Task · part of 3. Earn a total of 21 merit badges
3. The thirteen required merit badges
Required
Thirteen slots, matching the numbered slots on the application form. Where a slot offers a choice, earning either badge fills it; the other may still be counted as one of the eight optional badges.
Notes and warnings
Warning. Citizenship in Society is no longer required. Scouting America discontinued it on 27 February 2026: no Scout may start it after that date, and Eagle now needs 13 required badges and 8 optional ones, still 21. Requirement books and Star and Life sheets printed earlier still list it. One exception: a Life Scout who had already completed some of its requirements before that date may finish it by 31 December 2026, and the council or district advancement chair or council registrar may let it count toward Eagle. Ask your council before relying on it.
Note. Thirteen slots is not thirteen badges. Slots 7, 8 and 10 each offer a choice: Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving; Environmental Science or Sustainability; Swimming or Hiking or Cycling, so seventeen badges qualify and you earn one for each slot. A second badge from one of those three slots is not wasted: it counts as one of the eight optional badges making up the 21.
What this is made of
- 3.1. Camping
- 3.2. Citizenship in the Community
- 3.3. Citizenship in the Nation
- 3.4. Citizenship in the World
- 3.5. Communication
- 3.6. Cooking
- 3.7. Emergency Preparedness
- 3.7. Lifesaving
- 3.8. Environmental Science
- 3.8. Sustainability
- 3.9. First Aid
- 3.10. Swimming
- 3.10. Hiking
- 3.10. Cycling
- 3.11. Personal Management
- 3.12. Personal Fitness
- 3.13. Family Life
Where this step comes from
- Eagle Scout Rank Application (January 2026 Revision), Requirement 3, badges 1-13 · Thirteen numbered slots; slots 7, 8 and 10 each offer a choice, so seventeen badges qualify.
- Citizenship in Society Merit Badge Discontinuance (Program update, 27 February 2026) · Citizenship in Society discontinued and removed from the required list, with its completion window for Scouts who had already started it.