Eagle Recommendation Letters

Requirement 2 on the EAGLE SCOUT RANK APPLICATION states: “Demonstrate that you live by the principles of the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your daily life. List the names of individuals who know you personally and would be willing to provide a recommendation on your behalf.”

Candidate’s responsibility: To fulfill this requirement, our council requires an Eagle candidate to:

• Identify four people who agree to recommend him, and record their contact information on the rank application.
• Request each of your references to supply the letter directly to the council office. See “Requesting Letters of Recommendation” below for the acceptable methods of obtaining letters.

When should you request letters?

• Be proactive: Don’t wait until your packet is turned in to do so.
• Be realistic: Some Scouts request letters when (or before) they prepare their proposal and sometimes take many months, a year, or more before completing the Eagle process. Don’t request your letters too early. A Board of Review wants to see current letters, not ones from a year ago. Thus, your proposal should be completed before requesting letters of reference.  This will ensure that the your references are not out-of-date.

* Changes effective January 1, 2025:

• References: (2025 Guide to Advancement 9.0.2.3)
• The number of references required has been reduced from five (or six) to four.
• References “… may be Scout leaders, teachers, employers, coaches, other Scouts, etc.”
• “Parents and other relatives are strongly discouraged from serving as references.”
• “The current unit leader and committee chair are not eligible to serve as references; their signature on the application is their endorsement.”

Additional letters beyond the four required are permitted, and will be forwarded to the board of review.