Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge
Disaster readiness — family emergency plans, first aid, and response to common emergencies.
Good fit if you like
Tips for Earning This Badge
- 1Build your family emergency kit early — it is a requirement and genuinely useful to have at home.
- 2The first aid requirements overlap heavily with the First Aid merit badge. Earn them together to save time.
- 3The emergency plan requirement involves your family — get them engaged early so the project does not stall waiting on a family meeting.
- 4Local emergency management offices often provide free resources and may be willing to speak with scouts.
- 5Counselors look for a plan that is actually usable by your family, not just a document — can your family recall the meeting spot without looking it up?
- 6A common pitfall: treating this as paperwork instead of practice. Actually running a family fire drill sticks better than just describing one.
Available at Merit Badge Colleges
This badge is commonly offered at merit badge college events hosted by councils and universities. A great way to knock it out in a weekend with an experienced counselor. Learn how to find one near you.
Official Requirements
We keep this page focused on tips and what to expect, not a copy of the requirement text — requirements get revised periodically, and scouts are generally held to whichever version was current when they started the badge (the same reason Scoutbook lets you filter by pamphlet version). For the exact, current wording, check your Scoutbook record for this badge or the official page below.
Emergency Preparedness on scouting.org ↗Finding a Counselor
Ask your Scoutmaster for the council's merit badge counselor list. For popular badges, a parent in your troop may already be registered as a counselor. If your troop doesn't have one, your council's advancement chair can help connect you.
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