BadgeKeeper: Merit Trail
A Scouting advancement tracker for iPhone and iPad that keeps a family's own record of rank requirements and merit badges. Covers Cub Scouts from Lion through Arrow of Light, Scouts BSA from Scout through Eagle, and all 143 current merit badges, with dated sign-offs, photos, activity logs, PDF reports, and CSV export. Data stays on the device and in the user's own iCloud. Not affiliated with Scouting America.
Specifications
Platforms: iPhone and iPad
Sync: the user's own iCloud account; works offline
Developer: AH Apps LLC
About this app
Built for the parent filling out a checklist in the car at 9pm and the volunteer assembling paperwork the week before a court of honor. Everything lives on your devices, in your own iCloud. No account to create, no subscriptions, no ads, nothing sent anywhere else. Internet is only needed to sync to iCloud, not to make entries.
Every Rank, Every Badge
Full checklists for Cub Scouts, Lion through Arrow of Light, and for Scouts BSA, Scout through Eagle
All 143 current merit badges, with the Eagle-required ones pinned to the top and choose-one alternatives clearly marked
Requirements are versioned. A Scout keeps the edition they started under, even after a new one ships
Sign-Offs Worth Keeping
Tap to check off. Add the date, who signed, a note, and a photo of the work
Undoing a bare check is instant; removing one that carries evidence asks first and says what would be lost
Every completion stores the requirement wording as it was shown the day it was checked, so the record still reads correctly years from now
Logs That Do the Counting
Camping nights, hiking miles, service hours, and anything else worth recording
Positions of responsibility with start and end dates
Reports You Can Hand to Someone
Advancement summary: rank status, totals, and merit badges on one page
What's left: the current rank and the next one, on paper
Real paginated PDFs with selectable text, not screenshots — they print sharply and search properly
CSV export with columns laid out for retyping into the official system
Your Records Stay Yours
Syncs across your iPhone and iPad through your own iCloud account, and keeps working with no signal at all
A complete backup in plain JSON, photos included, that restores onto a new phone exactly as it was
Merge or replace on restore, and nothing is ever deleted without asking
Built for iPhone and iPad, with Dynamic Type and VoiceOver support throughout
What This Is
This is your family's own record, not your unit's official one. Nothing you check here is a sign-off, and a running total is a tracking aid, not proof that a requirement was met — only the person approved to sign off decides that. Requirement wording is described in the app's own words rather than reproduced from the published text, and the app says so plainly in Settings.
Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Scouting America.
Frequently asked questions
What is BadgeKeeper: Merit Trail?
A Scouting advancement tracker for iPhone and iPad that keeps a family's own record of rank requirements and merit badges. Covers Cub Scouts from Lion through Arrow of Light, Scouts BSA from Scout through Eagle, and all 143 current merit badges, with dated sign-offs, photos, activity logs, PDF reports, and CSV export. Data stays on the device and in the user's own iCloud. Not affiliated with Scouting America.
What devices does BadgeKeeper: Merit Trail run on?
BadgeKeeper: Merit Trail runs on iPhone and iPad. It requires iOS 18.0 or later.
Does BadgeKeeper: Merit Trail need an account or a subscription?
No. There is no account to create, no subscription, and no ads. Records are stored on the device and sync between iPhone and iPad through the user's own iCloud account. An internet connection is only needed for that sync, not for making entries.
Is there an app to track Scout rank requirements and merit badges?
Yes. BadgeKeeper: Merit Trail tracks rank requirements for Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA and all 143 current merit badges, with Eagle-required badges pinned to the top. Each sign-off can carry a date, who signed, a note, and a photo, and the app logs camping nights, hiking miles, service hours, and positions of responsibility. It produces paginated PDF reports and a CSV export. It is a family's personal record, not a unit's official one, and it is not affiliated with Scouting America.