The Virginia Headwaters Council are putting together a Recharter and Registration Workshop to help everyone navigate the new registration process and get ahead of any recharter issues.
National is rolling out some massive changes over the next few months. We want to get ahead of this now so units, CORs, and leaders won’t have a million questions during the holiday season at the end of the year.
Here are the session details:
Date: October 3, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Computer Room E110 at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, VA (same spot as Merit Badge University!)
Bob Young has already secured Blue Ridge for this training. If you or your units can’t make this one, don’t panic! We’ll be holding another session during the Merit Badge University on November 21.
What You Need to Know (The Big Changes)
We will cover all of this in detail at the workshop, but please make sure your unit leadership is aware of these upcoming shifts:
1. Recharter & Membership Renewal Shifts
- Common Renewal Month: Beginning September 2026, all units due for renewal will renew through February 2028. The goal is to get all memberships and unit charters onto a common February renewal cycle. (Standard charter fees plus pro-rata fees will apply through Feb 2028 to bridge the gap).
- Unit Control Returns: In response to unit leader feedback, Scouting America is returning to unit control of member renewals! If a unit opts not to renew a member, that member can renew themselves after the unit-only period closes.
- Grace Period is Ending: The 60-day lapse/grace period is being phased out and ends completely on December 31, 2026.
- October 2026 renewals: Get the full 2-month grace period.
- November 2026 renewals: Get a 1-month grace period.
- December 2026 renewals: Must renew by Dec 31—no grace period.
- Starting January 1, 2027, you must be strictly current to maintain active status.
- More info here: Unit and Membership Renewal Resources
