Requirements were REVISED effective January 1, 2016.

New text is in bold GREEN underlined Serif text like this sentence.
Deleted portions are struck through RED italic text like this sentence.

To see the requirements, without the changes highlighted, Click here.

For the previous requirements, Click here.

Transition rules for Eagle Palms:

• For 2016:
  • Eagle Scouts 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. Since earning the Eagle Scout rank or your last Eagle Palm, demonstrate Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law. Tell how you have done your duty to God and how you have lived the Scout Oath 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. While an Eagle Scout participate Participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
6. Successfully complete your board of review for the Eagle Palm.

Notes:

*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.

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.

---

Source: 2016 Boy Scout Rank Requirements (524-012)

---

---

Please note that Requirement 6 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