Youth Membership Qualifications

1. Be a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America.
2. At the time of their election, youth must be under the age of 21, hold the Scouts BSA First Class rank, the Venturing Discovery Award, or the Sea Scout Ordinary rank or higher, and following approval by the scoutmaster, crew advisor or Sea Scout skipper, be elected by the youth members of their unit.
3. The youth must have experienced 15 nights of camping while registered with a troop, crew or ship within the two years immediately prior to the election. The 15 nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of at least five consecutive nights of overnight camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the Boy Scouts of America. Only five nights of the long-term camp may be credited toward the 15-night camping requirement; the balance of the camping (10 nights) must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps of, at most, three nights each. Ship nights may be counted as camping for Sea Scouts.
4. Assistant scoutmasters who are 18, 19 or 20 years old are also considered to be youth members for the purpose of OA elections. All requirements shown above must be met for a young assistant scoutmaster to be eligible for election.

Prior to the annual election, the unit leader must certify the nominee’s Scout spirit and youth membership qualifications. Voting for youth candidates will be based on their spirit of brotherhood, cheerfulness (no matter how tiresome their duties), and a willingness to give unselfish and wholehearted service to others at all times.

Adult Membership Qualifications

Each year, upon holding a unit election for youth candidates that results in at least one youth candidate being elected, the unit committee may nominate registered unit adults, 21 years of age or older, to the lodge adult selection committee. The number of adults nominated can be no more than one-third of the number of youth candidates elected, rounded up where the number of youth candidates is not a multiple of three. In addition to the one-third limit, the unit committee may nominate the currently serving unit leader (but not assistant leaders), as long as he or she has served as unit leader for at least the previous 12 months. Recommendations of the adult selection committee, with the approval of the Scout executive, will be candidates for induction, provided the following conditions are fulfilled:

1. Selection of the adult is based on the ability to perform the necessary functions to help the Order fulfill its purpose and is not for recognition of service, including current and prior achievements and positions.
2. The individual will be an asset to the Order because of demonstrated abilities that fulfill the purpose of the Order.
3. The camping requirements set forth for youth members are fulfilled.
4. The adult leader’s membership will provide a positive example for the growth and development of the youth members of the lodge.