Scout climbing permit: what to log before your assessment
By a volunteer Scout leader and climbing permit holder
Updated 16 October 2026
6 min read
Whether you’re working towards your first climbing permit, adding abseiling, or moving from the wall to real rock, the leaders who sail through assessment are the ones with a clear record of what they’ve actually done. Here’s what to record, and why.
Please note: this is practical advice from one leader to another, not official guidance. Always check the current Policy, Organisation and Rules and talk to your county or district activity assessor about their process.
The short version
- Know exactly which level and type of permit you’re going for, and what it will cover.
- Log every session on the day: date, venue, artificial or natural, top rope, lead or abseil, group size and rope systems.
- Want abseiling or another level added? Support a current permit holder in those sessions and log them before you’re assessed.
- Note the grades you climb. It shows your own progression and gives your assessor useful context.
- Start logging months before assessment, and watch your expiry date. There’s no grace period.
Know what your permit covers
Before you log anything, be clear about what you’re aiming for. A climbing permit is needed for all climbing and abseiling in Scouts. The exceptions are bouldering and auto-belay systems. There are five levels:
| Level | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| Artificial top rope | Climbing walls and other artificial structures, top-rope systems |
| Natural top rope | Real rock, top-rope systems |
| Artificial lead | Lead climbing on artificial structures |
| Natural lead | Lead climbing on real rock |
| Multi-pitch | Routes of more than one pitch |
Natural rock permits cover the equivalent artificial permit, unless your permit says otherwise. Each level can be granted as a personal, leadership or supervisory permit:
- Leadership lets you lead one group. A top-rope leader can run up to two rope systems unless restricted to one. Lead and multi-pitch leaders run one.
- Supervisory lets you supervise up to three rope systems, each with a rope leader you designate. There’s no supervisory permit for multi-pitch.
Permits can also carry restrictions, for example to a specific venue or excluding abseiling. Read yours carefully. The restrictions are often exactly what you’ll want to work on removing next time.
What to log each session
Your assessor is judging whether you have the skills and experience for the permit you’ve asked for. A good log makes that conversation easy. For every session, record:
- Date and venue, and whether it was artificial or natural.
- Type of climbing: top rope, lead, abseiling or bouldering.
- Your role: in charge, supporting another permit holder, or climbing personally.
- Group size and rope systems you ran or helped to run.
- Conditions on natural rock: weather, how you checked the forecast, access and approach.
- Anything that went differently: a group that struggled, a change of plan, an incident you handled.
Note your grades too
On artificial walls especially, it’s worth jotting down the grades you climbed. It shows your own progression over time and gives your assessor a quick sense of the standard you climb at. It’s also genuinely satisfying to look back on.
Adding abseiling or a new level
If you want abseiling added to your permit, or want to move up a level, the best route is to support another permit holder who already has it. Help run their sessions, take on more as your confidence grows, and log every one of them before you go for assessment.
When you’re assessed you’ll be able to show exactly when, where and how often you’ve been involved, rather than relying on memory. Record that you were supporting, and who held the permit. It shows you’ve learned alongside someone experienced.
The same applies to moving from artificial to natural rock. A natural permit covers artificial, but not the other way round, so your assessor will want to see time spent on real rock.
Common gaps at assessment
- Only artificial sessions logged, but going for natural. Wall time alone won’t show you can manage real rock, the approach and changing conditions.
- Abseiling never logged. If you want it on your permit, you need to show you’ve done it.
- Vague entries. “Climbing at the wall” with no date, venue, type or group size doesn’t help anyone when the assessor asks questions.
- Rope systems not recorded. If you’re aiming for a supervisory permit, how many systems you’ve overseen matters.
- Everything pieced together the week before. Reconstructing a year of sessions from group chats and calendars is stressful and incomplete.
What I wish I’d known
- Start logging long before you plan to be assessed. Months, not weeks. Every session counts once it’s written down.
- Pick your target level early. Knowing whether you’re after top rope or lead, artificial or natural, shapes which sessions you get involved in.
- Bouldering and auto-belays don’t need a permit, but logging them still shows your own climbing.
- Check the walk in. If the approach to a crag goes into Terrain One or Two, a hillwalking permit is needed as well.
Don’t let it lapse
Permits expire within five years of being granted. When yours expires, you must be assessed and granted a new permit before you can run the activity again. There’s no grace period, so an unnoticed expiry date can mean cancelled sessions.
Keep your logging going between assessments too. When renewal comes round, you’ll already have the evidence of five years of climbing ready to show.
Log your next climbing session in Paracord
Free for one activity type, with unlimited logs. Export a PDF of your history for your assessor with Pro.
