For merit badge counselors

Signing off a badge. You may not even need an account.

You agreed to counsel a badge. Now a Scout has finished the work and somebody has to record it. There are two ways in, and which one you use depends on whether you are part of this troop.

In the troop

You are already a member here. Sign in as usual and use My Counseling.

Outside the troop

You have no account and do not want one. A leader sends you a link. That is all you need.

1

If you are in the troop

Sign in, open Advancement in the sidebar, and choose My Counseling. That entry only appears for people registered as counselors.

You get a list of the Scouts assigned to you and the badge each one is working on. It is only a list. There is nothing to click on the row itself.

Choose Requirements on a row. That opens the Scout's page for that badge, and everything you can do lives there.

A row that says Awaiting approval instead has already been sent on. Your part is done and a troop leader has it.

2

Sign off the work

Both routes reach the same page: the Scout, the badge, and every requirement listed out. It is the on-screen version of the blue card.

Each requirement has an Approve button. Approving records the date and your name against it.

You do not have to work through them one at a time. If you covered the badge on paper and the Scout has finished, use Mark Counselor Approved to complete the whole badge in one go. That is the normal path, not a shortcut.

Made a mistake? A signed requirement keeps small controls to change the date or take the sign-off off again.

3

What happens next

Your approval is not the last step, and this catches counselors out.

The badge moves to Counselor Approved, which means "the counselor is happy, waiting on the troop". A troop leader then accepts it, and only then does it become Earned and count toward the Scout's next rank.

You cannot do that last step yourself, and that is on purpose. Accepting a badge is the troop's decision, not the counselor's.

So if a Scout tells you their badge still is not showing, it is almost certainly sitting with their advancement chair. Point them there.

When it doesn't work

Nearly all of these go back to the troop's counselor list.

What happened What to do
There is no My Counseling in my menu You are not on the troop's counselor list yet, or your membership is not linked to your counselor record. Ask the advancement chair.
A Scout I am working with is not listed Nobody has assigned you to them for that badge. A leader does it in a moment; until then the badge is not yours to sign.
A badge I counsel is not on my list Your record says which badges you may counsel. Ask a leader to add the missing one.
My link says it is not valid It has been revoked, or it is an old one. Ask a leader to send a fresh link.
I have signed everything and it still is not Earned That is the expected state. A troop leader has to accept the badge. Ask the advancement chair to look at it.
I signed the wrong requirement Open it again and take the sign-off off, or change the date. Nothing is locked.
I am not in this troop at all That is fine and it is normal. The access link exists for exactly that. You never need an account here.
Leaders: the access link is sent and revoked from a counselor's own record, under Merit Badge Counselors. Send one to every counselor outside the troop — it is the difference between a badge signed the same week and a blue card that goes missing in a glovebox.

Still stuck?

Try the other guides, or ask the advancement chair.