Milestone
Counselor signs it off
Required
The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.
Notes and warnings
Note. The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date the counselor signed. That matters for a Scout close to a birthday or a rank deadline.
Note. How a merit badge is earned (the unit leader meeting that comes before any work with a counselor, the blue card, the two signatures at each end) is the same for every badge and is set out on the "How to Earn a Merit Badge" page. Doing the work first and finding the counselor afterwards is the mistake that costs people a badge.
Warning. 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.
Note. The official Public Speaking Merit Badge pamphlet is free to download from the badge page. It is the fuller guide to everything this page only labels.
Where this step comes from
- Guide to Advancement (2025), Section 7.0.3.1 · Certifying completion, and that the completion date is the date the requirements were met.