rank : life

The official BSA document for attaining the rank of Life is the ruling source for requirements.

1. Be active in your troop for at least six months as a Star Scout.

2. As a Star Scout, demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law.  Tell how you have done your duty to God and how you have lived the Scout Law in your everyday life.

3. Earn five more merit badges (so that you have 11 in all), including any number more from the list for Eagle so that you have a total of seven from the required list of Eagle in that total number of 11 merit badges.  You may choose any of the merit badges on the required list for Eagle to fulfill this requirement.

4. While a Star Scout, participate in six hours of service through one or more service projects approved by your Scoutmaster.  At least 3 hours of this service must be conservation related.

5. While a Star Scout, serve actively in your troop for six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility (or carry out a unit leader-assigned leadership project to help the troop):

• patrol leader,

• assistant senior patrol leader,

• senior patrol leader,

• troop guide,

• Order of the Arrow troop representative,

• den chief,

• scribe,

• librarian,

• historian,

• quartermaster,

• bugler,

• junior assistant Scoutmaster,

• chaplain aide,

• instructor,

• webmaster, or

• outdoor ethics guide 1

6. While a Star Scout, use the Teaching EDGE method to teach another Scout (preferably younger than you) the skills from ONE of the following choices, so that the Scout is prepared to pass those requirements to their Scoutmaster's satisfaction.

• Tenderfoot - 4a and 4b (first aid)

• Second Class - 2b, 2c, and 2d (cooking/camping)

• Second Class - 3a and 3d (navigation)

• First Class - 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d (tools)

• First Class - 4a and 4b (navigation)

• Second Class - 6a and 6b (first aid)

• First Class - 7a and 7b (first aid)

• Three requirements from one of the required Eagle merit badges, as approved by your Scoutmaster.

7. While a Star Scout, participate in a Scoutmaster conference

8. Successfully complete your board of review for the Life rank. 2

NOTE:

1 Assistant patrol leader is not an approved position of responsibility for the Star, Life, or Eagle rank.

2 If the board of review does not approve the Scout’s advancement, the decision may be appealed in accordance with Guide to Advancement, topic 8.0.4.0.

NOTE: As a footnote to Requirement 3, a Scout can use both Lifesaving AND Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Science AND Sustainability, and/or Swimming, Hiking, AND Cycling toward the requirement of 3 more from the required list for Eagle when working toward Life Scout.)  The Guide to Advancement explicitly states this:

7.0.4.5 Earning Eagle-Required Merit Badges for Star or Life Rank
Candidates for Star or Life, in the selection of “any four” or “any three,” respectively, of the merit badges required for Eagle, may choose from all those listed, including where alternatives are available: Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving; Cycling OR Hiking OR Swimming; and Environmental Science OR Sustainability. For example, if a Scout earns Cycling, Hiking, and Swimming, all three of them count as Eagle required for Life rank.  Only one, however, would serve toward the required merit badges for the Eagle Scout rank.  The other two would count toward the optional merit badges required to make up the total of 21 merit badges.

Note that Star and Life requirements each allow two non-Eagle-required merit badges. It is the Scout’s decision, however, to earn more—or all—of his Star and Life badges from the Eagle-required list.

Also note that Requirement 8 - (Successfully complete your board of review for Life rank.) MAY be done AFTER the Scout has reached age 18. All other requirements must be completed BEFORE the Scout's 18th Birthday.