Current Merit Badge Pamphlets
and Requirement Revision Dates

Each merit badge has been assigned an ID number, which has been used in the BSA Advancement system, and now has been assigned an ID number for use with Scoutbook. Each merit badge pamphlet is assigned a 5 digit publication number a 5 or 6 digit inventory (SKU - Stock Keeping Unit) number for the booklet, and an SKU number for the Digital Download. The SKU numbers change when a new edition is released, while the publication number remains constant. The publication number appears in the copyright statement typically on page 2, and below the UPC bar 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 Scoutshop.org. In some cases, the publication number and SKU are the same, because no revisions have been made since the pamphlet was first issued.

For each merit badge currently available, the first table below shows (in alphabetical order) the ID Numbers, the most recent year that the requirements were changed or the year the badge was added to the requirements booklet, along with the BSA Publication Number, the most recent SKU numbers for the printed pamphlet and "Digital Download" (E-book) copies of the pamphlet. In addition, for many of the merit badges, we have included the most recent Copyright date we have found.  NOTE: We have not recently verified the SKU numbers and Copyright dates, so they my be incorrect.

The Requirements Revision Dates in the tables below reflect the year the revisions (or the requirements for a new badge) first appear in Scouts BSA Requirements, which is typically the year after the new or revised requirements appear in a new edition of the merit badge pamphlet.

After the first table is a list of the merit badges, arranged by year (from most recent to oldest) of the last revision to the requirements. BSA typically issues a set of updates annually in January, and updates the official lists of requirements on scouting.org and issues a new edition of the Scouts BSA Requirements book at that time.  In 2024, they announced that requirements were revised for 30 merit badges, 14 with significant changes in content, and 16 with minor changes.  In addition, in a set of over 30 other merit badges (which were not identified in the BSA announcement), either small changes were made to correct editorial errors , or small changes were made to the wording of one or more instances of the term "parent's" which was revised to "parent or guardian's". We have listed all the merit badges that were in either group as having been revised in 2024.

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 Scouts BSA Requirements is issued. When Scouts start work after a new edition of Scouts BSA Requirements is issued, they must use the new requirements. In any case, once a Scout starts with a set of requirements they can continue using them until they complete the badge or turn 18. If they started using the old requirements, they also have the option of switching to the new requirements (which may in fact mean starting over in some cases). So long as they meet all of the requirements (either old or new) they can earn the badge. However, they 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 stock (SKU) number higher than what we have listed below, or a copy of a current pamphlet where we have not listed the Copyright date, please write us, with the Merit Badge name, BSA publication and stock (SKU) numbers (e.g.. 35859 - 610461) and the Copyright date. If the booklet also has revised requirements, a copy of those requirements would also be appreciated so we can update this site. If it pamphlet lists a printing date more recent than the Copyright date, such as "Copyright 2020, 2023 Printing", that just means it's a new printing with no changes to the text.

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 for the Citizenship in Society merit badge which is available ONLY as a free PDF). 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. However, the merit badge pamphlets and many other BSA handbooks and guides are available for purchase as Kindle books, through Amazon.com, and/or as Digital Download E-books from Scoutshop.org.

Always check the current edition of Scouts BSA 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.

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

Key to the colors used in the tables below:
Green text on a yellow background = Recent Change to pamphlet, requirements, or new merit badge name
Red Text = unverified or missing information

The information on current requirements in the tables below reflects requirements issued through January 1, 2023. Copyright dates and SKU numbers are, as far as possible, correct as of December 1, 2022.

We formerly included information on current publication dates, based on the Merit Badge Library listing on the inside back cover of the annual Scouts BSA Requirements booklet. However, starting with the 2023 edition, that table now indicates that the dates are supposed to represent the last time the requirements changed. When we are able to determine the most recent Copyright date, we now show that date.

The SKU numbers were obtained from the listing on Scoutshop.org as of December 1, 2022.

Spanish versions of all 18 of the Eagle Required merit badges were published a number of years ago, but only six (Camping, Citizenship in the Community, Communication, Family Life, Hiking, and Personal Fitness) are currently listed on Scoutshop.org, and they are also available as Digital Download (E-book) editions. The pamphlet for Citizenship in Society is available in both English and Spanish as a free PDF file from Scouting.org. As far as we know, the others are not currently available in print nor as Digital Downloads, and we do not know if the Spanish versions have been reissued to correspond with changes made to the current English versions.