Law Merit Badge
Eleven requirements, mostly explanations and discussions. Three need other people: five people asked about law enforcement, not more than one from your immediate family (4); a court session or a mock trial with a group (6); and a visit you arrange with a lawyer who works for a business, bank, title company or government agency (7). Requirements 2 and 11 are each two topics chosen from a list.
The plan behind this
Three parts that need other people
| requirement | who | what you do |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | five people, not more than one from your immediate family | ask about the role of law enforcement officers in our society, discuss their answers with them, and report your findings to your counselor |
| 6 | a court, or your troop, school class or other group | ONE of: attend a session of a civil or criminal court and write 250 words or more on what you saw; or plan and conduct a mock trial, then discuss it with the group |
| 7 | a lawyer who works for a business, bank, title company, or government agency | arrange a visit, find out the lawyer's duties and responsibilities, and report what you learned |
The choices
Requirement 2: discuss TWO of (a) Justinian's Code, the Code of Hammurabi, and the Magna Carta; (b) the development of the jury system; (c) two famous trials in history.
Requirement 11: discuss with your counselor the importance in our society of TWO of these areas of the law or process: administrative; alternative dispute resolution; bankruptcy; biotechnology; environmental; family; immigration; information technology; intellectual property (copyright, patents and trademarks); international; privacy.
The explanations
Requirement 1 is what law is, its sources and its functions. Requirement 3 is civil and criminal law, their differences and examples. Requirement 5 is laws that protect the consumer and the seller, and organizations that help them. Requirement 8 is becoming a lawyer and how judges are selected in your state. Requirement 9 is a list of 15 jobs dealing with law or legal processes, and which you prefer and why. Requirement 10 is where people can find a lawyer if they cannot pay, and what to do if you can afford one but do not know any.
What this page is
The Law merit badge, drawn so the interviews, the court or mock trial and the lawyer visit stand out, with requirements 2 and 11 drawn as multiple-choice questions and requirement 6 as a question. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year. The free official pamphlet is the fuller guide.
Sources for this page
- Law Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2026-10-07 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .