BSA's Merit Badge Numbering System

Like most things in Scouting, the BSA numbering system came about to fill a need. The need was to be able to chart a Scouts progress without having to write out the full names of merit badges in very small spaces.

The first fourteen merit badges, numerically speaking, were the Eagle required merit badges at the time the numbering system originated. The Safety and Sports merit badges are no longer Eagle required while Family Life, Cycling, and Hiking have been added. The remainder of the badges are basically in alphabetical order with newer badges added at the end.

This list also includes discontinued merit badges which were part of the numbering system. These merit badges are provided for reference purposes only and are shown in red italics to distinguish them from merit badges which are currently available.
 

Numerical Order

001 -- Camping
002 -- Citizenship in the Community
003 -- Citizenship in the Nation
004 -- Citizenship in the World
005 -- Communications
006 -- Emergency Preparedness
007 -- Environmental Science
008 -- First Aid
009 -- Lifesaving
010 -- Personal Fitness

011 -- Personal Management
012 -- Safety
013 -- Sports
014 -- Swimming
015 -- American Business
016 -- American Heritage
017 -- American Culture
018 -- Animal Science
019 -- Archery
020 -- Architecture

021 -- Art
022 -- Astronomy
023 -- Athletics
024 -- Atomic Energy
025 -- Aviation
026 -- Backpacking
027 -- Basketry
028 -- Beekeeping
029 -- Bird Study
030 -- Bookbinding

031 -- Botany
032 -- Bugling
033 -- Canoeing
034 -- Chemistry
035 -- Coin Collecting
036 -- Computers
037 -- Consumer Buying
038 -- Cooking
039 -- Cycling
040 -- Dentistry

041 -- Dog Care
042 -- Drafting
043 -- Electricity
044 -- Electronics
045 -- Energy
046 -- Engineering
047 -- Farm and Ranch Management
048 -- Farm Mechanics
049 -- Fingerprinting
050 -- Fire Safety

051 -- Fish and Wildlife Management
052 -- Fishing
053 -- Food Systems
054 -- Forestry
055 -- Gardening
056 -- Genealogy
057 -- General Science
058 -- Geology
059 -- Golf
060 -- Disabilities Awareness

061 -- Hiking
062 -- Home Repairs
063 -- Horsemanship
064 -- Indian Lore
065 -- Insect Study
066 -- Journalism
067 -- Landscape Architecture
068 -- Law
069 -- Leatherwork
070 -- Machinery

071 -- Mammal Study
072 -- Masonry
 073 -- Metals Engineering
074 -- Metalwork
075 -- Model Design and Building
076 -- Motorboating
077 -- Music
078 -- Nature
079 -- Oceanography
080 -- Orienteering

081 -- Painting
082 -- Pets
083 -- Photography
084 -- Pioneering
085 -- Plant Science
086 -- Plumbing
087 -- Pottery
088 -- Printing
089 -- Public Health
090 -- Public Speaking

091 -- Pulp and Paper
092 -- Rabbit Raising
093 -- Radio
094 -- Railroading
095 -- Reading
096 -- Reptile and Amphibian Study
097 -- Rifle and Shotgun Shooting
098 -- Rowing
099 -- Salesmanship
100 -- Scholarship

101 -- Sculpture
102 -- Signaling
103 -- Skating
104 -- Snow Sports
105 -- Small-Boat Sailing
106 -- Soil and Water Conservation
107 -- Space Exploration
108 -- Stamp Collecting
109 -- Surveying
110 -- Textile

111 -- Theater
112 -- Traffic Safety
113 -- Truck Transportation
114 -- Veterinary Medicine
115 -- Water Skiing
116 -- Weather
117 -- Wilderness Survival
118 -- Wood Carving
119 -- Woodwork
120 -- Agribusiness

121 -- American Labor
122 -- Graphic Arts
123 -- Rifle Shooting
124 -- Shotgun Shooting
125 -- Whitewater
126 -- Cinematography
127 -- Auto Mechanics
128 -- Collections
129 -- Family Life
130 -- Medicine

131 -- Crime Prevention
132 -- Archaeology
133 -- Climbing
134 -- Entrepreneurship

Alphabetical Order

120 -- Agribusiness
015 -- American Business
017 -- American Culture
016 -- American Heritage
121 -- American Labor
018 -- Animal Science
132 -- Archaeology
019 -- Archery
020 -- Architecture
021 -- Art
022 -- Astronomy
023 -- Athletics
024 -- Atomic Energy
127 -- Auto Mechanics
025 -- Aviation

026 -- Backpacking
027 -- Basketry
028 -- Beekeeping
029 -- Bird Study
030 -- Bookbinding
 031 -- Botany
032 -- Bugling

001 -- Camping
033 -- Canoeing
034 -- Chemistry
126 -- Cinematography
002 -- Citizenship in the Community
003 -- Citizenship in the Nation
004 -- Citizenship in the World
133 -- Climbing
035 -- Coin Collecting
128 -- Collections
005 -- Communications
036 -- Computers
037 -- Consumer Buying
038 -- Cooking
131 -- Crime Prevention
039 -- Cycling

040 -- Dentistry
060 -- Disabilities Awareness
041 -- Dog Care
042 -- Drafting

043 -- Electricity
044 -- Electronics
006 -- Emergency Preparedness
045 -- Energy
046 -- Engineering
134 -- Entrepreneurship
007 -- Environmental Science

129 -- Family Life
 047 -- Farm and Ranch Management
048 -- Farm Mechanics
049 -- Fingerprinting
050 -- Fire Safety
008 -- First Aid
051 -- Fish and Wildlife Management
052 -- Fishing
053 -- Food Systems
054 -- Forestry

055 -- Gardening
056 -- Genealogy
057 -- General Science
058 -- Geology
059 -- Golf
122 -- Graphic Arts

061 -- Hiking
062 -- Home Repairs
063 -- Horsemanship

064 -- Indian Lore
065 -- Insect Study

066 -- Journalism

067 -- Landscape Architecture
068 -- Law
069 -- Leatherwork
009 -- Lifesaving

070 -- Machinery
071 -- Mammal Study
072 -- Masonry
130 -- Medicine
073 -- Metals Engineering
074 -- Metalwork
075 -- Model Design and Building
076 -- Motorboating
077 -- Music

078 -- Nature

079 -- Oceanography
080 -- Orienteering

081 -- Painting
010 -- Personal Fitness
011 -- Personal Management
082 -- Pets
083 -- Photography
084 -- Pioneering
085 -- Plant Science
086 -- Plumbing
087 -- Pottery
088 -- Printing
089 -- Public Health
090 -- Public Speaking
091 -- Pulp and Paper

092 -- Rabbit Raising
093 -- Radio
094 -- Railroading
095 -- Reading
096 -- Reptile and Amphibian Study
097 -- Rifle and Shotgun Shooting
123 -- Rifle Shooting
098 -- Rowing

012 -- Safety
099 -- Salesmanship
100 -- Scholarship
101 -- Sculpture
124 -- Shotgun Shooting
102 -- Signaling
103 -- Skating
105 -- Small-Boat Sailing
104 -- Snow Sports
106 -- Soil and Water Conservation
107 -- Space Exploration
013 -- Sports
108 -- Stamp Collecting
109 -- Surveying
014 -- Swimming

110 -- Textile
111 -- Theater
112 -- Traffic Safety
113 -- Truck Transportation

114 -- Veterinary Medicine

115 -- Water Skiing
116 -- Weather
125 -- Whitewater
117 -- Wilderness Survival
118 -- Wood Carving
119 -- Woodwork
 

 
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