Military affiliated Scouts - transfers and duplicate accounts

Hello, we are in a Pack overseas on a military base. Next scouting year we will be taking over as Den Leaders of one of the Dens. Is this forum the only way for us to get help with Scoutbook issues now?
Our Council registrar won’t assist with Scoutbook problems. We continuously have issues with duplicate accounts from transferring Scouts. As a leader in 2 other military affiliated Packs, this is a problem that comes up often so I anticipate having to deal with it again this coming Fall. Is BSA aware that there is a problem with transfer Scouts having duplicate accounts created? Where does the problem stem from? How can we, as a Pack with many transfer Scouts, assist with correcting the problem?

I know your registrar and they have the tools to help with some issues - but the forum is the best place

Some things you can do to help reduce the creation of duplicate accounts:

  • Before turning in applications to your council, transfer the Scout to the correct den / pack in Scoutbook
  • Have a Pack Admin approve the Scout’s Membership by checking the “Position Approved” checkbox on the Scout’s membership with the assigned den.
  • Have a Pack Admin go to the Scout’s Edit Profile page and make sure that all information is updated there to match the Scout’s full name (first, middle, and last), address, date of birth exactly as it is on the Scout’s BSA application.
  • Also update the district and local council information on the Edit Profile page.

The automated membership update that runs every night tries to find matches: full names, dates of birth, zip code, council, etc. If it finds a match, then it should in most cases just replace the old BSA member number with the new one. If it doesn’t find a match, then it will create a new Scoutbook account.

Adults (parents and adult leader) should also have their Edit Profile pages updated with their new address and other info. prior to turning in applications to council. (A parent’s information gets added at the same time as a Scout based on the information on the Scout’s youth application.)

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed 7 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.