Second Class Rank
The twelve requirements of the Second Class rank, with the two that take months drawn apart from the ten that take an afternoon.
13 steps (33 parts inside them). · Version 1, published 11 August 2026 · About Second 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 12
1 step
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1. Camping and outdoor ethics, the long one Often forgotten Requirement
Three parts, and the first of them is five separate activities including two nights of camping. It is the requirement that sets how long this rank takes.
3 parts
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1a. Five separate activities, three outdoors, two with a night away Often forgotten Five separate troop or patrol activities, at least three outdoors, and at least two of the outdoor ones including overnight camping. Troop and patrol meetings do not count. In a troop that camps monthly this is most of a year, and it is the requirement that decides how long Second Class takes. There is no way to catch it up at the end.
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1c. Choose your patrol's campsite and recommend it Usually comes after 1a. Five separate activities, three outdoors, two with a night away.
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Stage 2 of 12
2 steps
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2. Cooking and tools Requirement
Seven parts: when to light a fire and when not, the fire itself in two stages, stoves, a cooked meal on a campout, and two more knots.
7 parts, 1 ticked
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2c. Build the fire, light it, put it out properly Often forgotten Usually comes after 2b. Prepare tinder, kindling and fuel wood.
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2e. Plan and cook a hot breakfast or lunch Usually comes after 1a. Five separate activities, three outdoors, two with a night away.
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7. Fitness: four weeks, and it cannot start yet Often forgotten Requirement
Requirement 7a begins only after Tenderfoot requirement 6c is complete, and then runs four weeks. Nothing on this sheet is worth checking earlier.
3 parts
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7a. Thirty minutes a day, five days a week, for four weeks Often forgotten This requirement begins only AFTER Tenderfoot requirement 6c is complete, and it then runs four weeks at thirty minutes a day, five days a week. Tenderfoot 6c is on the Tenderfoot page and so cannot be drawn as a step here. Exercise done before 6c was finished does not count towards this, however much of it there was.
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7b. What was hard, what worked, and what next Usually comes after 7a. Thirty minutes a day, five days a week, for four weeks.
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Stage 3 of 12
1 step
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3. Navigation, including a five-mile hike Requirement
Four parts. The hike needs approval from an adult leader and from your parent or guardian before you go.
4 parts
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3b. A five-mile hike using map and compass together Often forgotten The hike needs approval from your adult leader AND from your parent or guardian. Both, and before you set off.
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3c. The hazards on that hike, and preventing them Usually comes after 3b. A five-mile hike using map and compass together.
Stage 4 of 12
1 step
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4. Ten kinds of wild animal Task
Identified or evidenced in your local area or where you camp: birds, mammals, reptiles, fish or molluscs. Tracks, signs or photographs you took yourself all count as evidence.
Stage 5 of 12
1 step
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5. Aquatics: the beginner test and rescues that stay dry Requirement
Four parts, and the two practical ones happen in the water under proper supervision.
Stage 6 of 12
1 step
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6. First aid and emergency preparedness Requirement
Five parts, and they move outwards: from what you can treat, to what you must not delay on, to what to do when the emergency is bigger than you.
5 parts
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6b. The hurry cases Often forgotten
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6c. Preventing all of that Usually comes after 6a. First aid for the next tier of injuries and 6b. The hurry cases.
Stage 7 of 12
1 step
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8. Citizenship, the flag, and earning something for yourself Requirement
Five parts, and two of them are a small piece of personal finance done in order.
5 parts
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8d. Compare the price in three places, then decide Usually comes after 8c. Decide on something, and earn the money for it.
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8e. Two hours of service Often forgotten Two hours of service, approved by your Scoutmaster before the work rather than after it. First Class requirement 9d says its projects must not be the same ones used here or for Tenderfoot 7b, so keep a note of what you did and when: reconstructing it later is how service hours get counted twice by accident.
Stage 8 of 12
1 step
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9. Personal safety awareness Requirement
Two parts, both conversations rather than activities.
Stage 9 of 12
1 step
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10. Scout spirit, and four more points of the Scout Law Often forgotten Task
Four different points, and explicitly not the ones used for Tenderfoot requirement 9. Write down which four you use here as well: First Class 11 wants four different again.
Stage 10 of 12
1 step
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11. Scoutmaster conference Often forgotten Milestone
While working toward Second Class, and after completing Tenderfoot requirement 10. That ordering is stated.
This conference must come AFTER Tenderfoot requirement 10, which is on the Tenderfoot page and so cannot be drawn as a step here. Each rank's conference is a separate event and they run strictly in rank order, even though the rest of the requirements may be worked on at the same time.
Stage 11 of 12
1 step
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12. Board of review Approval
The last step. Not a retest. The requirements are already passed.
Usually comes after 11. Scoutmaster conference.
Stage 12 of 12
1 step
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Board of review, and the rank is earned Milestone
Requirement 12 is the board of review. It is not a retest: the requirements have already been passed, and the board asks how it went and what the Scout got out of it.
Usually comes after 12. 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.