The Eagle trail, from proposal to board of review

Download the current workbook

Get the official Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook from Scouting America. Save it to your computer first, then fill it in with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Typed is strongly preferred over handwritten. Use the version that is current when you submit.

Need an idea? Browse Eagle project ideas from Scout Life.

Read every section with your parents

Answer each question clearly. Estimate costs for your project even if all materials are being donated. Fill in the contact page completely.

Plan for safety from the start. Scouting America's SAFE Service Project Planning Checklist and tool use guidelines help you think it through. The checklist is a planning aid, not an added requirement.

Complete the proposal and collect signatures

Fill in the Project Proposal section. It needs signatures from you, your Scoutmaster, your unit committee chair, and a representative of the organization your project benefits. Our proposal guide walks through every page of the proposal and what the committee looks for.

Add the fundraising application, if needed

If you plan to raise $500 or more from sources outside your own family, complete the fundraising application in the back of the workbook so it can be approved with your proposal.

Your unit leader emails the proposal

Your Scoutmaster, committee chair, or advancement chair sends the proposal pages as a PDF to workbook@siadvancement.org. This is the only address for workbook submissions. Send only the proposal section, not the whole workbook.

Name the file with your last name and unit, like SmithT447. The guide explains how to save just the proposal pages as a PDF.

Answer every committee comment

The committee emails comments or approval to your unit leader, usually within three to five days when the proposal is complete and clear. Address every comment in your workbook and copy the comments into its planning section. They will be reviewed at your board of review.

Receive the signed approval page

Once approved, your unit leader receives the signature page signed by the Advancement Committee representative. Insert it into your final project report.

Complete the Eagle application in Scoutbook Plus

Generate your Eagle Scout Rank Application in Scoutbook Plus, which fills in your merit badges and dates for you. Use the January 2026 revision; earlier versions won't be accepted. You can also view the current application (PDF).

Your name and every date must match your official record exactly. All Eagle leadership positions and time served must be recorded in Scoutbook, or council will return the application. See the application checklist.

Write your statement of ambitions and life purpose

The application asks you to prepare this statement for your board of review (with Requirement 7). Tell the board about yourself in your own words: how you live the Scout Oath and Law at home, school, and in your community, and what you plan for your future.

Review it with your unit leadership

Bring your completed application and workbook to your Eagle coach, Scoutmaster, and committee chair. Review the package together, then collect signatures from you, your unit leader, and your committee chair.

Email your application package

Email the signed application, your statement of ambitions, and a Scoutbook advancement report, all as PDFs, to tom@siboating.com.

Then ask your references

Once your application is submitted, contact each of the four people you listed as references and give them a copy of the Eagle reference request letter (Word). Waiting until then matters: letters that arrive before an application are hard to match to the right Scout.

References can be Scout leaders, teachers, employers, coaches, or other Scouts, of any age. Parents and other relatives are strongly discouraged, and your current unit leader and committee chair can't serve, since their signatures on your application are their endorsement.

You do not collect the letters. References send them by email or US Mail to the address printed in the letter, never to you or your unit.

The committee takes it from here

The Advancement Committee submits your application for processing, gathers your reference letters, and notifies your Scoutmaster when all paperwork is complete. Then a board of review is scheduled.

Your records are confirmed

Your unit leader receives confirmation that council has verified your records and that your reference letters have arrived.

Your board is scheduled

The Advancement Committee contacts your unit with the time, date, and location of your board of review.

Come prepared

Wear your field uniform, as much of it as you own and as correctly as possible. Bring your complete project workbook, with all three sections and all signatures, organized and presentable.