Purchasing Advancements and Awards

Some of the rank and advancement patches and insignia available for purchase in the Scout Shop are restricted. This means that they cannot be purchased freely by the general public and some evidence of achievement is required for them to be obtained. With the hard work and commitment that go into earning these Scouting achievements, it is important that some control be put on their purchase to protect their value for those that have earned them.

While this can present a small inconvenience to our customers, by understanding the process for purchasing restricted advancement items, you will find they can be obtained without much trouble. The Scout Shop operates under specific guidelines regarding some items and the evidence required for their purchase, as established by the Dan Beard Council.

Restricted items include:

• Rank badges (eg. Star rank patch, Bobcat award patch, Venturing Silver award, etc.)
• Eagle Palms
• Merit Badges
• Special awards (Veteran pins, Meritorious service awards, etc.)
• Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leave No Trace Awards
• Cub Scout and Boy Scout Conservation Awards

The Advancement Chair for your Pack, Troop, or Crew is responsible for verifying the earned achievement and completing an Advancement Report to purchase these awards. In most cases, the best method for a unit is to complete an Advancement Report as a unit and make these purchases all at once. If an Advancement Report has not been completed and submitted to the Dan Beard Council, a youth member's record of achievement is not updated, and restricted purchases will not be available.

The following are accepted by the Dan Beard Scout Shop as evidence of achievement:

• Advancement Report completed and signed by the unit Advancement Chair or Committee Chair (available at the Scout Shop or here). Rank and Eagle Palms awards must include 3 signatures from Board of Review members.
• Copy of Advancement Report noting receipt by the council
• Printed copies of a Scout's ScoutNet profile (available from the council reception desk)
• Merit badge blue card signed by a Merit Badge counselor
• A uniform shirt showing patches to be replaced
• Advancement cards for ranks

Please note that when submitting a unit Advancement Report, three copies are required -- this includes forms printed from the internet or those printed from a unit's Troopmaster software.

If you have questions about specific requirements or need clarification, please call the Dan Beard Scout Shop at (513) 961-0500 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thank you for helping keep these great achievements a valuable and limited purchase.