Process for completing a merit badge:

• Scout must submit a blue merit badge card complete with his name and the badge information to the Scoutmaster for his signature prior to beginning work on the merit badge.
• The Scoutmaster and the Scout will agree upon the Merit Badge Counselor to be used for the badge, and the Scout will check the Troop Library for the MB pamphlet.
• Merit Badge Counselor should require that Scouts obtain the Merit Badge pamphlet for the badge (most are available in the troop library) and familiarize himself with it BEFORE beginning work on the merit badge.
• Merit Badge Counselor should ask for the signed blue card at their first meeting with the Scout. Counselor must observe “Two-deep leadership” rules at all meetings with Scouts. Second person can be a friend or sibling of the Scout.
• Merit Badge Counselors may not add, delete or modify any of the requirements for the merit badge in any way. For example, if the requirement is for the Scout to give a speech about something, he cannot write a report instead.
• When the Scout has completed all the badge requirements, the MB Counselor should sign the badge and give it to the Scout, retaining the MB Counselor portion.
• The Scout should then take the completed blue card back to the Scoutmaster for his approval and final signature. This should be done by the Scout, not his parents.
• The fully-signed MB card (2-parts) should be placed in the Advancement Chairman’s folder in the Troop 514 mailbox to be recorded in Troopmaster. The Advancement Chair will return Scout’s portion of the blue card to him after it’s been recorded.
• In Troop 514, parents should never sign off on their own son’s Merit Badge progress, except in the context of a group session such as would occur at a Merit Badge Workshop.