First Class Rank
The thirteen requirements of the First Class rank, with the cooking project drawn as the ordered sequence the sheet actually states.
14 steps (34 parts inside them). · Version 1, published 11 August 2026 · About First Class Rank
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This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody.
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The steps
Stage 1 of 13
1 step
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1. Camping and outdoor ethics Often forgotten Requirement
Ten activities counted from the day you joined (which means the five from Second Class are among them), and an explanation of what camping costs the places you camp in.
Stage 2 of 13
2 steps
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2. Cooking: one project in five stated stages Often forgotten Requirement
Plan the menu, budget and buy for it, work out the gear for it, handle the food safely, then cook exactly that menu as camp cook. Four of the five parts name each other.
Requirement 2 is one project, and 2b and 2e both name the menu planned in 2a. Cooking three excellent meals on a campout you did not plan for does not satisfy 2e. Read all five parts before starting any of them, and plan the menu for a campout you know is happening.
5 parts
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2a. Plan the menu for one of your campouts Often forgotten Usually comes after 1a. Ten activities, six outdoors, three with a night away.
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2b. Budget it, quantify it, buy it Usually comes after 2a. Plan the menu for one of your campouts.
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2e. Serve as cook, and cook the menu you planned Often forgotten Usually comes after 2a. Plan the menu for one of your campouts and 1a. Ten activities, six outdoors, three with a night away.
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8. Fitness: the last four weeks of a three-rank chain Often forgotten Requirement
Requirement 8a begins only after Second Class 7a is complete. It is the third and final block of a chain that started at Tenderfoot 6a.
2 parts
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8a. Four more weeks, thirty minutes a day Often forgotten This requirement begins only AFTER Second Class requirement 7a is complete, and then runs four weeks at thirty minutes a day, five days a week. Second Class 7a is on another page and so cannot be drawn as a step here. It is the last link of a chain (Tenderfoot 6a, Tenderfoot 6c, Second Class 7a, then this) of roughly three months in which nothing may be started early or overlapped.
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8b. What worked, and what happens next Usually comes after 8a. Four more weeks, thirty minutes a day.
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Stage 3 of 13
1 step
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3. Tools: lashings, and two more hitches Requirement
Four parts, ending in something you actually build.
Stage 4 of 13
1 step
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4. Navigation, on paper and by satellite Requirement
An orienteering course and a GPS route. The sheet asks for both, old method and new.
Stage 5 of 13
1 step
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5. Nature and weather Requirement
Ten plants, and then three requirements about weather that are really about planning.
Stage 6 of 13
1 step
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6. Aquatics: the swimmer test and a line rescue Often forgotten Requirement
Five parts. The swimmer test here is the same one the Swimming merit badge uses, so passing it does work on two pages at once.
Stage 7 of 13
1 step
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7. First aid and emergency preparedness Requirement
Six parts, and half of them are about the emergency rather than the injury: utilities, a plan for your home, and water when there is none.
Stage 8 of 13
1 step
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9. Citizenship, environment and service Often forgotten Requirement
Four parts. One needs an appointment with somebody, one needs two outings, and one needs you to know what you already did for the last two ranks.
4 parts
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9a. Meet someone, and talk about rights and obligations Often forgotten
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9c. Cut your rubbish between two outings Often forgotten This one needs TWO outings: the one you take note of your rubbish on, and the next similar one you change your packing for. It cannot be done on a single trip and it cannot be reconstructed afterwards, so take the notes on the next outing you go on whether or not you are ready to start the rank.
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9d. Three hours of service, and not the same projects Often forgotten The three hours must NOT come from the same project or projects used for Tenderfoot requirement 7b or Second Class requirement 8e. That is a dependency pointing backwards at two other pages, and it is the reason to have kept a note of what those projects were and when. Approval from your Scoutmaster comes before the work.
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Stage 9 of 13
1 step
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10. Invite somebody into Scouting Task
Tell someone eligible to join (or a Scout who has gone quiet) about what you have been doing, invite them to something real, help them join or come back, and tell your Scoutmaster how it went.
Stage 10 of 13
1 step
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11. Scout spirit, and the last four points of the Scout Law Often forgotten Task
Four different points, different from those used for previous ranks. With Tenderfoot 9 and Second Class 10 that accounts for all twelve.
Stage 11 of 13
1 step
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12. Scoutmaster conference Often forgotten Milestone
While working toward First Class, and after completing Second Class requirement 11. That ordering is stated.
This conference must come AFTER Second Class requirement 11, which is on another page and so cannot be drawn as a step here. The conferences run strictly in rank order even though the requirements may be worked on simultaneously.
Stage 12 of 13
1 step
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13. Board of review Approval
The last step of the last skills rank. Not a retest.
Usually comes after 12. Scoutmaster conference.
Stage 13 of 13
1 step
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Board of review, and the rank is earned Milestone
Requirement 13 is the board of review. After this the ladder changes shape: Star, Life and Eagle are earned through months of service, position of responsibility and merit badges rather than through skills.
Usually comes after 13. Board of review.
Rank requirements are republished yearly. Guide to Advancement 4.0.0.1 states that once a new or revised requirement appears on the program web page, a Scout beginning work on the next rank uses it as stated there. 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.