Current Merit Badge Pamphlet
and Requirement Revision Dates

The first table below shows the latest Copyright / Revision dates for each of the Merit Badge Pamphlets currently in effect, and the date of the last change to the Requirements for each badge. In addition, it contains the current (and previous) BSA Publication Numbers and current SKU numbers for each pamphlet. The table also includes the dates from the "Merit Badge Library" listing on the inside back cover of the 2016 Boy Scout Requirements book. We have also included three other advancement related publications at the top of the table.  A larger list may be found by Clicking here.

The second set of tables are lists of the merit badges, arranged in chronologic order by date of last revision to the pamphlet and date of last revision of the requirements (from most recent to oldest). 

When the content has been updated in a Merit Badge Pamphlet, BSA no longer changes the publication number from 33123 to 33123A, 33123B, etc. to indicate a new edition. BSA now keeps the publication number constant, but assigns a new inventory (SKU - Stock Keeping Unit) number to the booklet. The publication number appears in the copyright statement near the front of the book, and below the UPC code on the back cover. The SKU appears on the back cover, above the UPC Code, and is used as the item number for ordering from Scoutstuff.org.

All of the Merit Badge pamphlets were reissued, with new publication numbers, on August 1, 2008. In many of them, the only changes at that time were the addition of color to the pamphlet contents and covers, while others have had major or minor changes to the text and/or requirements. As indicated in the "Merit Badge Library" listing in the current (2016) Boy Scout Requirements booklet, there are only two merit badges with pamphlets with copyright dates earlier than 2008 - Journalism and Surveying. For those 2 badges, the old and new pamphlets are interchangeable, with the only difference being the color illustrations. So, in general, with those two exceptions, Scouts should no longer use the old black and white pamphlets.  In the tables below, where the OLD Publication Number and Copyright Date are shown in Bold Orange Italic Strikeout text, the old pamphlet should NOT be used.

As new pamphlets are issued, when they contain new requirements, Scouts have the option of starting with the new requirements as soon as the pamphlets are issued, or they may start work using the old requirements until the next edition of Boy Scout Requirements is issued. If a Scout starts work after a new edition of Boy Scout Requirements is issued, he must use the new requirements. In any case, once a boy starts with a set of requirements he can continue using them until he completes the badge or turns 18. If he started using the old requirements, he also has the option of switching to the new requirements (which may in fact mean starting over in some cases). So long as he meets all of the requirements (either old or new) he can earn the badge. However, he can't use, for example, old requirements 1, 3, and 5 and new requirements 2, 4, and 6-8.

If you find a pamphlet with a later publication or copyright date or a different stock (SKU) number than what we have listed below, please write us, with the Merit Badge name, BSA publication and stock (SKU) numbers (e.g.. 35859 - 610461) and the Copyright date. (If it just says Copyright 2005, 2015 Printing, that just means it's a new printing with no changes to the text. That included the majority of the books reissued in the new color format in August 2008.) If the booklet also has revised requirements, a copy of those requirements would also be appreciated so we can update this site.

The Requirements Revision Dates in the tables below reflect the year the revisions first appear in Boy Scout Requirements. So, for example, the changes to Canoeing and Swimming merit badges which were made in the Spring of 2014 are indicated as effective in 2015.

Selected merit badge pamphlets (including English versions of all the Eagle Required merit badges), and some other BSA literature is available for purchase as Kindle books, through Amazon.com, and BSA has recently begun selling some, again including all of the English versions of the Eagle Required merit badges, as Digital Interactive merit badge pamphlets through Scoutstuff.org.  Those available in Digital Interactive format and/or a Kindle books are identified below. However, to our knowledge, there is NOWHERE on the web where you can legally find FREE complete copies of  merit badge pamphlets published by BSA (except the four 2010 Historic badges which were available ONLY as PDFs).  The contents of all of the pamphlets are copyright by BSA, and they use the proceeds from the sale of the pamphlets to defray the cost of revising them periodically. If you do find a copy on line in PDF form, it was scanned and posted illegally.

NOTE:  The Digital Interactive Merit badge Pamphlets are apparently no longer being sold on Scoutstuff.org.

Always check the current edition of Boy Scout Requirements, or this site, when starting a merit badge, to be sure you have the most up to date requirements, as they may have changed since the pamphlet was printed.

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Music and Bugling, while separate Merit Badges, with separate requirements, are covered in one pamphlet - Music and Bugling.

Architecture and Landscape Architecture, which are also separate Merit Badges, with separate requirements, are now covered in a single pamphlet as well - Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Prior to 2008, there were separate pamphlets for each badge.

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Key to the colors used in the tables below:
Green text = Change to pamphlet or new merit badge name
Brown Text = Merit Badge Library lists a date which does not correspond to the most recent edition
Fuschia text = a new Merit Badge pamphlet SKU assigned (but which may or may not be available yet).
Bold Orange Italic Strikeout text = Old pamphlet which should no longer be used.

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The information on current requirements in the tables below reflects requirements issued through January 1, 2017.

The information on current publication dates is based on the Merit Badge Library listing in the 2017 Boy Scout Requirements booklet, the SKU numbers are based on the listing on Scoutstuff.org as of March 24, 2017. The SKUs and publication dates were then verified with a physical inspection of pamphlets on sale at a local Scout Shop on March 24, 2017, and the excerpts of the merit badge pamphlets posted on Scouting.org.

The following listings show  the current Requirements Revision Dates and the latest Merit Badge Pamphlet Copyright Dates, sorted by Date.

Merit Badge booklets (in print, Kindle, or Interactive Digital form) are now $4.99 each. However, if ordering from the National Supply Service, keep in mind that they are obligated to charge sales tax unless you submit a sales tax exemption form with your order, and for the print versions there is a shipping / handling / postage charge of $7.50 for orders up to $50.00 (1-10 pamphlets), $9.95 for orders between $50.01 and $100.00 (11-20 pamphlets), $13.50 for orders between $100.01 and $150.00 (21-30 pamphlets), $18.00 for orders between $150.01 and $200.00 (31-40 pamphlets), and $22.50 for those over $200.00 (41 or more pamphlets), so ordering small quantities in that manner can be VERY expensive on a unit cost basis unless you order other items at the same time. These fees are based on standard ground shipping in the USA. 2-day shipping adds an additional $13.00 to the ground shipping fees, overnight shipping adds another $5.00. International shipping charges range from $25.00 to $62.50.

The toll-free phone number for ordering through the BSA National Supply Division is 1-800-323-0732, or you can order on-line at http://scoutstuff.org.

Here is a table of costs and unit costs for ground shipping of small orders of print Merit Badge Pamphlets only: These figures, and the ones in the preceding paragraph are based on the information on the BSA's National Supply web site (scoutstuff.org) as of January 20, 2016 and do not include sales tax, or any other items purchased at the same time.

• 1 booklet would cost $12.49 (4.99 + 7.50 S&H)
• 2 would be $17.48 (8.74 each)
• 3 would be $22.47 (7.49 each)
• 4 would be $27.46 (6.57 each)
• 5 would be $32.45 (6.49 each)
• 6 would be $37..44 (6.24 each)
• 7 would be $42.43 (6.06 each)
• 8 would be $47.42 (5.93 each)
• 9 would be $52.41 (5.82 each)
• 10 would be $57.40 (49.90 + 7.50 S&H) (5.74 each)
• 11 would be $64.84 (54.89 + 9.95 S&H) (5.89 each)
• for orders of 12 or more booklets, the unit cost including shipping varies between 5.82 and 5.16

A single purchase of all 134 merit badge pamphlets, covering all 136 merit badges, would cost $668.66 + $22.50 S&H for a total of $691.16. (plus sales tax as applicable)