Join!

Joining the Baden-Powell Service Association is easy. If you are interested in traditional scouting, we encourage you to start up your own BPSA Scout Group in your local area! Scouting was referred to as a “game” by Robert Baden-Powell, to be played by all who were interested; so gather up a group of interested friends, parents, and youth and just start playing the game of Scouting! You can use the resources on our website here to get you moving and you can always use our Contact form to inquire about more resources.

The BPSA is now fully handling registration and payments online via WePay.com. Because of the dispersed nature of the organization and the ease of collecting and tracking payments online, WePay provides a secure and accredited avenue for registration payments. To register, simply follow the registration path by clicking on the option below.

Register 1-Year (Adult, Youth)
 Individual Registration – A 1-year membership registration for Lone Scouts or Scouts joining an existing Group, both youth and adult sections.
Register Lifetime (Adult only)
 Individual Lifetime Registration – A lifetime membership option for adults in the Rover section.
Group Charter Application
 Group Charter Application – For chartering a new BPSA Scout Group or renewing an existing charter.

 

Important: we can not accept checks, money orders, or cash. Registrations and Charter fees must be paid online using the link given above.

Background Checks for Adults (age 18 and over)

Because we are a youth oriented organization, along with an adult program section, safety of children in our program is a primary concern. Our Code of Ethics & Youth Protection Guidelines addresses many of the methods and resources that encompass our policies and goals in this area. This document is available for download on this web site and is required reading for any volunteer leader and suggested to be presented to parents by local groups as well.  As part of our effort to help ensure safety, BPSA US requires a background check on all adults registering as members, whether or not they intend to be working directly with youth.  Scouting is about service and community, and any adult Rover in our program will at some point be in contact with youth in our program, whether through helping other Lone scouts under age 18, volunteering with groups for community service or even working on event or activities as staff.

If you can not agree to a background check, or your background check is determined to be detrimental, BPSA US will decline your membership in the association.  BPSA US will never reveal or make public the contents of the background check to anyone for any reasons, as required by state and federal law. If the applicant was registering with an existing group, however, BPSA will contact the group to let them know this person’s registration was declined.  BPSA US reserves the right to terminate membership for any reason, pursuant to our organization By Laws.

How to Start:

The first thing to do is look to see if there is a registered Scout Group or Rover Crew in your area. You can do that on our ScoutFinder app which allows you to connect with other BPSA groups, Scouters and other interested folks. If you find one, we recommend using the contact information we have for them to try and contact their current organizer/leader about registering through that group. There are three basic ways to register with the BPSA-US (click the option link for more details):

  1. Option 1: If there is an existing Scout Group or Rover Crew in your area, you can register with them using the “Register 1-Year” option above and filling in their Group name in the form.
  2. Option 2: If there is no existing group in your area, and if you have at least two members for a Section (Otter Raft, Timberwolf Pack, Pathfinder Troop, or Rover Crew) and two adult leaders, we encourage you to charter a new Scout Group, using the “Group Charter” option above.
  3. Option 3: If you don’t have enough local interest yet to start a Group, join our 1st Lone Scouts group in the appropriate-aged section by selecting the “Register 1-Year” option above.

Then, start Scouting and start encouraging others to join you in Scouting as well!

View a current list of all chartered BPSA Scout Groups.

Yearly Registration Fees:

  • Individual Application, Lone Scout/Pathfinder/Timberwolf ($20.00/yr)
  • Group Charter Application ($35.00/yr).
  • Lifetime Membership (Rover only) ($100.00)

Renewals for registration are due October of each year.


Downloadable Form(s): These forms are needed if you are starting a new group, as each parent or adult guardian should receive a copy of these; and complete the Medical Release & Liability Waiver to be kept by the local group. These are NOT turned into the BPSA.

Option 1: Registering with an existing Scout Group

Registering with an existing Scout Group, if one exists in your area, is the ideal way to join BPSA and get Scouting! Existing groups are always looking for new members. Using our ScoutFinder app, you can check to see if one exists in your local area or state. On that page we provide not only the group’s name but but a list of contact information, including the GSM’s (Group Scoutmaster) name, phone, or email address and any website the group might maintain. You can download the needed forms from above, but the GSM for the existing group will want a copy of that form on record and will need to send in all the forms for their group together.

Option 2: Chartering a new Scout Group

If you’ve looked and can’t find an existing group in your area—and you have at least two members for each of your Crews or Sections—you can register a new Scout Group with the BPSA. Registering a new group is easy! Use our Group Charter Application to register a new Scout Group. Each member will need to complete the Individual Registration and write your Scout Group’s name in the appropriate field.

To understand this process, the organization of a Scout Group is like an umbrella. Each Scout Group will have under it one or more sections: either an Otter Raft, Timberwolf Pack, Pathfinder Troop or Rover Crew (or all of the above).  If you are registering a new Group, you’ll have at least one of these sections, depending on the ages of the interested members. A Scout Group also has a unique number (2nd, 4th, 15th, 33rd, etc.) and a name. The number 1 (ordinal 1st) is reserved for the BPSA HQ Lone Scouts Group (1st Lone Scouts Group); but once you register your group, no other group can use that number. So take a look at our existing groups using our ScoutFinder app and see what numbers are available. Typically, the name of the group is taken from something meaningful to the group itself, such as a local name of the city, a geographical landmark, or even related to the history of the area that the group resides. Here are some examples from existing groups in our Association:

  • 2nd Blue Hills
  • 5th Brooklyn
  • 10th Daniel Boone
  • 14th Treaty Oak
  • 66th Confluence

Once you’ve decided on your group’s unique number and name, each individual section’s full title would be something similar to, “10th Daniel Boone Rover Crew” or “14th Treaty Oak Timberwolf Pack”, etc., depending on the section(s) you are registering.  Remember, in order to have a fully registered group and section, you’ll need a minimum of two (2) members. For non-Rover sections, registering a new group will also require two (2) registered Rover Leaders because of our 2-deep leadership policies in the BPSA. And if co-ed, at least one (1) female leader and (1) male leader.

Another unique aspect for each Scout Group in the BPSA is the group’s necker colors. The neckerchief (called a necker) is worn by all members of all sections of a particular Scout Group. Its design and colors are unique and make that Scout Group distinct among all other Scout Groups in the BPSA.  The traditional necker designs were very subdued in color, and the designs were kept simple and BPSA recommends keeping with the traditional style for the neckers. There are a couple of places you can go to design your group’s necker online and even order them.

Download the Medical Release & Liability Waiver form for each member you are registering for your section(s). Each of these will need to be completed and turned into your Group Scoutmaster to keep on file for your records. Remember, each member needs to complete the online “Register 1-Year” individual registration option above to register with the BPSA.

Option 3: Registering as a Lone Scout

If you don’t have enough interest to start a group and there isn’t one existing in your area, you can register under the BPSA’s 1st Lone Scouts Group.  The 1st Lone Scouts Group is organized under the BPSA HQ Council, and is for those Scouts who are in remote, rural or other locations where there is not enough interest to support forming a fully organized Scout Group. Members can register as a Lone Otter, Lone Timberwolf, Lone Pathfinder, or Lone Rover depending on their age for the appropriate section.

To register as a Lone Otter, Timberwolf, or Pathfinder, you must also have a parent or legal guardian register as a Rover member and act as your primary Leader. In this case, the Individual Membership Application contains spots for both the youth member’s information and the registering parent or guardian’s information. Rovers, 18 and over, need only fill in the “Registering Scout Information” portion of the application and do not need a parent or guardian signature.

Once you have some more interest in your area and are able to recruit new members, your Den, Six, Patrol or Crew would then need to register as a new Scout Group (see Option 2, above) using the guidelines from Option 2: Registering a New Scout Group, moving you out from under the 1st Lone Scouts Group and into one of your own.

Our Program page contains links to handbooks and resources for each program section; and our Resources page for registered members provides many more!

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