New family checklist

You have completed Troop registration, or you are about to. This is what happens next, in the order most families do it. There are two registrations and one onboarding step: Troop registration (the form and fee on the Join page), Scouting America registration, and onboarding. We email you when each later step opens, so you do not need to do those yet.

1. Wait for confirmation of your Troop registration

After you complete Troop registration, we confirm it. That is everything you need to do for now. If you have not heard from us a few weeks after you completed Troop registration, contact us.

2. Complete onboarding (January or February)

In January or February we'll email you a link to the Troop's onboarding app, where you can enter the rest of the information the Troop needs, such as emergency contact details. A week or two before your Scout's first meeting, you'll be added to the Troop mailing list and given access to the Troop's app suite.

3. Complete Scouting America registration for your Scout (January or February)

Troop registration does not register your Scout with Scouting America. In January or February we tell you when to do it and send the steps. You complete it at register.troop33.org, which takes you to Troop 33's page on Scouting America's site, and you pay national and council fees. Please wait until we ask.

• Scouts who are not already registered complete Scouting America registration there.
• Current Cub Scouts are already registered. Their existing record transfers to Troop 33. Do not transfer until your pack has recorded the Arrow of Light, because it is nearly impossible to get credit for it once a Scout has moved to a Troop.

Your Scout's Scouting America registration does not depend on the adult steps in step 5. See Membership renewal for how renewal works once you are in.

4. Get the medical forms done

Scouts and adults: annual medical forms, parts A and B. Hand them to the medical forms coordinator at one of the first meetings. Summer camps send Scouts home over incomplete forms, so we check every one carefully: every field must be filled in, including immunizations, and we need a copy of the current insurance card. Going over the form carefully yourself saves back and forth. Part C is needed before any activity longer than 72 hours, such as summer camp, and must be signed by a physician. A primary care doctor will often complete it if they have seen your Scout in the last twelve months, but book an appointment early if you need one.

5. Register an adult as a volunteer

We ask every household to register at least one adult as a volunteer with Scouting America. Please do this alongside your Scout's registration or soon after, but do not hold up your Scout's registration for it. The Volunteer page lists the steps in order. In short:

• Safeguarding Youth Training (SYT), which replaced Youth Protection Training. Take it online at my.scouting.org. It is renewed every year.
• AB 506, the one-time California background check and training, required of every adult volunteer. Start the fingerprinting early, because results can take weeks.
• The adult application, at register.troop33.org, after the two items above. Scouting America does not take the application until they are done.

6. Get the uniform and handbook

Your Scout wears a Class A Scouts BSA uniform. At their first meeting they receive a Troop 33 Class B T-shirt, a Troop 33 neckerchief and a number patch. You buy:

• the uniform shirt, with the green shoulder loops
• pants or shorts and socks. These do not have to be official Scouting America items, but they should be olive green
• a belt
• a neckerchief slide
• patches: the Pacific Skyline Council shoulder patch, the World Crest emblem, and the American flag (shirts usually come with it attached)
• the Scouts BSA Handbook
• optional: the uniform cap

If your Scout just earned the Arrow of Light, their pack awards that patch. You cannot buy it. See Uniform for details and patch placement, and the council's service centers for local Scout shops. Call ahead to check sizes.

7. Learn how sign-ups and payments work

For every activity other than Tuesday meetings you sign up online, pay any fee, and complete a consent form. Read Signing up for activities and Payments.

8. Stay in touch

A week or two before your Scout's first meeting, the Troop adds your family to its email lists and gives you access to the Troop apps. You sign in with the Google account the Troop has on file for you. We send a weekly email update with upcoming events and schedules. It is the main way we communicate, so please make a habit of reading it, and make sure your Scout reads it too.

Every Scout needs at least one adult on the mailing list. You can also add other adults as emergency contacts. We use their contact details only for emergencies. Please make sure the Troop has more than one contact on file for your Scout.

For questions about the program, talk to the Assistant Scoutmasters. Some prefer to talk in person and some prefer email. Questions about the First-Year Program? Contact us. Before the program starts we will email you a link to the Firsties parent WhatsApp group.

9. Know what the first year looks like

The First-Year Program starts in March with a first Troop meeting and an orientation for parents. Over the spring the Scouts work through fitness, first aid and swimming requirements, go on a first hike, and take a first campout without parents. Summer camp usually follows in July. We post exact dates on the calendar. More in the FAQs and the First Year Parent Orientation slides (Troop 33 families only; sign in with the Google account the Troop has on file for you).