Plumbing Merit Badge
Seven requirements. Health, local regulations and safety precautions for home repairs; drawings of the water supply and drainage systems of a house; five plumber's tools shown; plumbing terms; the kinds of pipe; then FOUR of seven hands-on tasks, each under the supervision of a knowledgeable adult; and a career in plumbing.
The plan behind this
Requirement 6: do FOUR of seven
Each under the supervision of a knowledgeable adult.
| route | what it asks |
|---|---|
| 6(a) | visit the plumbing section of a hardware store or home center and identify PVC, CPVC, PEX, copper and steel pipe and fittings, and specialty plumbing tools |
| 6(b) | cut and clean (debur) PVC or CPVC pipe; solvent weld at least three connections, to include a coupling, a tee and an elbow |
| 6(c) | cut PEX pipe; make at least one connection with either a quick-connect fitting or a crimp fitting (using specialized tools) |
| 6(d) | solder a copper connection using a gas torch |
| 6(e) | replace a kitchen or lavatory faucet |
| 6(f) | remove, clean or replace, and reinstall a sink or lavatory drain trap |
| 6(g) | properly apply pipe thread tape to a pipe or a plumbing connector |
Two drawings
| requirement | what you draw and explain |
|---|---|
| 2(a) | how a home hot- and cold-water supply system works, and how you would make it safe from freezing |
| 2(b) | the drainage system of the plumbing in a house; show and explain the use of drains and vents |
The rest
1 is how a properly working plumbing system protects your family's health and safety, five important local health regulations related to plumbing and how they protect health and safety, and the safety precautions you must take when making home plumbing repairs. 3 is showing how to use five important plumber's tools. 4 is fourteen terms: washer, retaining nut, plunger (rubber force cup), solder, flux, elbow, tee, nipple, coupling, plug, union, trap, drainpipe and water meter. 5 is the kinds of pipe used most often in a plumbing system, and why. 7 is three career opportunities in plumbing, one researched.
What this page is
The Plumbing merit badge, drawn so the four supervised hands-on tasks of requirement 6 are drawn as a question, after the safety, drawings, tools, terms and pipes that come first in the badge's order. 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
- Plumbing Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-09-19 · 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 .