Current Merit Badge Pamphlet
and Requirement Revision Dates

The following Table 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 2013 Boy Scout Requirements book.

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. 

All of the Merit Badge pamphlets were reissued, with new publication numbers, on August 1, 2008.  In many of them, the only changes 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. In the first table below, where the OLD Publication Number and Copyright Date is shown in Bold Orange Italic Strikeout text, the old pamphlet should NOT be used. In the rest of the cases, the old and new pamphlets are interchangeable, with the only difference being the color illustrations.

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 the next 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. This is stated in the on-line Merit Badge Counselor Training on BSA's web site. 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, 2008 Printing, that just means it's a new printing with no changes to the text. That includes 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 usually reflect the year the revisions first appear in Boy Scout Requirements, unless a special announcement is made by BSA, such as was done with Personal Fitness Merit Badge in 1999. So changes in August of 2012 would be indicated as effective in 2013. 

To our knowledge, there is NOWHERE on the web where you can find complete copies of any of the merit badge pamphlets published by BSA (except the four 2010 Historic badges which were available ONLY as PDFs). The contents of those pamphlets are copyright by BSA, they use the proceeds from the sale of the pamphlets to defray the cost of revising them periodically, and the sheer size of the files needed to have those available on line would probably be prohibitive.

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 also covered in a single pamphlet - 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:
Red text = Change to requirements or old merit badge name
Green text = Change to pamphlet or new merit badge name
Fuschia text = requirements change in Merit Badge pamphlet which is not yet in Boy Scout Requirements
 or a new Merit Badge pamphlet (which may not be available yet).
TBA indicates we do not know the SKU or Publication number assigned to that pamphlet.
Bold Orange Italic Strikeout text = Old pamphlet which should no longer be used.

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The information in the tables below reflects pamphlets issued through February 21, 2014.
New pamphlets for a number of additional merit badges were issued during 2013 and at the start of 2014
The information on current publication dates is based on the Merit Badge Library listing in the 2014 Boy Scout Requirements booklet.. 

Note:  Cooking and Computers/Digital Technology merit badges:
During 2014, a Scout may continue—or begin work—using the old Cooking or Computers merit badge requirements and the old pamphlets. Otherwise, he may switch to—or begin work—using the new requirements as stated in the 2014 Boy Scout Requirements book for Cooking or Digital Technology (which replaces Computers) and the new merit badge pamphlets. If a Scout chooses to use the old merit badge requirements and pamphlets, he may continue using them until he has completed the badges. See Guide to Advancement topic 7.0.4.3. In the table below, we have provided links to both sets of requirements for these badges.  We also have workbooks available for both sets of requirements.

The following listing shows the Merit Badge Pamphlet and Requirements Revision Dates listed above, sorted by Date.

The booklets 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 that 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 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 28, 2014 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 133 merit badge pamphlets, covering all 135 merit badges, would cost $663.67 + $22.50 S&H for a total of $686.17. (plus sales tax as applicable)