Did you know that Merit Badge Counselors are not registered through the Troop? Even if the counselor wishes to only work with a single unit, they must be registered with the District. We have many counselors out there doing good work but not all are officially registered.
Need more information on Merit Badges? See the list of current requirements and updates to requirements for all Merit Badges.
Training is available online in the BSA Learning Center at my.scouting.org.
How to register as a Merit Badge Counselor
- BSA Adult Application completely filled out with position description listed as code 42: Merit Badge Counselor. You must submit an original signed paper form.
- BSA Merit Badge Counselor Information form.
- Copy of current Youth Protection Training (YPT) certificate (either classroom or online version).
The signed paper Adult Application must be delivered or mailed to either the Fickett Scout Service Center (12500 I-35, Austin, TX 78753) or to Michael Ryan, Armadillo District Merit Badge Counselor Coordinator (1702 Rock Creek Dr, Round Rock, TX 78681). Paper copies of the BSA Merit Badge Counselor Information form and proof of your YPT training may be submitted with the paper Adult Application, or may be sent electronically to Michael at mjryan.austin.tx@gmail.com.
How Scouts find counselors
Troops may offer merit badges to their Scouts with a counselor chosen by the Scoutmaster, or Scouts may attend camps or special events with counselors chosen by the sponsor. But if a Scout wants to work on a specific badge, the Scout must ask their adult leaders to locate a counselor.
The unit may have their own list of counselors, and the Capitol Area Council has additional resources that are updated once a month.
- Scoutbook contains the information submitted by each approved merit badge counselor. Unit leaders can find the list of counselors on the unit page. Scoutbook provides a search for counselors at that location.
- Capitol Area Council maintains lists of counselors by unit, by district, and by council. Advancement chairs or other adult leaders in Armadillo district who need access to those online lists may contact Michael Ryan.
Note: If a counselor only works with Scouts in a unit, but is not registered in another position with that unit (such as Committee Member), the system will not know to include that counselor’s information in the Council’s lists. The counselor must make sure the unit is aware of their availability.
Maintaining or changing your Merit Badge Counselor information
Keep your Youth Protection Training (YPT) up to date. You must renew it every two years. If your YPT lapses, you are no longer approved to work with Scouts. You may have to re-register if the lapse is so long that BSA drops your registration.
If at any time you no longer wish to be a merit badge counselor, please contact Michael Ryan.
If you want to add or remove merit badges that you support, fill out another BSA Merit Badge Counselor Information form and submit it to Michael or to the Fickett Center.
Every year, you will be asked to re-register via an email from Michael Ryan. If you do not respond, you will be dropped and must resubmit all new forms to be reinstated.
As part of the registration process, Scoutbook and the Council lists will be updated to show that you are a Merit Badge Counselor, and will list the badges you support. BSA and Capitol Area Council encourage all counselors to be available to all Scouts in the council.
However, if you only want to work with Scouts in a certain unit or units, Scoutbook does not automatically identify the units. To add that information in Scoutbook, follow these steps:
- Log into ScoutBook: https://www.scoutbook.com/ (using the same password as my.scouting.org)
- Click My Dashboard.
- Click My Account.
- Click My Positions.
- Click your merit badge counselor position. You will see the settings for your counselor position. Modify the listing as necessary.