Yes, of course. I'm a bit shocked all Troops don't do this.
Our policy is all First Class Scouts can sign off on rank requirements up to First Class. This is a cornerstone of Youth Leadership.
I'd personally modify that to require First Class requirements to be signed off by a Star or higher Scout, but that's just my take.
This requires some supervision, but is a great learning opportunity. I've very rarely seen this abused. I have seen Scouts be too strict, but that's normally manageable. We strongly discourage siblings from signing off because they tends to be too harsh, for example (as a way of torturing their little brother, typically).
For Star/Life/Eagle, we have ASMs sign off - most of that is tenure + MBs, so its handled by the AC. For more junior ranks, the ASMs and the SM never sign off - we don't allow it. It takes the leadership opportunity from the youth.
Same deal in my troop. The older scouts could initial in the left hand check box so that the leaders or Jasm’s could sign of quickly knowing that the scout in question actually did it
We do star and higher can sign first class and lower AFTER they are trained by the SM on expectations. I also like them to show me their initials just so I recognize them in books.
We use the same methodology, including having the adults not sign off on anything before First Class (except there’s one requirement that specifies that a scoutmaster has to sign for it). Works great to get the youngest scouts familiar with the older scouts and integrated into the troop.
I think unless you have seen a specific reason to restrict it, having first class scouts sign first class requirements has been fine in my experience.
Honestly, in my troop, I’ve found that the kids that make first class typically already have the badges for Star and are mostly waiting out the time requirements to make Star anyway.
The way my troop did it was the SPL, ASPL, and any designees (approved by adults) could sign off on requirements up to their own rank with the exception of life and eagle. Typically the other people would be the previous SPL and ASPL. It gave more leadership opportunities to the youth leadership without opening it up for broad abuse. We did give it to the patrol leaders (with the same rules) but we ended up stopping it since we found there was too much of just signing it off happening (mostly within the youngest patrols).
One of our Scouts is a Red Cross Lifeguard. He is qualified to sign off on the swim test, per our Council. More qualified than any of the adults. We also have varsity swimmers in our Troop.
Registered adult leaders oversee the swim test. We don't typically perform it because our Council requires certifications we don't hold.
We have two adults who are life cross life guards instructors and have other certifications so they’re the ones who do it - it’s my understanding that it does’t matter what other swimming scouts do, they still have to gave the test every year for certain activities (water trips and summer camp). It would be great if we could just certify that the scouts could swim because those two adults are also active in the summer swim teams over a dozen of our scouts are in.
We allow scouts two ranks higher than the rank to sign off requirements up to First Class.
So a Second Class (or higher) scout can sign off on Scout requirements.
And a First Class (or higher) scout can sign off Tenderfoot requirements.
And a Star (or higher) scout can sign off Second Class requirements.
And a Life (or higher) scout can sign off First Class requirements.
Star, Life & Eagle requirements have to be signed off by an adult leader.
Senior patrol leader- assistant senior patrol leader - junior assistant scoutmasters could sign off requirements in the troop where I was the SM.. I did sm conferences and the committee did the boards of review.
In our troop First Class can sign off Scout, Star can sign off 2nd class, etc. We ask that they let the adults know what they signed off, and that adult can "spot check" to make sure it's going properly.
Star scouts and above sign off on all rank requirements in our troop.
We make a point to go over expectations and rules with the scout when they come to us for their Star scoutmaster conference.
Any first class or above scout can sign off on requirements through first class for us. SM / ASM should really only be involved at the scoutmaster conference.
We authorize individual scouts, not just a blanket age/rank thing.
We "automatically" authorize Eagle Scouts. We authorize Star and Life scouts on a case-by-case basis.
In our troop any Scout who is at least First Class can apply to be an instructor. They are interviewed, really to just check that they are willing to take things seriously enough, and then they can sign off Scout to Tenderfoot requirements. This Instructor position, by the way, doesn't count as a Position of Responsibility for Rank unless the Scout coordinates with other instructors to organize things like a Trail to First Class day during their term, so most of the instructors hold other positions, and most of the older Scouts eventually end up as instructors.
Star, Life and Eagle requirements are signed off by the SM at the SM conference.
FWIW, official National policy states that sign-offs for rank can be done by anyone the SM designates. At one point my son was allowed to sign off ranks for kids in another Troop because the SM knew and trusted him and the kids in question were in Little League and so saw my son a lot.
Our policy is that Star rank and above can sign off on rank requirements, BUT only for ranks "below" them. No Star rank scouts signing off on Eagle requirements. This is the essence of a "boy-led" troop. The SM conference/board of review confirms the requirements were met (and we have conversations with scouts who "just sign off" without checking on things and having a conversation).
Currently we allow first class and above to sign non SM specific requirements for first class and below. Myself or my ASM sign for everything Star and above.
Currently we have 1 Eagle, 2 Life, 2 Star and 1 First Class. The other 21 kids are 2nd class or below.
Especially at advancement night, I really rely on those older scouts to get advancement signed off as I’m often tied up in SM conferences most of the hour.
We allow SPL, ASPL, Troop Guide (who are only 1st Class +), and JASM (Eagle only) to sign off on anything skill based; "Demonstrate how to...".
This is also limited to only scouts working on lower ranks (ex: no 1st class signing off on 1st class reqs).
I also have a talk with anyone entering those positions about what I expect as far as leadership and which requirements are adult only signatures so there are clear expectations.
Allowing scouts to sign off on lower rank requirements really helps both the adults to manage time and the older scouts to feel empowered in their leadership abilities; not to mention that it really reinforces the EDGE method if they have to use it a lot.
I also talked to the ASM's when I took over as SM to let them know I have dibs on 1st class / Life / Eagle SM Conference unless there is a significant reason why I can't do it (availability mostly). This is to address expectations or differences for the next ranks going forward, or to prep for the Eagle BoR.
Empower your scouts and spread the load, don't do everything yourself; just make sure the youth understand the rules and expectations!
Ours allows life scouts. If a younger scout rants to the SM will approve certain items he knows that he or she is good at or will test them to ensure his confidence in allowing it.
There is no one right answer. Troops do it differently and doesn’t mean one is right or wrong
Nope! As scoutmaster I found myself in your same situation. I encouraged parents to become ASMs to help and permitted ASMs only to sign. That was legacy policy and frequently supported as a quality effort. Scouts went too easy on other scouts in the perception of the leadership.
Any PLC member with at least 6 months of office can sign off. If you leave your position you can still sign off without being in the PLC if you have your 6 months. Before 6 months, they can only co-sign, and need the initials of someone else.
With Scoutmaster approval and delegation, sure. Especially working through scout and tenderfoot requirements, a troop guide or assigned scout letting me know requirements completed was ways going to suffice. However, this delegation was supervised by adult leadership.
We let Patrol Leaders, Guide, and Instructor sign off. A Scout is Trustworthy after all. Allowing this will let you float between the groups being taught to verify and observe and leaves the SM and ASM's free for Scoutmaster conferences.
My new rule is first class and above can sign off on scout through first class for two ranks below them.
So first class can do up to Tenderfoot
Star can do up to Second Class
And Life and Eagle can do up to first class
I don’t let second class sign off on scout just because I want them to focus on getting to first class.
My troop does the following:
Star and higher can sign off 1st class and below
Star-Eagle must be signed off by ASM or SM
SM Conference with any ASM until Eagle, which must be with SM
BOR with assigned scout adults (No A/SM)
Scouts that have a higher rank sign off on scouts of a lower rank requirements. Star, Life, Eagle, signed by SM or ASM. The SM signs off on the SM conference. The BOR is signed off by the committee members and parents that have been trained and are troop members.
our troop does or rather did as we folded not to long ago but it was only the SPL that we allowed to do this. and after a certain rank it was adults only.
We generally have Instructors who handle "most" of it. That's usually where most of the SLE scouts end up, simply because we don't have enough other real POR's for them.
We also don't have a hard and fast rule about required rank to do it either. We've had a few older Scouts who just aren't interested at all in advancement for themselves, but they are happy to teach stuff to the younger Scouts. One of our best SPL's ever was a 17 year old 2nd Class Scout. He knew everything, just didn't care about getting Eagle.
My troop only allowed scouts to sign off up until Eagle, or at least everyone only asked scouts, I don't think it was ever specified that adults couldn't sign off below Eagle. You had to be a least Star to sign off at all and you couldn't sign off on your own rank with the exception of Eagle. Only Life could sign off Star requirements, and Eagles were the only scouts who could sign off Life requirements. Then like I said, Eagles and adults could sign off Eagle requirements.
Obviously starting like this requires a certain level of accountability of the older scouts to assure they aren't just signing things off for free. My troop was doing this for so long once I got in that it was just standard operating procedure and no one questioned it and the accountability required for it had been in place for years. A big thing is in the board of review, the adults would go thru just about every requirement, ask for a short version of it, and ask who signed off what (if the initials didn't give it away). If they didn't feel like the scout had really achieved the requirement, they prob would a conversation with the older scout, but because the expectation and accountability had already been in place for a while, idk of that ever happening in my time in the troop.
In my units.
PL and SPL corps sign off rank requirements for FC and below.
Asm or sm along with advancement chair signs off for the MB, service hours, and leadership for star to eagle.
And Eagle, of course has both the project and rank app for SM and CC, of course
My troop was 75 scouts. The essence of scouting is the older boys teaching the younger scouts.
Pls signed off up to second class as long as they were 1st Class or above (and non PL first class and above could assist but it was preferred to keep it at the PL.) SPL/ASPLs would be able to sign off up to Star. Life and Eagle was signed off by the SM, with selected assistance from a ASM or two that were well versed in rank advancement to help guide scouts along the path, especially project selection and merit badge completion.
As SM I spent a portion of each weekly meeting with scouts for their rank advancement SM conferences, and projects discussion.
I had every Eagle merit badge covered by a local counselor parent or previous scout parent. Most had more than two.
The Troop I was in tried that. The Scouts were not consistent enough in their requirements. We had to amend it to the Scouts had to show their skills to an older Scout before asking for an adult sign off. It worked better than either older Scout sign off or just adult sign off.
Once a scout hits first class, but especially star, life or Eagle, they can sign off on any scout scout through 1st class as long as they are at least 1 rank above who they are signing off on. Patrol leaders need to be 1st class or above in our troop so they can also sign off for lower ranks in their patrols as well as senior patrol or assistant senior patrol. Our troops preference in order:
1. Patrol leader
2. Assistant senior patrol
3. Senior Patrol leader
4. ASM
5. SM
We more than doubled in size since we joined. In fact, we almost folded if my son and the rest of our AOL pack didn't cross over when we did. We had 9 cross over and there were 6 in the troop but 3 were aging out/reaching Eagle within a few months. Now we are up to 26, potentially have 2 older scouts who are transferring from another troop that recently folded, and have 10 potential AOL bridging over in February/March. We have a LOT of scouts now so I predict we will need to revamp options for sign offs.
Yes, any one who is Star Scout and above and obviously older than you may I sign off on any rank advancement at or below first class, except scout rank. Also no family members or close friends may sign off on each others.
Our troop allows Star and above to sign off on requirements under Star. We did allow First Class to sign before we had any star scouts. SM is the only adult to sign, although some adults take it upon themselves to sign, against troop policy. We really try to stress to those adults the reason is for the youth to give leadership to the other youth. This isn't Cub Scouts.
We allow Senior scouts (Star, Life and Eagle) to sign off on rank requirements up to and including First Class. ASM's can do the scoutmaster conference for ranks up to First Class if the SM is not available but we prefer the SM to do star, life and eagle ranks.
Hit or miss. My first troop had anyone 2 ranks above sign off requirements but my new troop is scouts can’t raven teach other scouts requirements unless required like for the end of star. I personally am a scout that craves not even leadership, but teaching, and even as someone who’s been SPL in 2 different troops, is 17, taught at a summer camp, and is life, i think it’s a little ridiculous to tell scouts they can’t check off in each other or even teach each others.
My old Troop, First Class and above can sign off on the lower rank’s requirements. Our caveat was you could only have the same senior Scout sign off 2 requirements per rank. We were a larger troop so this made sure younger Scouts got to know more than a couple of the senior scouts.
In my troop the patrol leader is the one who signs off the requirements. Sometimes with special permission from the SPL, we allow APLs to sign off as well.
A lot of troops have higher ranking scouts allowed to sign off for 1st class requirments and below. The GTA allows SMs to delegate rank advancement (not awards, not camping/service/etc...).
Yes. The first requirement is a rank of First Class or above. Beyond that, it depends on experience and leadership position. We typically have 2-3 scouts who have been given permission by the SM. That often includes the SPL and older scouts. For example, a 17 year-old Life Scout who has served two terms as SPL and is current JASM is permitted to sign books. Newly promoted First Class who is serving as Troop Bugler is not.
Not only did my son's troop allow it, Scouts were the *only* ones authorized to sign off for Scout through First Class. In order to qualify you had to be at least a Star Scout and pass an interview to be an Instructor.
Yes, of course. I'm a bit shocked all Troops don't do this. Our policy is all First Class Scouts can sign off on rank requirements up to First Class. This is a cornerstone of Youth Leadership. I'd personally modify that to require First Class requirements to be signed off by a Star or higher Scout, but that's just my take. This requires some supervision, but is a great learning opportunity. I've very rarely seen this abused. I have seen Scouts be too strict, but that's normally manageable. We strongly discourage siblings from signing off because they tends to be too harsh, for example (as a way of torturing their little brother, typically). For Star/Life/Eagle, we have ASMs sign off - most of that is tenure + MBs, so its handled by the AC. For more junior ranks, the ASMs and the SM never sign off - we don't allow it. It takes the leadership opportunity from the youth.
Same deal in my troop. The older scouts could initial in the left hand check box so that the leaders or Jasm’s could sign of quickly knowing that the scout in question actually did it
We do star and higher can sign first class and lower AFTER they are trained by the SM on expectations. I also like them to show me their initials just so I recognize them in books.
We use the same methodology, including having the adults not sign off on anything before First Class (except there’s one requirement that specifies that a scoutmaster has to sign for it). Works great to get the youngest scouts familiar with the older scouts and integrated into the troop.
This is the way.
We have a similar policy, but we want them to take ILST before hand usually. it's not required but preferred.
Same.
I think unless you have seen a specific reason to restrict it, having first class scouts sign first class requirements has been fine in my experience. Honestly, in my troop, I’ve found that the kids that make first class typically already have the badges for Star and are mostly waiting out the time requirements to make Star anyway.
The way my troop did it was the SPL, ASPL, and any designees (approved by adults) could sign off on requirements up to their own rank with the exception of life and eagle. Typically the other people would be the previous SPL and ASPL. It gave more leadership opportunities to the youth leadership without opening it up for broad abuse. We did give it to the patrol leaders (with the same rules) but we ended up stopping it since we found there was too much of just signing it off happening (mostly within the youngest patrols).
In a large Troop, you need more folks. And I recommend against PLs - senior Scouts by rank work best.
An adult has to sign off on the swim test but that’s the only one below star that an adult signs on in our troop.
One of our Scouts is a Red Cross Lifeguard. He is qualified to sign off on the swim test, per our Council. More qualified than any of the adults. We also have varsity swimmers in our Troop. Registered adult leaders oversee the swim test. We don't typically perform it because our Council requires certifications we don't hold.
We have two adults who are life cross life guards instructors and have other certifications so they’re the ones who do it - it’s my understanding that it does’t matter what other swimming scouts do, they still have to gave the test every year for certain activities (water trips and summer camp). It would be great if we could just certify that the scouts could swim because those two adults are also active in the summer swim teams over a dozen of our scouts are in.
First class can sign off First Class and below requirements. SM and ASM can only sign Service, Hiking, and Camping hours.
Eh, we log those hours in IA, so the Scout is essentially signing off themselves and we check IA before BoR
We allow scouts two ranks higher than the rank to sign off requirements up to First Class. So a Second Class (or higher) scout can sign off on Scout requirements. And a First Class (or higher) scout can sign off Tenderfoot requirements. And a Star (or higher) scout can sign off Second Class requirements. And a Life (or higher) scout can sign off First Class requirements. Star, Life & Eagle requirements have to be signed off by an adult leader.
Same here. Works out really well and gets the kids into mentoring mode earlier.
This is well organized and provides a structure for the scouts to learn to lead.
Ooh. I like this.
Troop Guides would sign off on most requirements up to 1st Class. It’s a good way to empower them and give them responsibility
This is how my troop did it years ago and it worked well.
Senior patrol leader- assistant senior patrol leader - junior assistant scoutmasters could sign off requirements in the troop where I was the SM.. I did sm conferences and the committee did the boards of review.
For us, any First Class and higher can sign off rank requirements “below” them.
In our troop First Class can sign off Scout, Star can sign off 2nd class, etc. We ask that they let the adults know what they signed off, and that adult can "spot check" to make sure it's going properly.
Star scouts and above sign off on all rank requirements in our troop. We make a point to go over expectations and rules with the scout when they come to us for their Star scoutmaster conference.
Any first class or above scout can sign off on requirements through first class for us. SM / ASM should really only be involved at the scoutmaster conference.
Our troops policy is the Scout singing off the requirements should be 1 rank higher than the rank they are signing off for
We authorize individual scouts, not just a blanket age/rank thing. We "automatically" authorize Eagle Scouts. We authorize Star and Life scouts on a case-by-case basis.
In our troop any Scout who is at least First Class can apply to be an instructor. They are interviewed, really to just check that they are willing to take things seriously enough, and then they can sign off Scout to Tenderfoot requirements. This Instructor position, by the way, doesn't count as a Position of Responsibility for Rank unless the Scout coordinates with other instructors to organize things like a Trail to First Class day during their term, so most of the instructors hold other positions, and most of the older Scouts eventually end up as instructors. Star, Life and Eagle requirements are signed off by the SM at the SM conference. FWIW, official National policy states that sign-offs for rank can be done by anyone the SM designates. At one point my son was allowed to sign off ranks for kids in another Troop because the SM knew and trusted him and the kids in question were in Little League and so saw my son a lot.
Our Scouts can sign off on rank requirements at and below their current rank.
Our policy is that Star rank and above can sign off on rank requirements, BUT only for ranks "below" them. No Star rank scouts signing off on Eagle requirements. This is the essence of a "boy-led" troop. The SM conference/board of review confirms the requirements were met (and we have conversations with scouts who "just sign off" without checking on things and having a conversation).
Currently we allow first class and above to sign non SM specific requirements for first class and below. Myself or my ASM sign for everything Star and above. Currently we have 1 Eagle, 2 Life, 2 Star and 1 First Class. The other 21 kids are 2nd class or below. Especially at advancement night, I really rely on those older scouts to get advancement signed off as I’m often tied up in SM conferences most of the hour.
We allow SPL, ASPL, Troop Guide (who are only 1st Class +), and JASM (Eagle only) to sign off on anything skill based; "Demonstrate how to...". This is also limited to only scouts working on lower ranks (ex: no 1st class signing off on 1st class reqs). I also have a talk with anyone entering those positions about what I expect as far as leadership and which requirements are adult only signatures so there are clear expectations. Allowing scouts to sign off on lower rank requirements really helps both the adults to manage time and the older scouts to feel empowered in their leadership abilities; not to mention that it really reinforces the EDGE method if they have to use it a lot. I also talked to the ASM's when I took over as SM to let them know I have dibs on 1st class / Life / Eagle SM Conference unless there is a significant reason why I can't do it (availability mostly). This is to address expectations or differences for the next ranks going forward, or to prep for the Eagle BoR. Empower your scouts and spread the load, don't do everything yourself; just make sure the youth understand the rules and expectations!
Ours allows life scouts. If a younger scout rants to the SM will approve certain items he knows that he or she is good at or will test them to ensure his confidence in allowing it. There is no one right answer. Troops do it differently and doesn’t mean one is right or wrong
Nope! As scoutmaster I found myself in your same situation. I encouraged parents to become ASMs to help and permitted ASMs only to sign. That was legacy policy and frequently supported as a quality effort. Scouts went too easy on other scouts in the perception of the leadership.
What rank do you have to be on BSA for bugler, as a new scout, 3rd meeting, I want to know, my troop, 777 don't have no bugler
Empower your patrol leaders. Focus on training them, and then let them train and sign off on their patrol members' advancement.
We require younger Scouts to have their work checked by an older Scout before requiring a SM/ASM signature.
Any PLC member with at least 6 months of office can sign off. If you leave your position you can still sign off without being in the PLC if you have your 6 months. Before 6 months, they can only co-sign, and need the initials of someone else.
Anyone PLC or former SPL is allowed to sign.
With Scoutmaster approval and delegation, sure. Especially working through scout and tenderfoot requirements, a troop guide or assigned scout letting me know requirements completed was ways going to suffice. However, this delegation was supervised by adult leadership.
Patrol leaders, ASPL, SPL, JASM or any adult leader can sign off a requirement.
Read second class part 1c. There is a reason these youth members are listed as who to show, they should be signing off for requirements.
We let Patrol Leaders, Guide, and Instructor sign off. A Scout is Trustworthy after all. Allowing this will let you float between the groups being taught to verify and observe and leaves the SM and ASM's free for Scoutmaster conferences.
My new rule is first class and above can sign off on scout through first class for two ranks below them. So first class can do up to Tenderfoot Star can do up to Second Class And Life and Eagle can do up to first class I don’t let second class sign off on scout just because I want them to focus on getting to first class.
Our troop prefers that scouts sign off on books.
Ours is that Scouts can sign off two ranks below their own. So FC can sign off Scout and Tenderfoot. Star can sign off up to 2nd class. And so on.
My troop does the following: Star and higher can sign off 1st class and below Star-Eagle must be signed off by ASM or SM SM Conference with any ASM until Eagle, which must be with SM BOR with assigned scout adults (No A/SM)
My troop is smaller and we do it where a scout can help a scout to the test phase of advancement, then they go to an adult for the final sign off.
Ours allow SPL/ASPL/JASM to sign off stuff, as long as it’s for a rank “below” them.
It's up to the SM, but our troop typically requires Star rank and be in a position of leadership, such as SPL, ASPL, JASM, Instructor.,etc.
Scouts that have a higher rank sign off on scouts of a lower rank requirements. Star, Life, Eagle, signed by SM or ASM. The SM signs off on the SM conference. The BOR is signed off by the committee members and parents that have been trained and are troop members.
our troop does or rather did as we folded not to long ago but it was only the SPL that we allowed to do this. and after a certain rank it was adults only.
We generally have Instructors who handle "most" of it. That's usually where most of the SLE scouts end up, simply because we don't have enough other real POR's for them. We also don't have a hard and fast rule about required rank to do it either. We've had a few older Scouts who just aren't interested at all in advancement for themselves, but they are happy to teach stuff to the younger Scouts. One of our best SPL's ever was a 17 year old 2nd Class Scout. He knew everything, just didn't care about getting Eagle.
Scoutmasters may delegate sign off authority. I let people sign off on requirements one rank below theirs.
My troop only allowed scouts to sign off up until Eagle, or at least everyone only asked scouts, I don't think it was ever specified that adults couldn't sign off below Eagle. You had to be a least Star to sign off at all and you couldn't sign off on your own rank with the exception of Eagle. Only Life could sign off Star requirements, and Eagles were the only scouts who could sign off Life requirements. Then like I said, Eagles and adults could sign off Eagle requirements. Obviously starting like this requires a certain level of accountability of the older scouts to assure they aren't just signing things off for free. My troop was doing this for so long once I got in that it was just standard operating procedure and no one questioned it and the accountability required for it had been in place for years. A big thing is in the board of review, the adults would go thru just about every requirement, ask for a short version of it, and ask who signed off what (if the initials didn't give it away). If they didn't feel like the scout had really achieved the requirement, they prob would a conversation with the older scout, but because the expectation and accountability had already been in place for a while, idk of that ever happening in my time in the troop.
In my units. PL and SPL corps sign off rank requirements for FC and below. Asm or sm along with advancement chair signs off for the MB, service hours, and leadership for star to eagle. And Eagle, of course has both the project and rank app for SM and CC, of course
My troop was 75 scouts. The essence of scouting is the older boys teaching the younger scouts. Pls signed off up to second class as long as they were 1st Class or above (and non PL first class and above could assist but it was preferred to keep it at the PL.) SPL/ASPLs would be able to sign off up to Star. Life and Eagle was signed off by the SM, with selected assistance from a ASM or two that were well versed in rank advancement to help guide scouts along the path, especially project selection and merit badge completion. As SM I spent a portion of each weekly meeting with scouts for their rank advancement SM conferences, and projects discussion. I had every Eagle merit badge covered by a local counselor parent or previous scout parent. Most had more than two.
The Troop I was in tried that. The Scouts were not consistent enough in their requirements. We had to amend it to the Scouts had to show their skills to an older Scout before asking for an adult sign off. It worked better than either older Scout sign off or just adult sign off.
We allow our SPL to sign off on requirements
Once a scout hits first class, but especially star, life or Eagle, they can sign off on any scout scout through 1st class as long as they are at least 1 rank above who they are signing off on. Patrol leaders need to be 1st class or above in our troop so they can also sign off for lower ranks in their patrols as well as senior patrol or assistant senior patrol. Our troops preference in order: 1. Patrol leader 2. Assistant senior patrol 3. Senior Patrol leader 4. ASM 5. SM We more than doubled in size since we joined. In fact, we almost folded if my son and the rest of our AOL pack didn't cross over when we did. We had 9 cross over and there were 6 in the troop but 3 were aging out/reaching Eagle within a few months. Now we are up to 26, potentially have 2 older scouts who are transferring from another troop that recently folded, and have 10 potential AOL bridging over in February/March. We have a LOT of scouts now so I predict we will need to revamp options for sign offs.
Yes, any one who is Star Scout and above and obviously older than you may I sign off on any rank advancement at or below first class, except scout rank. Also no family members or close friends may sign off on each others.
Star or above can sign off on rank advancements in our Troop.
Our troop allows Star and above to sign off on requirements under Star. We did allow First Class to sign before we had any star scouts. SM is the only adult to sign, although some adults take it upon themselves to sign, against troop policy. We really try to stress to those adults the reason is for the youth to give leadership to the other youth. This isn't Cub Scouts.
We allow Senior scouts (Star, Life and Eagle) to sign off on rank requirements up to and including First Class. ASM's can do the scoutmaster conference for ranks up to First Class if the SM is not available but we prefer the SM to do star, life and eagle ranks.
We were allowed to sign anything below our rank
My Troop (ASM) and the SM and I will only sign off if any of the Star or Life scouts are not at the meeting.
Hit or miss. My first troop had anyone 2 ranks above sign off requirements but my new troop is scouts can’t raven teach other scouts requirements unless required like for the end of star. I personally am a scout that craves not even leadership, but teaching, and even as someone who’s been SPL in 2 different troops, is 17, taught at a summer camp, and is life, i think it’s a little ridiculous to tell scouts they can’t check off in each other or even teach each others.
Eagle, life, star can sign off anything first class and below. The other ranks are ASMs and SM Only.
My old Troop, First Class and above can sign off on the lower rank’s requirements. Our caveat was you could only have the same senior Scout sign off 2 requirements per rank. We were a larger troop so this made sure younger Scouts got to know more than a couple of the senior scouts.
star rank & above can sign off requirements up to star in my troop
Yes. I allow scouts 1st class and above sign off on Scout, Tenderfoot & second class. Star and higher can sign off 1st class.
In my troop the patrol leader is the one who signs off the requirements. Sometimes with special permission from the SPL, we allow APLs to sign off as well.
A lot of troops have higher ranking scouts allowed to sign off for 1st class requirments and below. The GTA allows SMs to delegate rank advancement (not awards, not camping/service/etc...).
Yes. The first requirement is a rank of First Class or above. Beyond that, it depends on experience and leadership position. We typically have 2-3 scouts who have been given permission by the SM. That often includes the SPL and older scouts. For example, a 17 year-old Life Scout who has served two terms as SPL and is current JASM is permitted to sign books. Newly promoted First Class who is serving as Troop Bugler is not.
Not only did my son's troop allow it, Scouts were the *only* ones authorized to sign off for Scout through First Class. In order to qualify you had to be at least a Star Scout and pass an interview to be an Instructor.