The requirements for the badge include a knowledge of first aid for the types of injuries that can occur while surveying, and proper identification of poisonous plants and animals that inhabit the area. The scouts must also find and mark the corners of a five-sided lot, measure the angles and distance between each corner, and compute the error of closure. With their field notes gathered, scouts must draw a plat of the survey to scale and write a metes and bounds description. They use a corner marker as a benchmark with an assumed elevation of 100 feet and a level and rod to determine the elevation of the other four corners.

With more than 100 badges currently in existence, the surveying badge is one of the original badges that still remains available for scouts to obtain, dating back to 1911. It is historically one of the most difficult to receive as merit badge counselors who are also professional land surveyors are in short supply.

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