Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ 16 (updated Jan 2020)

I earned the Eagle in (year) and my Eagle Scout card/badge/medal is now lost/destroyed/framed at my parent's home/in my drawer. How do I go about getting a replacement/duplicate/extra Eagle Scout card/badge/medal? Can I sell my Eagle Scout Badge/card/medal or is that against some BSA law or rule? Can I purchase a group of them and then sell them off on (name of online trading or auction site)? How do I become a member of the Eagle Scout society? Can I be a member of the Eagle Scout Group without earning Eagle...I was "this close" to getting it but because of (any number of situations), I wasn't able to earn the Eagle. What's the good of belonging to it, anyways? Do they have national conventions like Rotary or other groups? What does NESA stand for and is that the same as the Knights of Dumanis or the Eagle Scout Service? How do I reach the people that have my Eagle Scout records? Can I get a copy of them? Can anyone else get a copy of them? How do I as an employer know that when someone gives me a resume that says "Eagle Scout...", that they are indeed an Eagle Scout? Can a girl be an Eagle Scout? Are there any exceptions to receiving Eagle, like being in a war zone for a certain number of days or being a professional Scout executive for a few years or serving at Philmont or camp staff for a certain number of years? Can people whom are not American citizens earn Eagle? Can I award an "honorary Eagle" to someone whom have helped me out greatly in my life? Do you get a Gold Eagle for earning ALL of the merit badges offered at the time you were a Scout? If a kid dies, and he didn't get his Eagle yet, is there a special Eagle that he gets?

That's a LOT of questions for one person!! (Actually, it is a combination of several individuals' questions) I'm going to break it down in several ways:

THE EAGLE BADGE/CARD/CERTIFICATE
THE NATIONAL EAGLE SCOUT ASSOCIATION
EXCEPTIONS TO EARNING EAGLE
EAGLE SCOUT RECORDS
LISTINGS OF EAGLE SCOUTS FROM TROOP X
GOLD EAGLE SCOUT
OTHER EAGLE SCOUT QUESTIONS

THE EAGLE BADGE/CARD/CERTIFICATE:

You may purchase an additional/replacement Eagle Scout medal (although it MAY NOT be of the same design as of the medal you lost or whatever!), Badge or card through ANY local Boy Scouts of America council office. You can also directly request a duplicate card or certificate from the BSA's Eagle Scout Service by way of the National Eagle Scout Association (NESA)'s website at http://www.nesa.org. If you go to your local Council's Scout Shop(tm), you will need to have your Eagle Scout card with you to show; or you can provide your full name at the time of earning Eagle, the city and state in which you earned Eagle, the type and number of the unit (Troop ###, for instance), and the Council NUMBER (that's the three-digit number) in which you earned Eagle in. If you don't have the number, the name would do...they can look it up.

Eagle Scout MEDALS are currently sold for $21.50; the Eagle Scout CLOTH BADGE sells for $3.00; and the card goes for $1.25.

If you are wanting a replacement/duplicate EAGLE SCOUT (WALL) CERTIFICATE, you can go to the NESA website listed above and request a duplicate be sent to you. No, they do NOT have ANY of the old certificates which were actually blow-ups of the Eagle Scout card...they destroyed the last of those certificates in 1985.

The Eagle Scout CERTIFICATE and CARDS can come WITHOUT the signature of the Honorary National President (the President of the United States). During the impeachment and trial of President William Clinton, the BSA quietly removed his signature from those items and allowed the Eagle Scout Service to quietly distribute them as Eagle Scout (and other National Court of Honor awards, like Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope) award approvals came in. Still, there were a small group of Scouts and Scouters who returned their Eagle Scout cards and certificates stating that they will "never have anything more with his (the President of the United States') signature on it." You can request such a replacement card/certificate by writing to the Eagle Scout Service at the BSA's National Office:

Eagle Scout Service, SUM 220
National Office, Boy Scouts of America
1325 West Walnut Hill Lane
Irving, Texas USA 75015-2079

Likewise, if you have received such a certificate without the Honorary President's signature, you may obtain one with his signature by using the same address above.

The Medal and badge legally, are the property of the Boy Scouts of America and the BSA, through a local Council, can ask for those items back at any time. Have they? Only in extreme cases dealing with massive child abuse or other unusual reasons. In most cases, if the Badge belongs to you, you may do whatever it is you would like with it. You can give away, sell, auction or dispose of your Eagle Scout medal and/or badge in any way you see fit. I post the prices of the Medal and Badge above so that those considering purchasing a "replacement badge" through one of the several online auction services can SEE EXACTLY what the costs are in purchasing your own replacement through a BSA local Council office rather than paying upwards of several hundred dollars for someone else's old Eagle Scout medal or badge. There is NO LAW, federal nor state, which PROHIBITS the collection or sales of Eagle Scout medals or badges. The only policy is the BSA's, which is based upon the Federal Charter of the Corporation (the BSA). There are several reputable memorabilia dealers and traders that will ONLY sell Eagle Scout items to those whom provide them with a photocopy of their Eagle Scout card (as it should be in my opinion).

NATIONAL EAGLE SCOUT ASSOCIATION:

There is a national Eagle Scout Association, called NESA, or the "National Eagle Scout Association". There is a history associated with this organization, which is explained on a separate page. The NESA is a part of (and the same staff works at) the BSA Eagle Scout Service at the National Office in Irving, Texas. In order to become a member of NESA, all you have to do is pay the dues for either a five-year or lifetime membership to NESA. You may do this by completing the NESA membership application and submitting it to NESA. NESA members may also purchase special items unique to NESA members directly from the NESA offices.

Life members of the National Eagle Scout Association may wear a special Eagle square knot insignia piece featuring a silver Mylar border as opposed to the standard tan or brown border. It is worn *in the place of* and NOT in addition to the standard Eagle Scout square knot patch on the field uniform. Palms to the Eagle Scout Badge and/or the silver Outstanding Eagle Scout or the gold Distinguished Eagle Scout Award devices are worn in a similar fashion as they are worn on the standard knot emblem patch.

There is NO PROVISION AND NO EXCEPTIONS for "Honorary Eagle Scouts", "Provisional members" (based on the fact that they earned Life Scout rank and only had one or two merit badges left before they turned 18 and therefore not eligible to continue toward Eagle), nor membership to be based on anything other than attainment of the Eagle Scout Badge. NESA replaced the old Knights of Dumanis, which was also managed through the BSA's Eagle Scout Service. NESA at one time had no active chapters less those operating on the nation's military academies, and no national activities or events. Restarted in 2005 and again in 2012, a new effort is underway to restart those local Chapters and to kick start NESA once again to provide the services and information that was relied on by them back in the 70s and early 80s.

EXCEPTIONS TO EARNING EAGLE:

The Eagle Scout Badge is earned ONLY by meeting the requirements to earn the Badge. MALE AND FEMALE youth Venturers and Sea Scouts, using the requirements listed in several BSA publications; and MALE AND FEMALE Scouts BSA youth members are the only individuals whom can earn the Eagle Scout Badge. Females of Scouts BSA age (to age 18) may earn Eagle by meeting the same requirements as male members of Scouts BSA. Adults whom have earned a BSA rank as a youth may NOT earn Eagle as an adult. There are exceptions that allow mentally, emotional and physical disAble individuals the opportunity to earn Eagle without compromising the established requirements for the Badge. Being a veteran in a war zone for a period of time or being a veteran of the Second World, Korean, Vietnam, or Iraqi/Afghanistan Wars does NOT qualify. The Eagle cannot be "earned" by receiving a campaign medal or badge. You have to earn the Badge by meeting the established, printed requirements. No, former professionals nor people working at the BSA's national outdoor adventure ("High Adventure") bases (Philmont, Summit, Sea Base, or Northern Tier) can earn Eagle without meeting the requirements as stated in the BSA's Scout Requirements publication and listed in the Scout Handbook.

You must be a youth member and complete the requirements to earn the Eagle Scout Award.

EAGLE SCOUT RECORDS:

Records are maintained on every Eagle Scout since 1912 at the BSA's Eagle Scout Service. The address is Eagle Scout Service, S 220, National Office, Boy Scouts of America, 1325 West Walnut Hill Lane, Irving, Texas USA 75015-2079. The Eagle Scout Service does NOT maintain a website, and there are NO OFFICIAL ONLINE RECORDS of Eagle Scouts available through the Internet. Two Scouters attempted, one in 1994 and another one two years later in 1996, to develop an informal and unofficial "Eagle Scout Registry", but both efforts failed because of the lack of their ability to confirm and certify that every Eagle Scout listed IS indeed, an Eagle Scout. So, for the time being, ONLY the National Eagle Scout Service can do this verification.

The Eagle Scout Service gladly provide this verification in writing or over the phone for employers wanting to know if a person has indeed earned the highest youth award in the Boy Scout Division of the BSA. You may call 1-972-580-2000 and ask for the Eagle Scout Service; or you can write to the address listed above. You may also contact the Eagle Scout Service via nesa@scouting.org or eaglescout@scouting.org, the Eagle Scout Service's email addresses. Verifications can be done over the phone within a matter of minutes; or can be faxed out the same day if called earlier in the day. The service is FREE and anyone stating that they can get the information for you for a fee should be reported to the BSA's Eagle Scout Service as soon as possible.

Eagle Scout records are kept in two places if you became an Eagle Scout after 1989 and before 2009. One set of records is maintained with the Regional Office which serves your local Council; and the other set is kept with your unit's file at your local Council office. You may request and receive a copy of your Eagle Scout application, the Life to Eagle workbook (or the new Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook), a copy of the Advancement Report to Eagle, and any other data related to your attainment to Eagle, at any time by going to your Council office and requesting them; or by writing your Council office and requesting them. Most Councils only maintain the Advancement Report and Eagle Scout application, however; the other materials are normally returned to the Scout or Venturer or to the unit's leader. If you earned Eagle prior to 1989, another set of records is maintained at the Eagle Scout Service. If you earned Eagle after July of 2009, however, much of your Eagle "records" are kept only at the local Council office where you were last registered and earned Eagle through; the application and advancement report are all electronic and can be obtained from your local Council office.

Please note that information like merit badges earned, other special awards like Paul Bunyan Axman or Mile Swim awards are NOT maintained at the National, Region and chances are, nor at the local Council offices!! This is why it is important that you keep the small pocket card/certificates for each merit badge you earned.

LISTINGS OF EAGLE SCOUTS FROM TROOP X:

As the number of Scout Troops get smaller, and as there is a desire on the part of youth and adults involved in those Troops to know "just how many Eagle Scouts have come from our Troop", here's a short primer on where to ask and how to get the information:

First, check your unit's Advancement records. If your unit has moved to electronic recordkeeping, you need to check with the "gatekeeper" or "maintainer" of those electronic records, for they may be the only ones if your unit does not participate in electronic recordkeeping sharing with your local Council.

Your unit does keep those (green) copies of your advancement reports, do they?? (*smiling*)

Most units do maintain those records, going back to the middle 40s when the present form of the Report was created. Before then, photocopies were very expensive and there may not be any local record other than handwritten reports by Scoutmasters or a Commissioner. More than likely, your unit would not have those records.

The unit copies (the bottom, mostly a light green color) of the three-part Advancement Report form also serve as an immediate backup to any record kept by the local Council. I strongly recommend that if your unit is NOT maintaining those copies, to please start maintaining them. You'll be helping to preserve Scouting history as well as the advancement status of Scouts long left your unit!!

Next, I would check with your chartered partner organization...and if you had more than one in the history of your unit, check with all of them. It's possible that they hosted, made the programs for, or provided some other support to Eagle Scout Courts of Honor for your Troop. They may have copies of Advancement Reports or other information that can help your search. Get them all involved in the search...organization members may remember the father or grandfather of an Eagle Scout from your Troop.

Check with your local newspaper next. Newspapers have a "morgue" in which all previous copies of the publication are maintained. Larger papers have a researcher whose job it is to do such a search for you, either for a small fee or for free depending on the paper and circulation.

Most Troops have had a great deal of success with finding the names of Eagle Scouts, both from their Troop as well as from others in their community, as it was common back in the 50s and 60s for Eagle Scouts to get a "large spread" in the local paper. In the 70s and 80s, however, there are very few mentions unless the unit was highlighted or if the Eagle did something out of the ordinary for a service project. In the 90s, count on your paper to only provide a "1 by" (a very small caption and maybe a photo) of Eagle Scouts, if anything.

Local Councils, until the middle part of 1999, were REQUIRED to maintain advancement and other records of EVERY UNIT CHARTERED within that Council's territory (whether or not the unit was a part of that Council.... through consolidation and mergers, some Councils maintain copies of reports from units that they have "gained" from other Councils). Those records include copies of the advancement reports, Eagle Scout applications and other data and are maintained in a file by local unit number and district. So, if your Troop stayed in the same location ever since it was first chartered, there's a good chance that you'll have everything you need at your Council office.

The Council WILL NOT DO THE RESEARCH FOR YOU. You'll have to take off a day or two and perform the research yourself. They are not equipped to do much more than to file the reports...and that's behind a few months, truth be told, in most Councils. Automation is supposed to help out, which is why National told Councils not to continue keeping paper copies.

Good thing that Councils don't always listen to what National says, because the software program to replace all of those paper copies, called ScoutNet2000 back then and now just called "ScoutNet", is not effective and does not provide the information needed by the Councils...A new version was released in 2014 and has been updated in 2018.

After you've checked your local paper and your Council office, if you still feel you have "holes" in your search, ask your Council Scout Executive to provide you the address of the Region that serves your Council. Write a letter to the Associate Regional Director, requesting copies of Eagle Scout advancement reports for your unit. Be VERY SPECIFIC with the unit number, community name, Council name and number -- those are the elements under how the Region maintains those records. And BE PATIENT. Such a search takes a few MONTHS, and it's not on their "high priority list" of tasks to do. They do it only as a service to your Council...so MAKE SURE that your Council Scout Executive gets a copy of your letter to the Region as well. Nothing makes a Council Scout Executive mad or irritated than a Scouter writing to their Region or to National WITHOUT AT LEAST giving the Council the benefit of answering the question FIRST.

Also state in your letter that you've exhausted the local libraries and your Council's records. That will help them to concentrate on those periods of time that there were very little "duplicate records kept".

The National Office won't be able to help you out...as I stated, because of the way that the Eagle Scout Service maintains records of Eagle Scouts, their main job is to certify that Scouts and Scouters and former Scouts and Scouters HAVE earned Eagle, not to "provide a listing". The National Office has provided sets of CDs and a four-volume directory books, but the names in the books are self-identified and not from the official NESA/Eagle Scout Service listings. Ask your Council if they have a copy of the latest version of the directory for their Region -- which was produced in 2017.

Finally, I would solicit the community in your efforts. When I put together a reunion of Scouts and Scouters from one of the Troops in which I served as Scoutmaster of a while back, I wrote to the newspapers and to the local television and radio stations asking them to please advertise the fact that we're looking for former members of the Troop. It netted us some of those folks but more importantly, we added to our Troop numbers by seven youth and two adults...many of whom didn't know we existed even though we've been there in that community for more than 50 years!

Hope all of this helps out. There is NO ONLINE resource that has a listing of Eagle Scouts. The BSA is unwilling to go in such a direction, and they strongly discourage people from doing such "directories" in the interest of privacy. Every Council maintains their listings separately; they do forward information to their Region for safekeeping; but neither are equipped nor staffed for immediately retrieval of the information!

GOLD EAGLE SCOUT:

The Knights of Dumanis and later the National Eagle Scout Association lobbied the BSA for a special Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) to be presented to outstanding Eagle Scouts whom have held the Award for 25 years or more. The BSA's National Executive Board approved the award in 1972 and local Councils started recognizing Distinguished Eagle Scouts that year.

The BSA authorized the National Eagle Scout Association to create and award a National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA) to provide to local Councils to present to Eagle Scouts who have demonstated outstanding service to their communities and to Scouting. This award has no year standing as part of the qualification but the service must be above the norm and deserving of recognition locally and nationally. The first awards were presented in 2011.

The difference between the Outstanding and Distinguished Eagle Scout Awards and the Eagle Scout Award is that no merit badges or other work is to be completed for either award. An Eagle Scout must be outstanding in his or her chosen career field, and must be nominated by another Scouter (Eagle Scout or not) for the Award. He or she does NOT have to be a registered Scouterd and presentation and award of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award should be made during a program or event within his career field (unless he is a professional Scouter, in which the presentation should be made in front of other professional Scouters).

There's a physical difference as well...the NOESA is a SILVER PLATED DISC with a flying Eagle and lettering denoting the Award which is worn AROUND THE NECK amd is suspended from a blue ribbon embrordered with the words "Oustanding Eagle Scout Award"on both sides; the DESA is a GOLD PLATED EAGLE suspended from a red, white and blue ribbon which is worn AROUND THE NECK of the Eagle; while the Eagle Scout Award is a SILVER (or silver plated) Eagle suspended from a red, white and blue ribbon which is worn above the left pocket of the field uniform. Each award is presented with a special presentation case and a certificate. DESA receipients may in many cases request and receive a metal and wooden tablet with a raised version of the national certificate.

The NOESA and DESA are NOT given for "earning all of the available merit badges" from the current or past merit badge list. If a Scout or Venturer is registered and under the age of 18, he may earn Eagle Scout Palms for each five (5) merit badges earned since the 21 reported for Eagle along with completing a three month tenure as a unit member, a period of leadership in the unit, completion of a Scoutmaster's/Mentor's Conference and a local Board of Review. It is reported as advancement, so that those Scouts and Venturers can earn several Eagle Palms before they turn 18 as long as they meet all of the requirements for each Palm. The first three-month period, the Scout earns a Bronze Palm; the second three-month period, he earns a Gold Palm; and the next three-month period after that, he earns a Silver Palm. After that time, the Palms start over again in three-month increments with Bronze, Gold and Silver but the way he displays them is different. He will wear the Silver Palm (for 15 merit badges) and EITHER the Gold (for 10) OR the Bronze (for 5) so that the combined "figure" is either 20 (Silver and Bronze) or 25 (Silver and Gold). He will wear TWO Silver Palms to signify earning 30 merit badges and completion of the other requirements for that Palm.

Scouts and Venturers can earn as many Palms as possible before the first of the following occurs: he exhausts the merit badge listing; he turns 18; or he tires of working on additional palms.