Scout Ahead https://www.scoutahead.org/plans/sea-scout-boards-of-review

The Sea Scout board of review, start to finish

A common lead-in, a fork between the Apprentice through Able particulars and the Quartermaster particulars, and a rejoin at the review itself and everything after it.

43 steps (26 parts inside them). 45 steps and parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 9 August 2026 · About Sea Scout Boards of Review

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.

Answer the questions

The steps

Stage 1 of 26

4 steps

  • 4.4.2.1. The requirements for a Sea Scout rank are complete Milestone

    The starting point. A Sea Scout has completed the requirements for Apprentice, Ordinary, Able or Quartermaster. What those requirements are is published in the Sea Scout Manual and is not restated on this page.

    1 part
    • 4.4.1.0. All requirements completed before the 21st birthday A window, not a duration. The requirements must be finished before the 21st birthday; the board of review that recognises them may sit afterwards, and the Guide sets out how far afterwards. Do not treat the birthday as the deadline for the whole process, and do not treat the 24-month allowance as licence to leave requirements unfinished.

  • 4.4.2.4. Meet somewhere comfortable and familiar Recommended May not apply Task

    The location should be comfortable, such as the unit meeting place or another familiar location. Written as guidance rather than as a rule, and carried here the same way.

    You have not answered "Which rank is this board of review for?" yet.

  • 4.4.1.7. The award is presented at a bridge of honor Recommended May not apply Event

    A bridge of honor is the forum where awards are presented, as a court of honor is in Scouts BSA. The Guide suggests presenting informally at a ship meeting first, so that recognition is prompt.

    You have not answered "Has the board been held, and how did it go?" yet.

  • 4.4.2.3. The board may adjourn and reconvene Optional May not apply Task

    The Sea Scout exception to the Scouts BSA topic: if it is thought that a Sea Scout, before the 21st birthday, can benefit from an opportunity to properly complete the requirements, the board may adjourn and reconvene at a later date.

    You have not answered "Has the board been held, and how did it go?" yet.

Stage 2 of 26

1 step

Stage 3 of 26

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Stage 4 of 26

1 step

Stage 5 of 26

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  • 4.4.2.2. No fewer than three members and no more than six Requirement

    The size rule for every Sea Scout board of review, whatever the rank. Who those members may be depends on the rank, and the Guide sends you to the particulars for the answer.

    Usually comes after 4.4.2.1. A board of review is scheduled.

    Read this next to the Scouts BSA rule rather than instead of it. The Scouts BSA topic says three to six members all at least 21 years old. The Sea Scout topic says three to six and stops, because for Apprentice through Able the members are the ship's youth officers. The age clause reappears for Quartermaster, which follows the Eagle particulars.

Stage 6 of 26

1 step

Stage 7 of 26

1 step

  • 4.4.2.0. Which rank is this board of review for? Decision

    The Guide forks here. Topics 4.4.2.1 through 4.4.2.3 apply to every Sea Scout board; 4.4.2.4 sets out the particulars for Apprentice through Able; 4.4.2.5 through 4.4.2.8 pertain only to Quartermaster.

    Usually comes after 4.4.2.2. Skippers and mates must not sit on a board in their own ship.

Stage 8 of 26

2 steps

  • 4.4.2.4. Apprentice, Ordinary or Able May not apply Milestone

    The board of review for the three ranks leading up to Quartermaster. The particulars below are what differs from the shared procedure; everything about conducting the review is the same.

    You have not answered "Which rank is this board of review for?" yet.

    Usually comes after 4.4.2.0. Which rank is this board of review for?.

    1 part
    • 4.4.2.8. Only the Quartermaster rank may be appealed beyond the ship May not apply Often forgotten What the Guide says is that only the Quartermaster rank may be appealed beyond the ship. What it does not say is what, if anything, happens inside the ship after an Apprentice, Ordinary or Able denial. This plan does not fill that silence. Ask the council advancement committee rather than assuming a route exists.

  • 4.4.2.5. Quartermaster May not apply Milestone

    The board of review for the highest Sea Scout rank. Almost everything on this branch is a rule the Guide states about the Eagle Scout board of review and then adopts for Quartermaster.

    You have not answered "Which rank is this board of review for?" yet.

    Usually comes after 4.4.2.0. Which rank is this board of review for?.

    1 part
    • 4.4.2.5. Handled as an Eagle Scout board of review May not apply Often forgotten The whole Eagle apparatus comes with this sentence: the council verification gate, three to six members all at least 21, the district or council representative when the board sits at the ship, one board of review only, and the appeal route. A ship that runs a Quartermaster board the way it runs an Able board has run the wrong procedure.

Stage 9 of 26

4 steps

Stage 10 of 26

4 steps

Stage 11 of 26

2 steps

  • 4.4.2.4. Two registered adults aged 21 or over are present as advisors May not apply Often forgotten Requirement

    Two adults, age 21 or older, registered with the ship and preferably from the ship committee, must be present as advisors. Present, and required to be, but advisors, not members of the board.

    You have not answered "Which rank is this board of review for?" yet.

    Usually comes after 4.4.2.4. The boatswain chairs the board and conducts the review.

    Two adults, both aged 21 or over, both registered with the ship, preferably from the ship committee, and their presence is required rather than encouraged. They are advisors: they are in the room, and they are not on the board.

    1 part

  • 8.0.3.0. The council verifies the application before the board sits May not apply Often forgotten Approval

    A board of review must not occur until after the local council has verified the application. Where a board is held under disputed circumstances, the council must verify everything not in dispute before the board is scheduled.

    You have not answered "Which rank is this board of review for?" yet.

    Usually comes after 8.0.3.0. Three to six members, all at least 21 years old.

    A hard gate and an easy one to trip. The board must not occur until the local council has verified the application. Booking the room, the chair and six people before the council has finished is how a board ends up held that should not have been.

Stage 12 of 26

2 steps

Stage 13 of 26

1 step

  • 8.0.3.0. Members convene at least 30 minutes beforehand May not apply Task

    To go over the application, the references and the service project workbook, members should convene at least 30 minutes before the scheduled board of review.

    You have not answered "Which rank is this board of review for?" yet.

    Usually comes after 8.0.3.0. The chair schedules the date, time and place.

Stage 14 of 26

1 step

  • 8.0.3.0. 30 minutes or somewhat longer, and rarely beyond 45 May not apply Event

    This is the highest rank a Sea Scout may achieve, and there should be a discussion of successes, experiences and future plans, but rarely should a board last longer than 45 minutes.

    You have not answered "Which rank is this board of review for?" yet.

Stage 15 of 26

1 step

Stage 16 of 26

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  • 8.0.0.4. Uniform preferred; clean and neat in appearance is enough Requirement

    The same limitations on requiring a uniform for a Scouts BSA board of review apply to Sea Scouts. A candidate must not be rejected solely over uniforming or attire, and must not be required to buy anything to attend.

    Usually comes after 4.4.2.3. The board of review is held.

Stage 17 of 26

1 step

  • 8.0.1.0. Observers are minimised, and insistent parents may attend Requirement

    The Guide names this topic as applying to Sea Scouts, and notes that the same exception carries over: parents or guardians who insist on being present must be permitted to attend as observers.

    Usually comes after 8.0.0.4. Uniform preferred; clean and neat in appearance is enough.

Stage 18 of 26

1 step

  • 8.0.1.1. Not a retest or an examination Requirement

    Identical for Sea Scouts, in the Guide's own word. The review must never become a retest, an examination, or a challenge of the candidate's knowledge; in most cases it should be a celebration of accomplishment.

    Usually comes after 8.0.1.0. Observers are minimised, and insistent parents may attend.

    Stated as a prohibition and marked "identical for Sea Scouts". If somebody on the board starts checking whether the candidate can still tie a knot or recite a rule, the review has gone wrong. Asking where a skill was learned, and what was gained from it, is the whole of what is wanted.

Stage 19 of 26

1 step

Stage 20 of 26

1 step

Stage 21 of 26

1 step

  • 8.0.1.4. Approval must be unanimous Often forgotten Approval

    Identical for Sea Scouts. To approve awarding a rank the board must agree unanimously; if any member dissents, the decision cannot be for approval.

    Usually comes after 8.0.1.4. The board deliberates without the candidate.

    Unanimous. One dissent means the decision cannot be for approval, and the candidate must never learn that there was a dissent, let alone whose. Before voting on a disagreement, check it is not a misunderstanding; calling the candidate back in is explicitly appropriate.

    1 part

Stage 22 of 26

1 step

  • 8.0.1.5. Does the board approve? Decision

    The point the whole procedure turns on. Everything below this is either what follows an approval or what follows a denial.

    Usually comes after 8.0.1.4. Approval must be unanimous.

Stage 23 of 26

2 steps

  • 8.0.1.5. The board approves May not apply Milestone

    The members agree the Sea Scout is ready to advance. The candidate is called in and congratulated.

    You have not answered "Has the board been held, and how did it go?" yet.

    Usually comes after 8.0.1.5. Does the board approve?.

  • 8.0.1.5. The board does not approve May not apply Milestone

    The candidate must be so informed and told what can be done to improve. What follows depends on the rank and on whether the requirements could still be met.

    You have not answered "Has the board been held, and how did it go?" yet.

    Usually comes after 8.0.1.5. Does the board approve?.

    1 part

Stage 24 of 26

3 steps

  • 4.4.2.1. The board of review date is the effective advancement date May not apply Often forgotten Milestone

    Stated in the Guide's Sea Scout topic in one sentence, and again in the Scouts BSA topic it adopts: the date of the board, not that of a subsequent bridge of honor, is the rank's effective date.

    You have not answered "Has the board been held, and how did it go?" yet.

    Usually comes after 8.0.1.5. The board approves.

    The rank is effective the day the board sat, not the day the paperwork was processed or the bridge of honor was held. Getting this wrong shifts tenure and can affect what the Sea Scout is eligible for next.

  • 8.0.1.5. A follow-up letter is sent promptly May not apply Often forgotten Document

    A follow-up letter must be sent promptly to a candidate of any rank who is turned down, setting out actions that may lead to advancement and explaining the appeal procedures. Copies go to the council's appeals coordinator, advancement chair and staff advisor, and the council keeps one.

    You have not answered "Has the board been held, and how did it go?" yet.

    Usually comes after 8.0.1.5. The board does not approve.

    Not optional and not satisfied by the conversation in the room. A follow-up letter must be sent promptly to a candidate of any rank who is turned down, must say what could lead to advancement, and must explain the appeal procedures. Copies go to the council appeals coordinator, the council advancement chair and the advancement staff advisor, and the council keeps one.

  • 8.0.3.0. A Quartermaster candidate has only one board of review May not apply Often forgotten Requirement

    It may be adjourned and reconvened, but there is no second board. Subsequent action falls under the appeals process.

    You have not answered "Which rank is this board of review for?" yet.

    Usually comes after 8.0.1.5. The board does not approve.

    There is no second Quartermaster board of review. It may be adjourned and reconvened, but once a board has concluded against the candidate, everything after that is the appeal process. A ship waiting to arrange another review is waiting for something that is not coming.

Stage 25 of 26

3 steps

Stage 26 of 26

1 step

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.