About 4 percent of Scouts become Eagle Scouts. To become an Eagle, they must complete several requirements before their 18th birthday, beginning with earning at least 21 of the 139 merit badges that are available.
(Badge offerings are reviewed periodically. New badges are introduced, and old badges or revised and renamed or eliminated.) Fourteen of the 21 merit badges are required:
• Camping
• Citizenship in Society
• Citizenship in the Community • Citizenship in the Nation
• Citizenship in the World
• Communication
• Cooking
• Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving
• Environmental Science or Sustainability • Family Life
• First Aid
• Personal Fitness
• Personal Management
• Swimming, Hiking or Cycling While earning badges, Eagle Scout candidates must progress through a series of six ranks: Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star and Life. Ranks include required leadership positions, skill-based advancements and community service.
Scouts must achieve the Life Scout rank at least six months before passing the final Eagle Scout requirements of planning and leading a significant service project and participating in an Eagle Scout board of review that summarizes their commitment to Scouting principles of character, skill and service.
