Scouting America, Troop 33, Los Altos CA

How-to guides

Short step-by-step guides for things Troop 33 families do outside the Troop's own apps. Most are about Scoutbook, Scouting America's app for advancement records and the Troop's only record of advancement.

Create a Scoutbook account for you or your Scout

Scoutbook uses a my.scouting.org account. Scouting America's account setup guide (PDF) walks you through creating one for yourself or for your Scout.

An adult profile is created automatically when a Scout is registered with Scouting America, so if you registered your Scout, you may already have one. Check before you create another, because duplicate accounts cause problems. Not sure whether you have one? Contact the Troop.

You have a Scoutbook account but you are not connected to your Scout

Your Scoutbook account has to be connected to your Scout as a parent or guardian before you can see their record. There are two ways to do that.

Option 1: a connected parent invites you. If another parent or guardian is already connected to your Scout, ask them to follow these steps. They are for the parent who is already connected, not for you:

  1. Go to Scoutbook Plus at advancements.scouting.org.
  2. Use the dropdown at the top right of the screen to choose the correct Scout.
  3. Select Youth Profile on the navigation bar on the left, if it does not already show that Scout's profile.
  4. Under "Relationships" on the left, select the plus icon. This opens the "Parent/Guardian Invitation" box. Follow the prompts to send the invitation.

Option 2: ask the Troop. Contact the Troop, choose "Website, apps or a login problem", and include your Scouting America (BSA) member ID. The webmaster can connect you.

Connect your Scout to a merit badge counselor

In general, a Scout needs approval from an Assistant Scoutmaster before starting a merit badge. See Merit badges for how the process works.

If your Scout is earning a badge through a council-organized course or a Troop merit badge rally, you are welcome to connect your Scout to that counselor yourself:

  1. In Scoutbook, open your Scout's profile.
  2. Select Merit Badges, then Start New.
  3. Search for the merit badge and select it.
  4. Select the large green Assign Counselor button.

You will need either the counselor's first and last name and email address, or their last name and BSA ID.