Gold Eagle Palm pin

Eagle Palm
Requirements*


These requirements became effective on January 1, 2015 and were effective until December 31, 2015.

To see the requirements with the changes highlighted, Click here.

To see the previous requirements, Click here.

To see the requirements which became effective on January 1, 2016, Click here.

To see the current requirements, Click here.


Transition rules for Eagle Palms:

  • For 2016:
    • Boys MAY complete the Eagle Palm they are currently working on using the previous requirements, but then MUST convert to the new requirements for subsequent Palms.
  • After 2016:
    • All Scouts MUST use the new requirements for all ranks.

Note that Eagle Palms are NOT considered "Ranks" by BSA.


After becoming an Eagle Scout, you may earn Palms by completing the following requirements:

  1. Be active in your troop and patrol for at least 3 months after becoming an Eagle Scout or after the award of last Palm.**
  2. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.
  3. Make a satisfactory effort to develop and demonstrate leadership ability.
  4. Earn five additional merit badges beyond those required for Eagle or last Palm.***.
  5. Participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
  6. Successfully complete your board of review.

You may wear only the proper combination of Palms for the number of merit badges you earned beyond the rank of Eagle. The Bronze Palm represents 5 merit badges, the Gold Palm 10, and the Silver Palm 15.

* For Varsity Scouts working on Boy Scout requirements, replace "troop" with "team" and "Scoutmaster" with "Varsity Scout Coach."
For Venturers working on Boy Scout requirements, replace "troop" with "crew" and "Scoutmaster" with "Crew Advisor."
For Sea Scouts working on Boy Scout requirements, replace "troop" with "ship" and "Scoutmaster" with "Skipper."

** Eagle Palms must be earned in sequence, and the three-month tenure requirement must be observed for each Palm.

***Merit Badges earned any time since becoming a Boy Scout may be used to meet this requirement.


Worksheet for use in working on these requirements: Format
Word Format PDF Format

Blanks in this worksheets table appear when we do not have a worksheet for the badge that includes these requirements.


Please note that Requirement 6 - (Complete your board of review) MAY be done AFTER the Scout has reached age 18.



NOTE: Scouts who earn three Palms may continue to earn additional Palms in the same order - bronze, gold, and silver. All requirements for Eagle Palms must be completed before a candidate's 18th birthday. The Palms beyond Silver can't be entered into BSA's database, since there doesn't appear to be a way to record multiple instances of the awards, just the number of merit badges earned, but a Scout can still earn and wear the multiple Palms.

The following Table shows how many and which Palms should be worn for various numbers of Merit Badges beyond the 21 required for Eagle Scout, and how long it takes to earn these palms ( assuming exactly 3 months between each Board of Review). To get to the theoretical maximum of 24 Palms (8 Silver Palms), a Scout would have to have his Eagle Board of Review before his 12th birthday, and then have each successive Board of Review at exactly 3 month intervals, and have earned every current merit badge, plus Computers merit badge (which has been discontinued) and the four Historic merit badges which were available only in 2010.

Palm Number

Merit Badges beyond those required for Eagle Scout

Total Merit Badges since joining Scouts

Minimum number of Months since earning Eagle Number of Palms to be worn
Bronze Gold Silver
1 5 26 3 1    
2 10 31 6   1  
3 15 36 9     1
4 20 41 12 1   1
5 25 46 15   1 1
6 30 51 18     2
7 35 56 21 1   2
8 40 61 24   1 2
9 45 66 27     3
10 50 71 30 1   3
11 55 76 33   1 3
12 60 81 36     4
13 65 86 39 1   4
14 70 91 42   1 4
15 75 96 45     5
16 80 101 48 1   5
17 85 106 51   1 5
18 90 111 54     6
19 95 116 57 1   6
20 100 121 60   1 6
21 105 126 63     7
22 110 131 66 1   7
23 115 136 69   1 7
24 120 141 72     8

Page updated on: February 03, 2019



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