Genealogy Merit Badge
Nine requirements, with the timeline or six-week journal of requirement 2 and the individual or institution contacted in requirement 5 drawn as questions, the genealogical document of 4(c) drawn as the prerequisite of its evaluation in 4(d), and the interview, family tree and family group records marked as the parts that need your family.
10 steps (12 parts inside them). 7 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 8 October 2026 · About Genealogy Merit Badge
No questions answered
This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the 2 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 2 short questions will take out the parts that are not for you.
Your progress
19 steps can be started now; 2 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 10
1 step
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1. The words and records of genealogy Requirement
Explain (a) what genealogy, ancestor and descendant mean; (b) what a family tree is and what information it keeps; (c) what a family group record is and what information it keeps.
Stage 2 of 10
1 step
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2. A timeline or a journal. Do ONE Requirement
The badge states the choice.
2 parts
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2(b). Keep a journal for six weeks Optional May not apply Often forgotten Six weeks, and every one of them needs at least one entry. It cannot be done faster, so begin as soon as you choose this route.
Stage 3 of 10
1 step
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3. Interview a relative or family acquaintance Often forgotten Requirement
Chosen with your parent or guardian's help, interviewed in person, by telephone, or by email or letter. Record what you collect so you do not forget it.
Stage 4 of 10
1 step
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4. Genealogical resources and records Requirement
Five parts, two of them finding and evaluating a document.
5 parts
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4(d). How you found the document, and how you would evaluate it Usually comes after 4(c). Obtain a genealogical document.
Stage 5 of 10
1 step
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5. Contact a genealogical individual or institution. Do ONE Requirement
The badge states the choice of five. Ask what genealogical services, records or activities they provide, and report the results.
5 parts
Stage 6 of 10
1 step,
all ticked
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6. Begin your family tree, three generations Requirement
Yourself and at least two additional generations, on the chart in the Genealogy pamphlet or in the genealogy software of your choice.
Stage 7 of 10
1 step
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7. Two family group record forms Requirement
One with you and your brothers and sisters as the children; another with your parent or guardian and his or her brothers and sisters as the children. On the chart provided or in genealogy software.
Stage 8 of 10
1 step
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8. Computers, photography and indexing in genealogy Requirement
Explain (a) the effect computers and the internet are having on genealogy; (b) how photography, including microfilming, has influenced it; (c) how record indexing works and how it has influenced genealogy.
Stage 9 of 10
1 step
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9. What you have learned about your family Requirement
Discussed with your counselor, from your genealogical research.
Stage 10 of 10
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 1. The words and records of genealogy, 2. A timeline or a journal. Do ONE and 6 others.
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.