Become a Merit Badge Counselor

1. You must be knowledgeable in the subject area of a specific Merit Badge, either by vocation, avocation or special training.
2. Complete Youth Protection Training Online and send a copy of the training card, along with your Merit Badge Application. Youth Protection Training (YPT) may be taken by logging into My.Scouting to take this course online.
3. Complete Merit Badge Counselor Training Online and send a copy of the training card, along with your Merit Badge Application. Merit Badge Counselor Training (YPT) may be taken by logging into My.Scouting to take this course online.
4. Fill out the National Merit Badge Counselor Application and Instructions , Form NO. 33405web2013
5. Fill out the BSA Adult Registration form. Use 42 for position code (no unit leader signatures are required).
6. Fill out the BSA Disclosure/Authorization form (included with the BSA Adult Registration form).
   Note: The Disclosure/Authorization form need only be submitted once for your initial Merit Badge Counselor registration.
7. Send the 5 documents to either your District Advancement Chairperson, or Merit Badge Counselor Coordinator.
8. If any of the merit badges for which you are requesting to be a merit badge counselor, require special certification, send a copy of proof of certification in at the same time.

Merit Badge Resources

Guide for Merit Badge Counseling

Fillable Merit Badge Counselor Application

Fillable Group Merit Badge Counselor Application

Email Your District Merit Badge Counselor Coordinator

1. The Orange County Council will have a background investigation conducted, which will take up to 6 weeks; whereupon your District Advancement Chairperson will be advised if there was an issue with the background investigation. You may assume if you have not been contacted within 6 weeks, you are “Good-to-Go!”
2. Your name and Merit Badge(s) will then be added to your District’s Merit Badge list. The list is “PRIVATE” and shall not be reproduced beyond the District Advancement Chairperson/Merit Badge staff and the unit Scoutmaster and Troop Advancement Chairperson.
3. During the 6 weeks it takes for the background check, get yourself trained.
   Contact your District Training Chairperson and ask for a Merit Badge Counselor Training session as a breakout at the next Roundtable.
4. After you have completed all of the above steps, make sure your name and the names of the Merit Badge(s) you will counsel appears on your District’s Merit Badge Counselor lists – contact your District Merit Badge Coordinator, or Scoutmaster or unit Committee Chair.

Yearly Reregistration Required

The National Council policy for Merit Badge Counselors is that unless a person specifically registers as a Merit Badge Counselor annually they are to be removed from the list of active Counselors. This is because over the past years, National has received up to 1,000 letters per month from the surviving spouses of Merit Badge Counselor’s that they are still being called by Scouts.

Annually you will be contacted by a Merit Badge Coordinator in your Unit to confirm whether you are interested in continuing for the upcoming year and the opportunity to make any changes. There is no cost for this. If you do not have any changes, you will need only to fill out the BSA Adult Application with position code of 42. If you have any changes in your Merit Badges list, then the Merit Badge Counselor Application will also need to be filled out listing all Merit Badges for which you wish to provide counseling services.

All forms must be forwarded to your District Advancement Chair or your District Merit Badge Counselor Coordinator for review and processing.