Blue Cards

So… What are blue cards?

You’ll often hear the term “Blue Card” whenever merit badges are discussed. It’s a term that often confuses new Scouts when they first join. Relax… Like most things, it’s not as confusing as it seems.

A “Blue Card” is literally what it sounds like. It’s a small, blue-colored card that is filled out by a merit badge counselor whenever a merit badge it completed. Before advancements were tracked digitally, the Blue Card was one of the only things that proved a Scout had completed a merit badge.

Physical vs. Digital

Counselors still sometimes use blue Cards today. However, once they are completed, someone from the troop enters the information into ScoutBook, which is the BSA’s online advancement system. While the Scouts and Merit Badge Counselors are still encouraged to keep the Blue Cards as a backup, the online system is the “official” record.

These days, most of the organized merit badge events (such as Merit Badge Days and Summer Camps) have switched to “electronic” Blue Cards. Essentially, the system used to register for the event is where the counselor will record the completion of the merit badge. The Scout then simply provides this info to the troop to be recorded in ScoutBook.

The process can be a little confusing, but it’s just another opportunity to teach our Scouts how to be organized and ensure that they have completed all of the steps necessary for their efforts to be officially recorded.

Tracking completed merit badges

As mentioned above, ScoutBook is the official place where all advancements are tracked. Once the Scout joins a troop, their parents will be given access to the system, and they can in turn provide access to the Scout.

Parents are STRONLY encouraged to set their Scout up to access ScoutBook. Now that the Scout is in a Scouts BSA unit, they are given much more responsibility, one of which is the responsibility to make sure their advancements are properly tracked. Rather than having the parents do it, it’s better for the Scouts to take ownership of it and manage it themselves. It’s yet another learning opportunity.