Scouting America’s Advancement Report, Form 34403, is the paper record a unit leader fills out and sends to the local council service center whenever Scouts earn ranks, merit badges, or other awards. The BSA Advancement Report Form 34403 covers all four unit types — Packs, Troops, Crews, and Ships — with slightly different signature and routing rules for each. Most units now report electronically through Scoutbook Plus, but the paper form is still the fallback and still the document the council expects when digital tools aren’t practical.
Where to Get the Current Form
Download the current version (SKU 34403, 2026 Printing) as a fillable PDF from the Scouting America forms page at scouting.org.1Scouting America. Scouting Forms from the National Council That page links directly to the PDF hosted on Scouting America’s file store.2Scouting America. Scouting America Advancement Report Form Blank copies are also available at your local council’s Scout Shop. Work from the most recent printing. An older version may have a different layout and can slow processing at the council office.
Filling In the Unit Information
The top block of the form identifies your unit. Complete these fields before entering any Scout data:
- Unit type and number: check the box for Pack, Troop, Crew, or Ship, then enter your unit number.
- District: the name of the district your unit belongs to within the local council.
- Leader name and address: contact information for the person submitting the report.
- Unit expiration date: the date your unit’s charter expires.
- Date forwarded to council: the date you actually send or deliver the form.
- Date awards needed: if a ceremony or court of honor is coming up, enter the date so the council knows how fast you need the awards processed.
Check the district name and unit number against your charter paperwork. A wrong entry can route the report to the wrong administrative office.2Scouting America. Scouting America Advancement Report Form
Listing Each Scout’s Advancements
The body of the form is a roster. Each row has three columns: Name, Date Award Earned, and Badge of Rank, Merit Badge, or Award.2Scouting America. Scouting America Advancement Report Form
Use the Scout’s name exactly as it appears on their membership registration. Mismatches cause delays when the council tries to link the achievement to the right profile in the national database. For merit badges and Cub Scout awards, the date earned is the date the Scout finished all requirements. For Scouts BSA ranks from Scout through Life, the relevant date is the board of review date, and the form has a separate column for it.
Spell out the full award name. Write “Tenderfoot,” “Second Class,” “Star,” or “Life” for ranks, and the full merit badge title for merit badges. Camping and Backpacking are different merit badges, and abbreviations invite confusion. The form has no field for the Scout’s member ID number; the council matches by name and unit, so legibility matters.
Signatures the Council Will Look For
Every submitted form needs at least one signature on the certification statement at the bottom, which reads: “I certify that the following record of advancement is correct and that it meets the standards and requirements of Scouting America.”2Scouting America. Scouting America Advancement Report Form That signature comes from the unit leader or another authorized representative. An unsigned form will be sent back.
Troops have an extra requirement. Scouts BSA ranks from Scout through Life require a board of review, and the council will not process those rank advancements without signatures from at least three board members, including the board’s chairman, in addition to the unit leader’s certification.2Scouting America. Scouting America Advancement Report Form Cub Scout ranks do not require a board of review, so Packs only need the unit leader’s signature on the certification line.
How Packs, Crews, and Ships Route the Form
Each unit type has its own workflow printed on the form.
In a Pack, den leaders report their den’s progress to the pack leader, who compiles everything onto a single Form 34403 for the whole pack and signs the certification.2Scouting America. Scouting America Advancement Report Form
In a Crew or Ship, Venturers and Sea Scouts submit their advancement applications to their Advisor or Skipper, who takes them to the crew or ship committee for approval. The Advisor or Skipper then prepares, signs, and forwards the advancement report to the council service center.2Scouting America. Scouting America Advancement Report Form
Submitting the Completed Form
Paper Submission
Deliver or mail the signed form to your local council service center. Most units hand-deliver it to the council office or Scout Shop. You will need an advancement report before the Scout Shop will sell you restricted awards like rank patches and merit badges; those items aren’t available for general purchase without proof the advancement has been recorded.3Scouting America. Advancement and Recognition
Electronic Reporting Through Scoutbook Plus
Most units report advancement electronically through Scoutbook Plus at advancements.scouting.org or through my.scouting.org.4Scouting America. Scoutbook Plus When you approve advancements in the system, they are immediately stored in the national database. There is no separate “submit to council” step.5Northern Star Scouting. Log on to Internet Advancement Reporting 2.0 You then print an advancement report from the system’s reports menu and bring that to the Scout Shop when buying awards.
There’s one practical wrinkle for Troops. Because the electronic report is printed after the board of review, it isn’t always practical to collect board members’ signatures on the system-generated printout. The Guide to Advancement addresses this: board members can sign a blank Form 34403 that has been filled in with the same information, and that signed paper copy is attached to the electronically generated report and submitted to the council.6Scouting America. Guide to Advancement This keeps you compliant with the three-signature requirement while still using electronic reporting.
How Quickly to Send It In
The form should be sent to the council service center promptly after each board of review when advancement is not reported electronically.2Scouting America. Scouting America Advancement Report Form “Promptly” isn’t defined as a hard deadline. The Guide to Advancement recommends that units report advancement at least monthly, with a final annual report each December.6Scouting America. Guide to Advancement Holding a completed report means the Scout can’t buy the rank patch and the achievement doesn’t show up in council records, which can cause problems later when eligibility for the next rank is reviewed.
Eagle Scout Is Not Reported on This Form
One boundary worth noting: Eagle Scout is the one rank you do not report on Form 34403. It has its own application, the Eagle Scout Rank Application (Form 512-728), with a separate approval pipeline that runs through the council registrar before the board of review.7Scouting America. Advancement Resources
Fixing Errors After Submission
If you spot a mistake on an advancement report after it has been processed, whether a wrong date, a misspelled name, or an award credited to the wrong Scout, contact your council’s professional staff first. For minor corrections the council office can often update the record directly. For system-level issues or data discrepancies the council can’t resolve, a council staff member will need to submit a MemberCare ticket to the national office. Individual unit leaders cannot submit these tickets; only council professionals have access to that process.8Scouting America. Advancement Report STILL Do Not Match A quick check of names, dates, and awards against each Scout’s handbook before signing avoids most of this.