Requirement
5. A deed from the courthouse, property approved first
Required Often forgotten
Get a copy of the deed to a piece of property your counselor has approved, from the local courthouse or a title agency, then discuss the different parts of the deed and why each matters. Independent of everything else on the badge, and the slowest thing on it.
Notes and warnings
Warning. START THIS EARLY AND RUN IT ALONGSIDE EVERYTHING ELSE. It is two steps in one sentence. Agree with your counselor which property, then obtain the deed from the local courthouse or a title agency, which is a public office open on weekdays. It depends on nothing else on the badge and nothing else depends on it, and it has the longest lead time here. Queueing it behind the field work wastes the time it takes.
Where this step comes from
- Surveying Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31), Requirement 5 · The property must be approved by the counselor, and the deed obtained from a courthouse or title agency.