How to Start a Troop

Interested in Starting a New Girl Scout Troop? We are so excited to hear that! We want to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible for all involved, so you can jump in and start preparing girls for a lifetime of leadership and being the mentor they need.

Every new Girl Scout troop needs at least:

2 Registered, Background Checked and Online Trained Troop Leaders (must be unrelated)
5 Registered Girls

... to receive a troop number.

Ready to get started? Click on each step for more details.

1. Fill out the Start a New Troop Form

To get the troop formation process started, you’ll want to head to our New Troop Form and fill it out.

In this form, you’ll let us know who will be in your future troop (leaders and girls), the grade level(s) of the future troop, your future troop’s community hub (like a school or neighborhood), and more!

2. Two Adults Register as Troop Leaders

After you’ve completed the New Troop Form, it’s time to register!

On the Select a volunteer role page during registration, type unsure in the Troop# box and click SEARCH.
Click the unsure option in the search results and click NEXT.
A pop-up will ask you to explain why you’ve chosen this option. In this box, type: I want to start a new troop with [co-leader's name] at [community hub].
After you have completed registration, the support and onboarding specialist for your area will connect with you.

3. Troop Leaders Successfully Complete Background Checks

When your support and onboarding specialist connects with you, they will also trigger the background check process and you will each receive an email from our secure vendor Asurint to submit your information for your background checks.

If you don't receive the email within 24 hours, please check your spam/junk folders, and then reach out to your support and onboarding specialist for troubleshooting.

Please Note: There is no standard processing time for background checks. Depending on previous aliases and places of residence, the background check process could take a few days or a few months.

4. Troop Leaders Complete Online Training

Once your background check process has completed and you're eligible to volunteer, you'll receive an email from us with the subject line, "Let's get started as troop leader!" and will include troop leader online training to complete.

Your support and onboarding specialist will check in with you as you work on your training to help you if you run into any trouble.

5. Five Girls Register as Girl Scouts and Join the Troop

After you've both completed online training, it’s time for girls to join your troop! Your support and onboarding specialist will give you special instructions on how to welcome girls that you’ve already connected with into your forming troop.

If, after a week, your troop still does not have 5 registered girls, then it will be placed in our open troop catalog to give any interested girls in your area the opportunity to join!

6. Your Forming Troop Receives a Troop Number

Your support and onboarding specialist will be monitoring all forming troops in your area and, once your troop has at least 5 registered girls, they will reach out and let you know that your troop is ready for it's troop number!

After that, your troop will receive an email with your new troop number, some next steps, and lots of resources to help you feel confident and comfortable leading.

7. Your Troop’s First Year

As the leaders of a new troop, you may have questions–we are here to help! Over the course of your first year, your support and onboarding specialist will reach out to see how things are going, offer support and guidance, and most importantly, thank you for choosing to volunteer.

Questions? Our team is here to support you whenever you need it. Just email answers@girlscoutsosw.org or call 800-338-5248 to have your questions answered.

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