Drafting Merit Badge
The eight requirements in the order the badge itself states, including the counselor redline round-trip in the middle of it and the second formatted sheet that sits unused until the last step.
9 steps (18 parts inside them). 14 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 13 August 2026 · About Drafting Merit Badge
No questions answered
This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the 3 questions at the address above takes out the parts that are not for you.
Which of this applies to you
You have not answered anything yet, so this is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering 3 short questions will take out the parts that are not for you.
Your progress
20 steps can be started now; 6 are waiting on something else.
Clear ticksYour ticks are kept in this browser, so they will still be here next time. They are in the address as well, so a link to this page carries them to another device.
The steps
Stage 1 of 6
3 steps,
1 ticked
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1. Format TWO sheets, and one of them waits until the end Often forgotten Requirement
Borders and title blocks on both. One is for the manual drawing in requirement 2; the other is for the lettering in requirement 6, which is the last thing you will do.
Requirement 1 sends you to requirement 5 for the lettering project. The lettering project is requirement 6: requirement 5 is a discussion and has no lettering in it, and requirement 6 names requirement 1 itself as the source of its paper. Both the official requirements page and the printed requirements book print it this way. Nothing you have to do changes: format two sheets now, and letter the second one at requirement 6.
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3. The CAD drawing, and this one is not waiting on anything Often forgotten Requirement
ONE of the same three subjects, produced in CAD as it would be used in manufacturing, with all title block information filled in. Requirement 1 formats paper for requirements 2 and 6, not for this, and requirement 3 names nothing, so it can start on day one.
3 parts
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7. A workplace visit, or your own research Requirement
ONE of two, and neither is gated by anything else on this badge.
8 parts
Stage 2 of 6
2 steps
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2. The manual drawing, in pencil, on the sheet from requirement 1 Requirement
ONE of three subjects, drawn as it would be used for manufacturing, with all the title block information filled in. Needs the formatted paper, so requirement 1 comes first.
Usually comes after 1. Format TWO sheets, and one of them waits until the end.
3 parts
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8. Three drafting careers, then one in depth Task
Identify three, pick one, and research the training, education, certification, experience and expenses of entering it, plus employment prospects, starting salary, advancement and career goals, then discuss it with your counselor.
Stage 3 of 6
1 step
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4. The redline round trip Requirement
Both parts, and the only place on this badge where you have to wait on somebody else. Needs the drawings from requirements 2 and 3 in hand.
Usually comes after 2. The manual drawing, in pencil, on the sheet from requirement 1.
2 parts
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4(a). Hand the drawings over, and wait for the redline Often forgotten This is a round trip through your counselor and it sits in the middle of the chain, with requirements 5 and 6 waiting behind it. You cannot do 4(b) until the redlined drawings come back. Hand them over as soon as both drawings are finished, and ask when to expect them.
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4(b). Make the correction, mark the revision, add a revision block Usually comes after 4(a). Hand the drawings over, and wait for the redline.
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Stage 4 of 6
1 step
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5. Discuss how requirements 2, 3 and 4 differed Task
With your counselor: how the three differed from each other, what benefits CAD brought to requirements 3 and 4, and what software you used alongside the other options available.
Usually comes after 4. The redline round trip.
Stage 5 of 6
1 step
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6. The lettering project: the second formatted sheet, at last Often forgotten Document
Single-stroke slant or vertical Gothic, WITHOUT a template or lettering guide: a brief written argument for the most important benefit of CAD in one industry, drawing on requirements 2 through 5. This is the sheet requirement 1 had you format.
Usually comes after 5. Discuss how requirements 2, 3 and 4 differed and 1. Format TWO sheets, and one of them waits until the end.
No template and no lettering guide. The requirement says so in brackets. This is freehand single-stroke Gothic, which is a skill worth practising on scrap before you letter the sheet you formatted back in requirement 1.
Stage 6 of 6
1 step
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Counselor signs it off Milestone
The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.
Usually comes after 6. The lettering project: the second formatted sheet, at last and 8. Three drafting careers, then one in depth.
Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.
This plan is a planning aid: the current Boy Scouts of America publication is always the authority, and the sources used here are listed in full. Each step names its own.