For Scouts & parents

See how far you've got. Any time you like.

Every Scout has a page that shows their whole trail: the ranks, the requirements signed off so far, and the merit badges on the go. Scouts can open their own. Parents can open their children's.

1

Open the tracker

Look in the dark green sidebar on the left. On a phone, tap the menu button in the top bar first.

Scouts have a link called My Advancement.

Parents get one link per child, and each one is named after that child — something like Alex's Advancement. If you have three Scouts, you get three links.

Leaders open Advancement in the sidebar, then pick a name from the list of Scouts.

2

Read the rank trail

The top of the page lists the seven ranks in the order Scouts earn them: Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and Eagle.

Each rank carries a small mark that tells you where it stands:

 Done. The date it was earned sits next to it.
 In progress. This is the one being worked on now.
 Not started.

Beside each rank is a count like 12/17. That means 12 of the 17 requirements for that rank have been signed off.

Tap a rank to open it and see the list.

3

Read the requirements

Inside a rank, every requirement gets a row. The row shows its number, what it asks for, the date it was signed off, and who signed it.

An empty date means nobody has signed it yet. That is the whole rule — there is no half-signed state.

Only a leader can sign a requirement off. Seeing it here does not sign it, and neither does a Scout ticking anything themselves.

4

Watch for the two banners

Every rank ends with the same two steps: a talk with the Scoutmaster, and a Board of Review. A colored banner appears on the tracker when a Scout reaches each one.

Ready for SM Conference means everything else for that rank is done. The only things left are the Scoutmaster conference and the Board of Review. This is the moment to ask a leader to book the conference.

Ready for Board of Review means the conference has happened and been recorded. The rank is one meeting away.

No banner does not mean something is wrong. It just means there is still ordinary requirement work to do.

The blue card, on screen.

Under the ranks is a list of merit badges. Each one moves through the same stages a paper blue card does, and the badge shows which stage it is at.

  1. A Scout starts a badge and is matched with a counselor. The badge goes to Active.
  2. The Scout works through the requirements with that counselor. The counselor signs them off.
  3. When the counselor is happy, the badge becomes Counselor Approved.
  4. A leader checks it over and accepts it. Now it is Earned, and it counts toward the next rank.
  5. The badge is handed over at a ceremony (Presented) and read out at a Court of Honor (Recognized).
Who signsThe counselor signs the requirements. Nobody else can.
Who acceptsA troop leader accepts the finished badge. A counselor cannot do this on their own.
Stuck at approved?That is normal, and it is a waiting step, not a problem. A leader has to look at it.
Counts when earnedA badge only counts toward a rank once it reaches Earned.
5

The Cooking Notebook

Cooking comes up again and again: in Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class, and again in the Cooking and Camping merit badges. Meals get cooked on a campout and then forgotten by the time anyone writes them down.

The Cooking Notebook at the bottom of the tracker gathers every one of those slots into one table. Tap Open full notebook to see them all.

A Scout, a linked parent or a leader can fill in the date, what was cooked, and which trip it was on.

It is a memory aid, nothing more. Writing in the notebook does not sign off a requirement. It just means that when a leader asks, you have the answer.

6

On a phone

The mobile app at /app/ has the same tracker, laid out for a small screen. Tap Advance in the bar along the bottom.

Scouts see their own trail there. Leaders see a list of Scouts and tap through to one.

The app keeps the tracker on your phone, so it still opens on a campout with no signal.

When it doesn't look right

Most of these are a record that needs fixing, not a bug.

What happened What to do
I cannot see my child's advancement Parents only see the Scouts linked to them on the roster. If a link is missing, ask a leader to add it. It takes a minute at their end.
A requirement is signed in the handbook but not here Somebody still has to type it in. Bring the handbook to a leader — they can enter a whole page of sign-offs in one go.
The date or the signer is wrong Ask a leader. They can change the date on a sign-off or take it off again. Do not start the requirement over.
I got a warning about parents signing off Leaders who are also parents see Parent sign-off discouraged before signing their own child. The troop follows BSA guidance here: another leader should sign where possible.
The badge says Counselor Approved and stays there It is waiting for a leader to accept it. That is a normal step. Ask your advancement chair if it has been sitting a while.
Everything is signed but no banner appeared The Scoutmaster conference and the Board of Review are requirements too. The banner shows when everything else is done.
A badge vanished and a new one appeared The BSA sometimes updates a badge's requirements. The old record is kept and a fresh one is started on the new version. No work is lost.
Leaders: this page explains what families see. Signing off, Boards of Review and the Eagle trail have their own screens, and the sign-off rules are set by your troop's permissions.

Still stuck?

Try the other guides, or ask a leader in your troop.