What is a unit?
That’s the pack, troop, crew, or ship to which you belong. You’re a part of a district, and each district is a part of our council. A unit always has a unit leader who is responsible for seeing that a program is delivered to the youth members. The unit leader has a title like Advisor, Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, or Skipper. A unit has at least three adults who serve as the unit committee that supports the unit leader.
What is a “charter”?
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) issues a charter through a local council to a Chartered Organization (the church or other organization that owns your unit). The charter is a formal agreement allowing that organization to use the Scouting program to serve youth in its community. BSA requires that the charter be renewed annually to continue using the program. We call that annual renewal “recharter”.
Who is the executive officer of my unit?
The name of your Executive Officer should be listed on the upper-left hand corner of the first page of your charter renewal. The Executive Officer is the head of the community-based organization and is sometimes referred to as the Institutional Head. Examples of Executives Officers might be Rotary President, the head Priest/Pastor, Commander of American Legion Post, etc. The Executive Officer is also in charge of selecting the Chartered Organization Representative (COR). The COR acts as a liaison between the charter organization and the Scout Unit. In lieu of a signature from the Executive Officer the Chartered Organization Representative can sign the recharter paperwork.
What is “unit charter renewal”?
What happens during charter renewal? Basically, you’re telling BSA:
- Who is “in” for next year? (existing youth and adults, plus new members)
- Who is “out” for next year? (existing members who are dropping out of the program)
To accomplish this, the annual charter renewal process is essentially four steps:
- Gather necessary information on youth and adult members
- Gather membership applications (youth and adults) and verification of Youth Protection Training (adults only)
- Enter the information online (accessible through BSA’s Internet Advancement site)
- Print your charter renewal documents from Internet Charter Renewal, review those documents with your Unit Commissioner, and then submit the “Unit Charter Renewal Report Package” to our council office
When do I need to have my charter renewal finished?
Your unit’s expiration date is the deadline to renew your unit charter. The process to being unit renewal will open for all units two months before their expiration date; this can be accessed from myscouting.org‘s Organization Manager.
Are digital signatures acceptable?
Yes! The following forms of digital signatures are acceptable:
- Faxed, email, or scanned copies of applications are acceptable. An email indicating approval of an application is sufficient when an actual signature or written approval is not available.
- Criminal Background Check authorizations should be original signatures but they may be transmitted via fax, email, or scan.
- Charter agreements may be signed via email approval by the Institutional Head (IH) and the Chartering Organization Representative (CR) with the IH meeting held at a future date and the council representative signature secured at a future date.
- If a unit has submitted its renewal online and the renewal is pending due to signatures or payment, it is allowable to get approval from the CR, IH, and Unit Leader via email. If the unit has sufficient funds in their custodial account at the council, the authorized signer on the unit account may give approval via email to withdraw the necessary funds for the recharter.
- Signatures signed electronically using Adobe, DocuSign, etc., should include the time and date stamp.
If I have a question or need help completing recharter for my unit, who can I ask?
Your Unit Commissioner or District Commissioner can help. You can find contact information for your District Commissioner on our Districts information page.
