Renewal FAQ

RENEWAL CYCLE AND SCHEDULING
  1. When do individual memberships expires? – Individual memberships expire 12 months after the start of the individual’s membership term. Membership terms expire on the last day of the month. Membership renewal dates may be different for people in the same unit or same family.
  2. Do units have to go in monthly to the tool to renew or opt people out? –  Since membership is now on an annual basis per person, yes. They would need to check back monthly if they are paying for or opting out members. 
  3. Can an individual’s membership renewal date be changed? – No. Individual membership terms of periods other than 12 months and pro-rated membership fees are no longer available. 
  4. If a member joins in august, when is their renewal date? – If the effective date (Start date) is in August, the expiration will be July 31st.
EMAIL
  1. What is the email address that the renewal notices are coming from? – The email will be coming from the Boy Scouts of America (noreply@scouting.org)
  2. Do reminder emails go to multiple positions, or just paid positions? – Renewal reminders only go to paid positions. Be sure to verify your primary email address and, if necessary, update it.
  3. Who gets the email reminder messages? – Messages are sent to people who are 18 or older about their own renewal. Messages are sent to the parents/guardians of people who are less than 18 years old. Messages are sent to the person’s primary email address recorded in the member registration database.  Parents/guardians must be connected to their Scout in the national Akela member registration database in order to get the message.
  4. What should we do if adults do not have email? – Emails are required for adults. They will need to create an email address at least for Scouting business. There are free services such as Gmail.
  5. When an individual renews, does the email to renew stop? – They should stop when the renewal is paid for.
  6. If a person is suspended, do they get any email reminders? – No.
  7. How do we stop the automated emails? – Currently, the only two methods to stop the automated registration emails are to complete the renewal and payment process or to use “opt out” function to indicate that the membership is not being renewed.
  8. How do we change someone’s email address?  – Email address changes should be made in my.scouting.org. People can change their own address in the “my profile” tab. Units can also edit contact information of their members in the My.scouting.org roster tool.
MY.SCOUTING.ORG AND MEMBER ID
  1. What is the member ID number? – Member ID numbers appear by your name on the first screen after you login to your my.scouting.org account. If you are unable to login in to your account, you unit can get a list of their members and associated member ID numbers in the my.scouting.org roster tool.
  2. How do I reset the password to my my.scouting.org account? – Use the “Forgot username/password” link on the my.scouting.org login page and follow the prompts to provide the required information. If this does not work, contact the Council Registrar for assistance. See the additional support section for contact information. 
  3. What is my my.scouting.org account user name? – If you have an account, you can recover the username by using the “Forgot username/password” link on my my.scouting.org login page and following the prompts to provide required information. If this does not work, contact the Council Registrar for assistance. see the additional support page section for contact information. 
  4. How do I create a my.scouting.org account if I don’t have one? – Follow these instructions. Please do not create a new account if you are unable to login into your account of if the system find that you already have an account. If you encounter difficulties, contact the Council Registrar for assistance. See the additional support section for contact information. 
  5. Do I need a different my.scouting.org account for each member of my family who is in Scouting? – No. Each person should only have one my.scouting.org account. If necessary, this account can be linked to multiple family members and multiple positions within the organization. For assistance with creating these links, contact the Council Registrar  for assistance. See additional support section for contact information. 
INDIVIDUAL ACCESS TO RENEWAL
  1. Who can renew their own membership? – Individuals who are 18 or older can renew and pay for their own membership. Membership for individuals who are less than 18 years old can be renewed by a parent or guardian who is connected to them in the Akela membership database.
  2. What should we do if a parent doesn’t see their child in the parent’s my.scouting.org account? – Contact the Council Registrar for assistance. 
UNIT ACCESS TO RENEWAL
  1. Who is the unit Key 3? – The unit Key 3 includes the Chartered Organization Representative (COR) in traditional units with an independent chartered organization, Council Unit Representative (CUR) in council registered traditional units, the Committee Chair and the unit leader. The unit leader is the Cubmaster (for packs), Scoutmaster (for troops), Venturing Advisor (for crews), Skipper (for ships), The Explorer Post Advisor (for posts), or the Exploring Sponsor (for Clubs).
  2. Who has access to the renewal system for a unit? – People who are registered in a Key 3 positions, Key 3 delegate position, or COR/CUR delegate position have access to the roster tool and the unit renewal system. If a person is newly registered into one of these positions, it may take up to a day after their registration is approved for them to get access to the system. Approval of individuals who are new to Scouting may take longer due to their background check.
  3. Who can approve renewal requests for a unit? – Renewal requests for individuals who are 18 and older can only be approved by these people (COR or CUR delegate). Youth members can be approved by any of the  Key 3 and Key 3 delegates.
  4. Can a unit leader see missing parent/child connections in my.scouting.org? – There is not currently a way for them to see that. 
  5. Does creating a parent/child connection in Scoutbook create one in my.scouting.org? – This does not work reliably. Contact the Council Registrar if parents are unable to see their children. 
  6. Do we need to individually approve each person’s renewal? – Yes, For any existing order National is enabling auto approval on the Scout Book Plus Account.  Existing orders requiring approval are found by expanding the Membership Renewal order tab at the bottom of the Roster in my.scouting. 
PAYMENT
  1. How does a scholarship affect the payment and renewal process for members? – The “pay at council” option must be used for people who are for a scholarship. The scholarship application must be included in the submission to the Council Registrar. 
  2. What methods of online payment are available and how much do they cost? – People using the self-pay or parent-pay methods  can pay using a credit card. There is a 3% charge to pay using this payment method. Units who pay for their people using a credit card will be charged the same fee.  Units also have the option to make an online payment using ACH. This method charges $1 per transaction. Units can renew multiple people in a single transaction. 
  3. Is there an extra charge to pay at the council? – No.
  4. Is there a way to keep parents and individual members from paying if the unit wishes to pay? – Not directly, but the system will not let the same person be paid for twice. If the unit intends to pay for people, the unit should complete the renewal and payment process shortly after the individual’s renewal window opens. This will stop additional automated renewal messages from being sent, and will prevent additional payment. 
  5. What should be done if someone paid online and also paid their unit treasurer for their membership? – The unit treasurer should issue a refund to the person. 
  6. If the unit pays for and renews some of its members, does it have to pay for and renew them all? – No. As long as the unit does not opt out the members that it is not paying for and renewing, the remaining individuals are able to complete the individual/parent renewal and payment process on their own. 
SCOUT LIFE MAGAZINE
  1. Will renewal default to include Scout Life, even if they don’t have it currently? – Yes. People will need to turn this off if they don’t want the magazine.
  2. Is Scout Life combined for each member in the same family, or the family as a whole? – Whether or not to get Scout Life is a choice that must be made for each individual member. Unit awards for 100% Scout Life subscription only require one subscription per mailing address. 
OPT OUT
  1. What does “Opt Out” actually do? – “Opt Out” should be used for people who are not renewing their membership in Scouting. It will stop the national automated renewal emails to the person. 
  2. Does the member Opt Out Report display the reason someone is leaving? – It currently does not. This function may be added in the future.
  3. If a unit opts for families to pay their own renewal fees, how do they select someone they don’t want renewed in their unit? – They should select “Opt Out” for that person. 
  4. Does “Opt Out” immediately end someone’s membership? – No. The membership expiration dates does not change. The person can continue full participating in the organization until this date. A person who is still interested in participating in Scouting might “Opt Out” of renewal if the person is moving away from the area and the person’s membership has not yet transferred to the new location. 
  5. Can we opt in someone who was previously opted out? – If the person is still within their membership renewal period, yes. In the unit roster,  select the button in the “opt out” column. This will bring up a dialogue box that asks if you would like to opt this person in to renewal. Although the wording of the question in the dialogue box does not make this clear, answering yes to this question merely allows the person’s membership to be renewed; it does not complete the renewal process. Either the unit or the family will still need to complete the renewal process. If unable to change the Opt Out status to Opt In, contact the local council. 
NEW MEMBERS AND NEW POSITIONS
  1. Can the renewal system be used to add new members? – No. New members (including members transferring from other units) must use the normal process to join a unit. This involves submitting a paper application to the council or using the online application system. 
  2. When should we make membership changes, such as moving people to new units or new positions? – These changes should be made, submitted and approved as soon as they happen. Changes should be made before individual and unit registrations expire. 
  3. Could people change their own position within a unit? – No. position changes must be initiated by the COR/CUR or the COR/CUR delegate using the position manager tab of the my.scouting.org organization manager. Paper applications can also be used to make position changes. 
PEOPLE WITH MULTIPLE POSITIONS
  1. How will a multiple registration be verified if the primary position hasn’t been paid? – Verification will fail. The primary position has to be paid first. Units cannot renew people as a multiple until their registration fees are paid. In order to renew the membership of these people, the unit will need to coordinate payment with the person. 
  2. What are primary/paid positions and multiple positions? – A primary/paid  position is the registered position where the person’s membership fees are paid. For people who have only one registered position, the primary/paid position is their only position. People who have more than one current position (a leaders who is registered with both a pack and a troop , an older youth who is registered with both a troop and a crew, etc.) have one position designated as their primary/paid position, and their other positions are referred to as multiples. No additional fees are charged for multiple positions. 
  3. For people who have multiple registered positions, which one is their primary position? – The primary positions is the first position that pays for a person’s registration. People who pay online to renew their own membership or the membership of their children can select which position that they would like to be primary. The option to select a primary position will not be available to people whose registration renewal has already been paid using another method (e.g. their unit pays for them). This method of determining the primary position is new for 2024.
  4. How does the volunteer see that one of their multiple members has paid elsewhere? – The system will use the word “multiple” to indicate it on the roster report. 
  5. If the unit renews members, does it allow them to renew all of a member’s positions (including multiple in other units) or is it just the membership for that one unit? – Membership for that one unit.
  6. Will a unit see a volunteer’s other positions when renewing them? – The unit only sees the registration for that unit. 
  7. How should people who are registered in multiple councils (including the national council) renew their registration? – People who are keeping their primary/paid membership in Gamehaven Council can use the normal process to renew their Gamehaven positions. They should contact their other council’s registrar to renew their membership.  People whose primary/paid position is in another council should contact the Gamehaven Council Registrar to renew their membership.
  8. Can People change their primary/paid position during the renewal process? – People who are currently registered in multiple positions can change their Primary/paid position to another one of their current positions.
  9. Who pays for people who are registered in multiple positions? – People who are registered in multiple units only pay the national and council membership fees once. If they are paying for themselves or their child, they can select one of their positions as their primary/paid position when they renew their membership. Once a payment is recorded for someone, the system will not collect additional payments for their membership. Effectively, this means that if multiple units attempt to pay for the same person, then the system will accept payment for the first unit to pay, make the position in that unit their primary position, and it will not take payment from other units.
ADULT REQUIREMENTS
  1. Who is considered an adult? – For the purposes of registration requirements and youth protection policies, individuals who are at least 18 years old are considered adult. This policy applies to all positions, including crews, ships, and posts where 18-20- year-olds can be registered as program participants. In order to receive the adult membership rate, individuals in troops and packs must be 18 or older,  and individuals in crews, ships, and posts must be 21 or older.
  2. Are there special requirements for renewing membership of adults? – Registration renewal for adults cannot occur until youth protection training is current. Adults must pass a background check, but this usually requires no action form renewing adults. Notification will be provided if additional information is needed for this process.
  3. What do people who have recently turned 18 need to do to renew their membership? – All individuals who are 18 or older need to follow all adult membership rules, including those relating to youth protection. If the person has  never submitted an adult application, they will need to submit a completed adult application for each unit. Due to the process used to approve adult registrations, separate applications will need to be submitted for each position and unit. The online registration system is known to have problems converting youth memberships into adult memberships, so completing a paper application is recommended.  
COUNSELORS & MENTORS
  1. What is the renewal process for merit badge counselors, nova counselors, and supernova counselors? – If they have any other position, they need to renew their other position(s) first. They they should follow the counselor/mentor registration process. 
REPORTING
  1. What do the values in the Renewal Status column on the my.scouting.org roster mean? – 
    • Current– Membership is current. The renewal period for this person has not started. 
    • Eligible to Renew – Membership is current, but it is time to renew this person’s membership.
    • Opted Out – Member is leaving or has already left unit and membership is not being renewed.
    • Pending Approval – Renewal application and payment have been submitted, and the unit needs to approve the renewal to complete the process.  
    • Expired – Membership  term has ended. Continued participation in the program requires membership renewal or a new registration. 
  2. Is there a report the unit can run that shows who they paid for during renewal? – Yes, there is a summary report that can be printed during the renewal process. 
  3. What does the R in the green circle indicate? – The “R” shows who has renewed. 
  4. What do the status messages in the Membership Renewal Orders and Unit Paid Membership Renewal Batch areas mean? 
    • Initiated – Renewal process started but not yet submitted.
    • Submitted –  Payment submitted for the renewing term, but if no for paid and no for approval – Payment not completed.
    • Pending Approval – Payment successfully processed/received and waiting on approval.
    • Completed – Renewal  was approved for the renewing term. 
    • Closed – Renewal could not be completed either for payment issues or the member decided to withdraw their renewal. 
    • Declined – The renewal position was not approved.  
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
  1. Who should we contact with questions? –  Contact the Council Registrar, Pamela Legried, at Pamela.Legried@scouting.org.  or call 507-361-5341.