crowd‐funding sites to raise funds for the Eagle Scout Service project.
This requires prior Council written approval. When considering the use of crowd‐funding, the Scout and their parents/guardians should carefully consider the
specific policies of the crowd‐funding site regarding:
The percentage of funds that may be retained by the site
Additional fees such as credit card, or site processing fees
Dispersal of funds if the goal is not reached or if it is exceeded.
The specific policies vary widely between the various crowd‐funding sites and may change. Be
sure to read the fine print carefully.
For more information read the July 2014 article in Scouting Magazine:
(http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/07/21/crowd‐funding‐sites‐eagle‐project‐fundraising/)
and the most recent Guide to Advancement section 9.0.2.10 Fundraising Issues.
(https://www.scouting.org/resources/guide-to-advancement/eagle-scout-rank/)
The candidate must comply with all requirements for the Eagle Scout Project as stated in the
most recent Guide to Advancement and Eagle Scout Project Workbook. (Both documents are
available online.)
The candidate may not start any fundraising, including crowd‐funding online, until their Eagle Project has been approved by the District Eagle Board, AND a Fundraising Application has subsequently been approved by the South Florida Council in writing first.
How to get Fundraising approved
An Eagle Scout Service Project Fundraising Application, which can be found in the Eagle Scout
Service Project Workbook must be submitted for any or all of the following situations:
Fundraising activities conducted outside of the scouting unit or beneficiary institution.
All crowd‐funding accounts (any internet based fundraising)
Fundraising applications for activities expected to raise up to $1000 may be approved by the
District Advancement Chairman or their designee. Fundraising Activities expected to raise in excess
of $1000 must be approved by the Council Advancement Staff Advisor, Don Durbin ()
All Fundraising via the Crowd‐funding approach (GoFundMe and other sites) must also be approved by the
Council Advancement Staff Advisor, Don Durbin () Before any fundraising
begins or starting an online account.
Before the Eagle Board of Review can be conducted a verification showing that the page has been shut down must be sent to the Council Advancement Staff Advisor. Along with this a complete statement showing all money accepted, or received online. Also showing all money spent or withdrawn from your GoFundMe account and any additionally fees that were charged to your account. Send to:
“Fundraising started prior to receiving project approval and fundraising application approval
can have serious consequences including rejection of the project. (Guide to Advancement 9.0.2.7)
How to obtain Eagle Scout Letters of Reference
The Eagle Rank Application requires the Eagle Candidate to provide the names and contact
information of 5 (or 6 if currently employed) references. It is wise and courteous to ask these
individuals if they will be willing to write a reference before listing their name on the
application.
How to obtain reference Letters:
An Eagle Candidate Reference Letter form can be found in this packet.
- Complete the Eagle Candidates Name and information
- Address an envelope as shown below, allow the person writing your reference to put their own return address on the upper left corner. Make sure to put a postage stamp on the
envelope. Letters of reference should be mailed to the district Advancement Chair or designee
Note: Verify in advance if your district requires reference letters are to be returned to the
district Advancement Chair or Eagle Board Chair.
- Bring the form and envelope to each of the people who have agreed to write the letters
of references. Explain that they must return the letter by mail, not to the scout. (per Guide to Advancement section 9.0.1.7)
Per the Guide to Advancement “for reasons of privacy and confidentiality, electronic submissions are discouraged.”
Eagle Scout Letter of Reference- See below Link
Eagle Scout Letter of Reference.2020
The Draft Eagle Application – Once the Scout reaches the Life Rank and is starting to consider an Eagle Service Project, they should review a “Draft Copy” or “Unverified Copy” of their Eagle Application.
The easiest way for the Scout to obtain a draft Eagle Application is to log into their personal Scoutbook account.
Logging into http://scoutbook.com
Clicking on my dashboard
Clicking on Reports then clicking on Eagle application
Should a Scout not have a personal Scoutbook account, their unit Key 3 (Unit Leader, Unit Committee Chairman or Chartering Organization Representative) can log into Scoutbook and obtain a draft Eagle Application for the Scout. See steps below:
A unit key 3 member can login to Scoutbook and obtain a draft eagle application by:
Logging into http://scoutbook.com
Clicking on my dashboard
Clicking on the troop
Clicking on the troop roster
Clicking on the Scout
Clicking on Reports then clicking on Eagle application
Should the Unit Key 3 or Scout encounter problems obtaining the Draft Eagle application, a request for assistance may be sent to
The Scout should carefully review the eagle application for accuracy. All merit badges that have been recording on the national database should be listed. The Scout should review this listing, if the Scout believes there are merit badges missing, the Scout should bring the “blue card” or merit badge card to the Troop Advancement Chairman or Scoutmaster/Unit Leader and request assistance in getting the merit badge recorded on the national database.
Completing the Eagle Application
The Eagle Application must be completed, signatures of the Scoutmaster/Unit Leader and Troop Committee
Chairman obtained, and then “verified” by the South Florida Council prior to the final Eagle
Board of Review by the District Eagle Board. The Verified Eagle Application must be brought to
the Eagle Board by the Eagle candidate along with their Eagle Project Workbook and Letter of Life Goals and Ambitions.
Completing the Eagle Application – the Eagle Candidate must use only the most recent
version of the Eagle Scout Application. The easiest way to obtain the most recent version is for the Scout to log in to their personal Scoutbook account and go the “Report” section of their account. This is a fillable PDF that the Scout can complete and print out. Alternatively, a fillable PDF version can be found at https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/512-72822c-Eagle-Scout-Application_WEB.pdf. It is also allowed to be completed by hand but care should be taken that the handwriting is readable.
Once the form has been filled out, the signatures of the Scoutmaster/Unit Leader and Unit
Committee Chairman must be obtained. The Applicant should also sign the application.
Obtaining the Verified Copy of the Application ‐ The Eagle Applicant should either bring the completed and signed Eagle Application to the Scout Florida Council and request that it be
verified by the Council Registrar OR scan and email to and
request that it be verified. The Council does not need to see the Eagle Project notebook to verify the Eagle Scout Application. The Verified Eagle Application will be returned via email to the
Applicant. Please do not fax the application; many faxed copies are not legible and cannot be processed.
The Eagle Applicant brings the Verified Eagle Application along with their Eagle Project Workbook and Statement of Life Goals and Ambitions to the District Eagle Board of Review. (Note, these materials may be requested by the District Eagle Board for review prior to the actual Eagle Board of Review. Check with your district in advance.)
Upon successful completion of the Eagle Board of Review the board members will sign the Eagle Application.
Submission of the Application – After successful completion of the Eagle Board of Review, it is the responsibility of the Eagle Applicant to submit the Eagle Application to the South Florida Council Office.
The South Florida Council will review the application and obtain the Scout Executive signature and then forward the Eagle Rank Application to the National BSA Office. It takes approximately 2 weeks for the Eagle credentials (Eagle Certificate, Eagle wallet card, Eagle Rank patch, Eagle kit, to be returned to our council.
The Eagle Scout will be called and notified that the Eagle credentials are in the office to pick up. Additional recognition items may be purchased in the Scout Shop with a copy of the Eagle Scout Certificate.
The information above is the responsibility of the Eagle Scout Applicant- and should be handled by the Eagle Scout Applicant. It is not the responsibility of the Adult Leadership in the Unit. All youth Eagle Applicant candidates should take ownership of their entire Eagle process, while still accepting the advice and mentoring from the adults working with them. If a Eagle candidate ever has a question or would like clarification if they are advised on anything contrary to the above then they may contact the Council Advancement Chairperson directly Sharon Fischer
Life to Eagle Presentation (Update July 2022)
EXTENSION REQUESTS TO COMPLETE REQUIREMENTS AFTER TURNING 18
Extension Requests are only offered through the National BSA Advancement Team after consideration of the Council Advancement Committee recommendations. See Guide to Advancement 11.2.0.0 “Request for Extension of Time to Earn Eagle Scout Rank.” The below link to the request can be use to download the Extension Request Form.
- We always welcome back Scouts after inactivity. However, time-oriented requirements must still be met. Scouts reactivating too late to complete time-related requirements will not be granted extensions.
- If a Scout foresees that, due to no fault or choice of his own, he will be unable to complete the Eagle Scout rank requirements before age 18, he may apply for a limited time extension. Remember, school, sports, or work do not qualify as a reason for extension.
- Submitting completed paperwork to the council office after turning 18 does not need an extension.
- Extension requests should be submitted to the Council prior to the 18th birthday, they should not be submitted after the 18th birthday.
Request for Extension Form Rank Extension Application 2021
Use this form to request an extension of time if you are a Life Scout and your advancement has been
impacted by the above reasons. This must be turned in at least 2 weeks prior to your 18th birthday to allow for
consideration and possible approval. Complete the entire Top Portion. Complete the Center Box with a Brief Summary
of the circumstances that occurred. Complete all the way through the Bottom Box that is titled Documentation to attach—
Forward the completed request form and your Eagle Service Project Proposal to the following:
NATIONAL EAGLE SCOUT ASSOCIATION/NESA MEMBERSHIPS
Visit the NESA website for NESA Eagle Scout membership and scholarship opportunities.
REPLACEMENT WALLET CARDS AND CERTIFICATES
Was your Eagle wallet card/certificate lost, destroyed, stolen, or eaten by the family dog? Have it replaced on the NESA website.
EAGLE SCOUT SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
NESA Hall/McElwain Merit Scholarship Application and other NESA Scholarship Information and Applications are available on the NESA website.
National Society Sons of the American Revolution Arthur M. & Berdena King Scout Contest: https://www.flssar.org/FLSSAR/Tabs.asp
Other Eagle Scout Scholarships available: https://www.scouting.org/awards/scholarships/
Missouri Valley College Eagle Scout Scholarship: https://www.moval.edu
Glenn & Melinda Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award
CONTACT US
South Florida Council Eagle Advancement Assistance
305-364-0020 x 237
Sharon Fischer
Council Advancement Chairperson
Don Durbin
Council Advancement Committee Staff Advisor
305-709-2908