Boy Scouts of America

Occoneechee Council

Recharter December 2023

Since October 2, the national internet recharter process has been open for Scouting Units with a December 31, 2023 expiration. This is most units in the districts of the Occoneechee Council.

Read these instructions before completing your recharter. Review your recharter with your commissioner before submission. Recharters should be submitted between December 2 and December 15. Please do not submit early, as some online functions in my.Scouting and ScoutBook are locked when your recharter is submitted and will not be unlocked until the start of the year. Please do not submit late, so that we have enough time to get your recharter ready to be posted at the start of the new year.

Please attach your unit’s completed JTE score sheet to your recharter before submitting and forward a copy to your Commissioner, and to your District Commissioner.

Recharter Timeline for December 31, 2023 units:

  • October 2 Internet Recharter Tool Available
  • October 2 – December 2 Use Internet Recharter Tool to complete roster updates and scan in all paperwork needed. Finish submitting and approving any new member and new leader applications that you have, including all of the ones from your Join Scouting Night, Fall Roundup, and other recruiting activities.
  • December 2 – December 15 Review final recharter draft with your commissioner, submit recharter, and have it approved online by your chartered organization representative or approved delegate. Do not submit your recharter early. Once your recharter has been submitted and signed, it cannot be changed.
  • December 2 – December 15 Submit payment to council service center.
  • December 2 – December 31 Work with commissioners, professionals, and council registrar to resolve any defects or issues with your recharter.
  • January 1 New charter year begins, and new roster takes effect if recharter is able to be posted (submitted, approved, and defects resolved).
  • January 2 – January 15 Units should verify that their roster was correctly posted and that their membership in my.scouting is correct.
  • March 1 Member access to BSA systems including Internet Recharter Tool, my.Scouting, and ScoutBook is removed for units that did not successfully complete the entire recharter process and for individuals who were dropped from unit charters.

Important Notes

  • Once your recharter has been submitted, it cannot be changed.  It is critical that your online submission is correct and error-free.  With this new system, even the council registrar is not always able to make changes, so please do not plan on submitting a recharter system printout with multiple hand-written corrections. Between the time that your recharter is submitted and the time that it is posted, your unit roster is locked, and some information in BSA tools, such as my.Scouting and ScoutBook, cannot be changed during this period.
  • The system is an updated version of the system we used for the last recharter cycle.
  • Login to the system at https://advancements.scouting.org/ using your my.Scouting login.
  • Only Key-3 members (Chartered Organization Representative or Council Unit Representative, Committee Chair and Unit Leaders (e.g. Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Advisor, Skipper) or Key-3 and COR delegates) will have access to this system. If you have a new person in one of these positions, it may take up to 48 hours for their access to be granted after their registration is approved.
  • You will not need an access code. This system does not use access codes or temporary recharter passwords.
  • Do a Unit Inventory now. It will make the recharter process very simple when you access the website. Compare your roster in my.scouting.org to your records. Make any corrections needed and then your roster will be up to date in the recharter system before you start. Be sure to allow enough time for applications to be processed.
  • Changes you make in the recharter tool will not take effect this year. If you have new members, position changes, or other changes that should take effect before then, please use the normal mid-year process (which usually involves submitting applications that have been completed and approved).
  • Please review the information from the BSA national council at https://www.scouting.org/resources/internet-rechartering/ on how to access and complete your recharter. This site includes step-by-step instructions on using the tool, including special steps that are needed if you are paying online.  Note that Occoneechee Council is not using the timelines listed on the national site. The schedule listed at the top of this page is correct.
  • Once your charter has been submitted, an electronic request to sign and approve it is sent to your new unit key 3, Chartered Organization Representative delegates, and key 3 delegates. Charters should only be signed by someone who is authorized by your chartered organization to do so. It is best if your recharter is signed by your Chartered Organization Representative.
  • We recommend that you do not use the pay by credit card option, as that adds an addition 3% charge to your bill. If your unit is submitting any recharter fee reduction/waiver requests, you must select the option to pay the council directly. Occoneechee Council does not charge an additional fee for direct payments to the council. Payment should be submitted to the council service center.
  • Be sure to use the “refresh roster” button in the tool to pick up any changes to your unit’s information since the last time you logged in. This could include new Scouts or leaders whose applications have been processed as well as adults who have updated their Youth Protection Training. You should use the “refresh roster” button immediately before doing your final pre-submission roster review.
  • Please save the final version of the roster that is sent for approval. If you are paying at the office, please bring a printed copy of your roster and all fee reduction forms for your unit with you.
2024 Recharter timeline

Registration Fees

The BSA national council increased their fees on August 1, 2023. The amount charged by Occoneechee Council has not increased. Prorated and monthly fees are not available. The amounts listed below include all national, council, and insurance fees.

  • Youth (except Explorers): $146/year
  • Adults (except Explorers): $72/year
  • Exploring participants and leaders: $62/year
  • Scout Life (print magazine): $15/year (Scouting magazine is no longer available in print form.)
  • Unit recharter fee or affiliation fee: $100 (flat rate)
  • New youth fee: $25

Frequently Asked Questions

We heard the BSA recharter system was being replaced by a new registration process. Do we really have to do this recharter?
Yes. Major changes are coming to the member registration system in 2024; however the recharter process at the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024 will be similar to the process used in the past. A new process for membership renewal will begin in mid-2024. Detailed information about this process will be provided in the spring of 2024.
Does the system know whose membership is currently paid until some time in 2024?
Yes. Individuals who joined BSA on or after August 1, 2023 paid for exactly 12 months of membership. The recharter system will not charge your unit any additional amount for these individuals.
Do we have to collect fees from our members or can they pay their registration fee directly to BSA?
For this recharter cycle, all fees due must be collected by the unit and submitted as one payment. There is no option for individuals to pay BSA directly. Your unit will need cover the entire amount due that the system calculates with a payment or a financial hardship fee reduction application.
Does my unit have to pay the unit fee?
Yes. The recharter system will charge all units the $100 fee for 2024.  This fee may be called a unit recharter fee or a unit affiliation fee.
Is financial assistance available?
Yes. Financial assistance is available for economic hardships. Requests for assistance should use the Scout Assistance Request Form. Please contact your District Executive for more information and to request assistance for someone in your unit.
Do Merit Badge Counselors, Nova Counselors, and Supernova Mentors recharter with units?
No. They register in a separate process and must renew this registration annually.
How should our unit prepare for recharter?

Even before you login to the system for the first time, you can start to get ready for recharter. Here are some things you can do now to prepare:

  • Submit all of the applications that your unit has now. Do not hold them until recharter. Paper applications should be submitted to the council service center and online applications should be approved by a member of the unit key 3 or an approved delegate. Having these applications processed prior to recharter will make the recharter process easier for you and it will also allow your new members to receive the full benefits of Scouting sooner.
  • Verify that your unit roster in my.scouting matches your unit records. Make sure no one is missing from the my.scouting roster.
  • Contact all of the families associated with your unit to find out who is continuing with your unit. This is a good time to reach out to people you haven’t seen in a while. Collect any necessary payments and paperwork from them. This is often the most time-consuming part of the entire recharter process, and it can be done even without access to the online tool.
  • Encourage all of your registered adults to update their Youth Protection Training (YPT) certification if necessary. All registered adults must have a current YPT certification in order for your recharter to be accepted. YPT training courses are valid for two years; however council policy states that the training should not expire at any time during the registration year. In effect, this means that all registered adults listed on your charter need to take YPT some time during 2023.  You can check the trained status of your adults at any time of the year from the Training manager tool in my.Scouting.
Will the system automatically check registered adults for compliance with YPT policy?
Not completely. The system will check for compliance with BSA National YPT rules and will not allow units to submit their charter if any registered adult has an expired YPT certification; however, it will not check for compliance with the council policy stating that YPT certification should not expire before the end of the registration term. In order to avoid problems with your recharter, you should manually check the YPT expiration dates of your registered adults in the Training manager tool in my.Scouting
What should I select as my term?
The first time that you login to the system, you may be asked to select your recharter term. You should select 12 months.  This is the default value.
What is a Council Unit Representative, and why does the system say I need one?
Council Unit Representative is a position that only exists in units that are chartered directly by the council. It is equivalent to the Chartered Organization Representative position in units chartered by other organizations. If you are a council registered unit, you should have someone in the Council Unit Representative position and no one in the Chartered Organization Representative position. If you are chartered by any non-BSA position, you should not have someone in the Council Unit Representative position and you should have someone in the Chartered Organization Representative position.
What should we do if our unit does not plan to recharter?
You do not need to use the Internet Recharter Tool. Please let the Family Scouting Director and appropriate commissioners know your plans, and they will provide additional details about other steps to take. (Contact info is below.) If any of your Scouts or leaders would like to continue Scouting elsewhere, please help them connect to a new unit and provide them with any records, such as advancement and training records, that may help them continue in Scouting.
What should I do if our chartered organization does not want to renew our unit’s charter, but our members and unit leadership wants to continue with our existing unit?

It is important to renew the BSA member registration of your Scouts and Scouters. You should still update your roster in the tool. Please contact your District Executive and Commissioner for assistance as soon as possible. (Contact info is below.) There are additional steps that will need to be taken in this situation, and these people can assist with those steps. You will also need to make some significant decisions about your unit’s future, including what your future chartered organization will be. We are not requiring units to submit the signed annual charter agreement with the recharter this year.

If you have made arrangements for a new chartering organization, the paperwork needed includes:

  • Red Letter Form (Unregistered Unit Report) (Fill out with information for your old chartered organization and get signatures from them.)
  • New Unit Application (Fill out with information for your new chartered organization and get signatures from them.)
    Information needed for that form:
    • Occoneechee Council is Council #421.
    • Cardinal District is district #1; North Star District is district #2; Sandhills District is district #3; Eno River District is district #4.
    • It is OK to leave the chartered organization code and special interest code fields blank.
    • You do not need to fill in the fee calculation or member count information at the bottom right of that form.

Please submit these documents to the council registrar at the council service center as soon as they are completed. If you submit them in advance of your new recharter, the registrar can change your chartered organization so that the correct information appears on your recharter paperwork.

Can my unit be chartered directly by the council?
Yes. On November 17, 2022, the Occoneechee Council Board of Directors approved a resolution allowing the council to charter units. You will need to get the Red Letter Form (Unregistered Unit Report) signed by your old chartered organization. Other changes to your unit operations (e.g. changes to unit bank accounts) will also be necessary. Please contact your District Executive and Commissioner for more information.
Can my unit meet at a location that is not provided by our chartered organization?
Yes. You should complete the appropriate for the organization whose location you will be using. These forms are in the “Unit Membership Resources” section of the Scouting Forms from the National Council page.
What should I do if my unit plans to merge with another?
All of the units involved in the merger will need to work together to determine what the surviving unit will be (e.g. unit number, chartered organization). Once this has been determined, you will need to make sure that all Scouts and Scouters who will be joining the combined unit are added to the roster of the surviving unit. Additional steps will be needed to finalize the shutdown of the non-surviving units, transfer assets to the surviving unit, etc. Please contact your District Executive and Commissioner for assistance with this as soon as possible.

Do You Need HELP?

Contact your Unit Commissioner. If you are unable to reach your Unit Commissioner, or you do not know who yours is, then please contact the appropriate District Commissioner listed below:

Recorded Council Recharter Chat – November 9, 2023

Thank you for all your work in making Scouting a successful and wonderful experience for the youth!