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Eagle Palms Requirements

After becoming an Eagle Scout, you may earn Palms by completing the following requirements:

1. Be active in your Troop and patrol for at least three months after becoming an Eagle Scout or after award of last Palm. (Eagle Palms must be earned in sequence, and the three-month tenure requirement must be observed for each Palm.)
2. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.
3. Make a satisfactory effort to develop and demonstrate leadership ability.
4. Earn five additional merit badges beyond those required for Eagle or last Palm. (Merit badges earned any time since becoming a Boy Scout may be used to meet this requirement.)
5. Take part in a Scoutmaster Conference.
6. Complete a Board of Review.

You may wear only the proper combination of Palms for the number of merit badges you earned beyond the rank of Eagle. The Bronze Palm represents five merit badges, the Gold Palm 10, and the Silver Palm 15.


Note: that Eagle Palms are NOT considered "Ranks" by the BSA.
The Charter and Bylaws in Article X, Section 1, Clause 6, states:

"Ranks. There shall be the following ranks in Boy Scouting: Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, and Eagle. The requirements shall be those authorized by the Executive Board and set forth in official Scouting publications. Eagle Palms may also be awarded on the basis of requirements authorized by the Executive Board and set forth in official Scouting publications."

You may wear only the proper combination of Palms for the number of merit badges you earned beyond the rank of Eagle. The Bronze Palm represents 5 merit badges, the Gold Palm 10, and the Silver Palm 15.

Merit Badges earned any time since becoming a Boy Scout may be used to meet this requirement.

NOTE: Scouts who earn three Palms may continue to earn additional Palms in the same order - bronze, gold, and silver. All requirements for Eagle Palms must be completed before a candidate's 18th birthday. The Palms beyond Silver can't be entered into BSA's Scoutnet database, since there doesn't appear to be a way to record multiple instances of the awards, just the number of merit badges he has, but the Scout's can still earn and wear the multiple Palms.

Please note that Requirement 6 - (Complete your board of review) MAY be done AFTER the Scout has reached age 18.

The requirements above are those for boys enrolled in the Boy Scout Division as members of Boy Scout Troops (including Venture Patrols within Troops) or Varsity Scout Teams.

The following Table shows how many and which Palms should be worn for various numbers of Merit Badges beyond the 21 required for Eagle Scout, and how long it takes to earn these palms (assuming exactly 3 months between each Board of Review).
Palm Number

Merit Badges beyond those required for Eagle Scout

To reach 20 palms (6 Silver and a Gold), in addition to earning all 121 Merit Badges, a Scout must pass his Eagle Scout Board of Review no later than the day before his 13th Birthday, then pass each of the 20 subsequent Eagle Palm Boards of Review exactly 3 months after the preceding Board of Review, in order to complete all tenure requirements before his 18th birthday.


Also see the Eagle Palm Plan & Eagle Palm Plan Worksheet which will help you plan and track your progress. pdf (281 KB)


Source of the Palm requirements is Boy Scouts of America, National Council, http://scouting.org.

Source of Notes & Palm table on this page was kindly provided by US Scouting Service Project (USSSP).

Last revision was made on: October 25, 2008 by David Exter