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 (Stock) Number for each pamphlet. The table also includes the dates from the "Merit Badge Library" listing on the inside back cover of the 2008 Boy Scout Requirements book. We have discovered a few errors and/or omissions in that listing (Discrepancies are noted by brown text).

In recent years, like BSA does for other publications, when the content has been updated, the stock number has been changed from 33123 to 33123A, 33123B, etc. If the stock number has changed, you should use the newer book, regardless of the dates listed below.  Since ALL of the books were reissued in August 2008, with new stock numbers, none of them currently have letter suffixes.

All of the Merit Badge pamphlets were reissued, with new stock 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 Stock Number is highlighted in Orange, 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 newer stock number than what we have listed below, please write us, with the Merit Badge name, BSA stock number (e.g.. 35851A, 35961B, etc.) and 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 the changes in August of 2008 are indicated as effective in 2009.

To our knowledge, there is NOWHERE on the web where you can find complete copies of any of the 119 merit badge pamphlets published by BSA. 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.

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Note that Music and Bugling, while separate Merit Badges, with separate requirements, are covered in one pamphlet -- Music and Bugling. Similarly, Architecture and Landscape Architecture are separate Merit Badges, which are covered in a single pamphlet. Consequently, while there are121 merit badges, there are only 119 pamphlets in the series.

Dates in Bold RED Italic in the tables below are changes in the 2008 edition of Boy Scout Requirements. Dates in GREEN denote a new or revised pamphlet issued during 2008 after the release of Boy Scout Requirements, or revised requirements that have not yet appeared in Boy Scout Requirements, but which have appeared in the most recent edition of the appropriate merit badge pamphlet. Publication Dates in Fuchsia indicate a new pamphlet has been announced but I haven't gotten it yet.

The following listing shows the Merit Badge Pamphlet and Requirements Revision Dates listed above, sorted by Date. Where Pamphlet Publication Dates below are shown in Fuchsia, it means that a new book is listed in Boy Scout Requirements 2007, but has not yet been released. In such a case, the current pamphlet publication date is also listed lower in the table.

The booklets are $4.49 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 $5.50 for orders up to $50.00, $7.95 for orders between $50.01 and $100.00, $11.95 for orders between $100.01 and $150.00, and 8% for those over $150.00, 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 ground shipping in the USA. 2-day shipping adds an additional $10.00 to the ground shipping fees, overnight shipping adds another $5.00. International shipping charges are a minimum of $35.00 or 25% of the total order, whichever is greater.

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 small orders of Merit Badge Pamphlets only: These figures do not include sales tax, or any other items purchased at the same time, and are based on the information on the BSA's National Supply web site.

• 1 booklet would cost $9.99 (4.49 + 5.50 S&H)
• 2 would be $14.48 (7.24 each)
• 3 would be $18.97 (6.32 each)
• 4 would be $23.46 (5.87 each)
• 5 would be $27.95 (5.59 each)
• 6 would be $32.44 (5.41 each)
• 7 would be $36.93 (5.28 each)
• 8 would be $41.42 (5.17 each)
• 9 would be $45.91 (5.10 each)
• 10 would be $50.40 (5.04 each)
• 11 would be $54.89 (4.99 each)
• for orders of 12 to 22 booklets, the unit cost varies between 5.15 and 4.85 (7.95 S&H)
• for orders of 23 to 32 booklets, the unit cost varies between 5.01 and 4.86 (11.95 S&H)
• 33 or more are 4.85 each (8% S&H)