Advancement in Venturing
The four ranks in order, with the three places Venturing advancement meets another program and somebody has to decide who is responsible.
16 steps (18 parts inside them). 7 steps and parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 9 August 2026 · About Advancement in Venturing
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
25 steps can be started now; 8 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 9
6 steps
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4.3.0.0. Venturing, and who it is for Milestone
Young men and women who are 14 through 20, or who are 13 and have completed the eighth grade. Each crew is responsible for designing a program that appeals to its own members, so the advancement track has to work over a program nobody at national has seen.
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4.3.0.1. The four areas of emphasis: ALPS Requirement
Adventure, Leadership, Personal Growth, Service. Each of the requirements for the Venturing ranks falls under one of the four, which is what makes the model worth knowing rather than decorative.
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4.3.1.0. Everything before the 21st birthday Requirement
Venturers have until the 21st birthday to complete their ranks. A limited time extension is available for Summit only, under the same tests as the Eagle Scout extension, and it is on the Summit plan rather than this one.
The 21st birthday. Everything for every Venturing rank must be complete by then. A limited time extension exists for the Summit rank alone, applied for through the local council under the same tests as an Eagle Scout extension, with references to age 18 in that procedure reading as age 21 here. See 4.3.3.0.
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4.3.1.0. Service hours counted at school still count here Often forgotten Requirement
Counting service hours for school or elsewhere in the community and also for advancement is not considered double counting, because the hours are counted only once for advancement purposes.
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4.3.1.3. What a Venturer may count twice Decision
Requirements completed toward ranks and merit badges while registered in Scouts BSA or Sea Scouts may be considered toward Venturing rank and award requirements.
3 parts
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4.3.1.3. What may not be counted twice Often forgotten The line the Guide draws is between doing something and talking about it. An activity done once may count in two places. A review, discussion or presentation about the specific requirement and topic may not be counted twice.
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4.3.1.3. Certifications count whenever they were earned Often forgotten
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7.0.2.5. A crew consultant is not automatically a merit badge counselor Often forgotten Requirement
Venturing consultants are people whose special skills or talents are needed for a crew activity or project, usually recruited on a one-time basis. They would generally be considered qualified to counsel merit badges related to their expertise, but to serve as one they must be registered and approved as merit badge counselors.
Stage 2 of 9
1 step
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4.3.1.0. Only registered Venturers may earn them Requirement
Venturing ranks and other recognition are available only to registered Venturers. Registration is the gate, not crew attendance.
Usually comes after 4.3.0.0. Venturing, and who it is for.
Stage 3 of 9
1 step
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4.3.1.0. The requirements are published, and not in the Guide Often forgotten Requirement
For the detailed rank requirements the Guide points at the web page link in 4.0.0.1, and at the Venturing handbooks, leader guides and other official publications for everything beyond them. The Guide governs the process; it does not state the requirements.
Usually comes after 4.3.1.0. Only registered Venturers may earn them.
The Guide to Advancement does not contain the Venturing rank requirements and is not trying to. It sends readers to the web page named in 4.0.0.1 and to the Venturing handbooks and leader guides. Anything on this page that looks like a requirement is the Guide describing a rank, not stating one.
Stage 4 of 9
1 step
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4.3.1.0. Four steps in the process Requirement
Preparation, learning, qualification, recognition. Advancement is accomplished when an active program emphasises and pays attention to all four, which puts the burden on the crew's program rather than on the paperwork.
Usually comes after 4.3.1.0. The requirements are published, and not in the Guide.
Stage 5 of 9
2 steps,
1 ticked
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4.3.1.1. Venturing rank Milestone
The beginning of the experience. The new member learns about the program, what a crew does, what to expect from the adventures, and makes a commitment to the principles of Venturing.
Usually comes after 4.3.1.0. Four steps in the process.
1 part
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4.3.1.1. No board of review for this one Often forgotten The single most common surprise in Venturing advancement for adults who came from a troop. There is no board of review for the Venturing rank. Holding one anyway adds a requirement the program does not have.
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4.3.1.4. Carrying on with Scouts BSA advancement May not apply Decision
Venturing leaders have to understand that Scouts BSA advancement procedures must be followed, wherever the youth member is registered. The crew does not get to run them its own way.
You have not answered "Is the Venturer also working on Scouts BSA advancement?" yet.
Scouts BSA advancement procedures must be followed, wherever the youth is registered. A crew that runs Star and Life its own way because the Scout is in a crew now has misread this topic, which says the opposite.
6 parts
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4.3.1.4. Decide who oversees it, with the youth May not apply
Stage 6 of 9
2 steps
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4.3.1.1. Discovery rank Milestone
Participation and preparing for leadership. The rank encourages members to design and lead an active program of continuous adventure and service, and as they become more active they discover talents and learn skills that help them lead and serve.
Usually comes after 4.3.1.1. Venturing rank.
1 part
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4.3.1.4. Three service projects that must stay separate Often forgotten Requirement
With the exception of the Eagle, Quartermaster and Summit service projects, any work done while a Venturer may count toward Scouts BSA, Sea Scouts and Venturing advancement at the same time. Those three projects must be separate and distinct from each other.
The exception that catches families with a busy young person. Almost everything else may count in two or three programs at once. The Eagle, Quartermaster and Summit service projects may not: each must be separate and distinct from the other two.
Stage 7 of 9
1 step
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4.3.1.0. Boards of review, for three ranks out of four Approval
Discovery, Pathfinder and Summit. The procedure is at 8.0.5.0 and is modelled on its own plan; the fact that belongs here is which ranks have one.
Usually comes after 4.3.1.1. Discovery rank.
Stage 8 of 9
1 step
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4.3.1.1. Pathfinder rank Milestone
The Venturer should begin to establish a reputation as a skilled leader. The rank engages members more deeply in the ALPS model, and Pathfinder candidates continue to deliver service to others and to their own crews.
Usually comes after 4.3.1.1. Discovery rank.
Stage 9 of 9
1 step
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4.3.1.1. Summit rank Milestone
Venturing's highest rank. Where Pathfinder requires leading an adventure, Summit moves a young person into the role of servant leader: serving the crew as a leader, formally and informally, and becoming a mentor to others.
Usually comes after 4.3.1.1. Pathfinder rank.
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.