Want to get back involved in the Order of the Arrow, but unsure where to start? Our Registration Roadmap is here to walk you through the process!
Complete your Youth Protection Training at my.scouting.org.
Keeping the young people in our charge safe is the first priority of all members of the Scouting community. Each volunteer with the BSA must take Youth Protection Training (YPT), and keep it up-to-date based on council policy. If your registration has lapsed, you probably need to take YPT. If you have a my.scouting.org account, log in and select the course icon.
If you don’t have a my.scouting.org account, create one from the homepage or work with your local council (step 2!) for help finding your member ID and account details.
Once you have completed Youth Protection, keep track of your certificate and its expiration date.
Find your local council and complete a Volunteer Application.
Every volunteer with the Order of the Arrow (OA) must be a member of a local BSA council and its aligned OA lodge. Before you can pay your local lodge’s dues, you will first need to re-register with your local BSA council. You can typically register as a Scouter Reserve or similar position, or find a local unit to support as a committee member or other unit-specific role.
Enter your zip code into the Be A Scout tool to find your local council information, as well as see local units’ contact information and meeting details:
- If you want to register as a unit-level volunteer, use the tool’s filters to explore the various unit types and categories and reach out directly to the unit’s point of contact.
- If you want to get involved with the local council directly, the council’s contact information will appear in the header of the Be A Scout tool, once you’ve entered your zip code.
The unit’s point of contact, along with a district or council professional, will help you complete a Volunteer Application and submit the appropriate registration fees. Submitting these will also initiate the appropriate background check.
Once the application has been accepted and the background check has been completed, you will be a current, registered BSA volunteer!
Contact the Council’s Order of the Arrow Lodge and pay your Lodge Dues.
Typically, each council in the BSA has one OA lodge serving its area. The point of contact for your unit, or the professional who assisted you with your volunteer application, should be able to connect you to the local lodge’s membership team to begin the registration process. However, if you need additional help, check out the Order of the Arrow’s Lodge Locator. For each lodge, you can see the key advisers’ names, and the website and a general contact email.
The lodge’s membership team will upload your information into their membership system. Along with contact information, they will also need your OA history as best you can recall. Check for older dues cards, new member guides, or other records that might help provide accurate dates.
Get Involved!
Along with paying the year’s lodge dues, get the latest calendar of events for your local lodge and information on your local chapter, if applicable. From there, have a conversation with the chapter or lodge adviser about what value and support you can bring to the OA’s youth members. For example, you could:
- Participate in an upcoming Ordeal as an Elangomat or at one of the weekend’s service projects.
- Leverage your skills as a public speaker and event planner to help the upcoming LLD chair plan out a compelling training schedule.
- Offer to mentor the lodge website committee as they update their site.
- Support the chapter fundraiser by bringing a propane grill to the next roundtable and supervise meal cooking / assembly.
Regardless of what skills you bring to the table, register in your local council and lodge and serve as an extra set of hands to help its leadership deliver meaningful program to their members - the same program that made an impact on you!
We want to hear from you!
Were you able to get active in your local lodge? Did you have trouble getting registered in your local council or lodge? Reach out to us at @email and let us know if the OA Alliance can provide you more assistance or if you have any feedback on this registration roadmap.