Before you start
- Register first. Your Activity Start Date is the day you register for the Congressional Award, not the day you make a Submittable account. Nothing before it counts.
- Make your own Submittable account with the email you registered with. The national office does not create accounts. If you cannot find the form after logging in, open the Discover tab and search “Congressional Award”.
- Pick the right form. Your first Record Book on Submittable goes in this year’s form. After an approval, the next level goes in the “Next Congressional Award Level Record Book” form the office sends you.
- Submit one Record Book at a time, from the same account, once per level.
The yearly form: why December 31 matters
The first Record Book form is new each year: the year’s form closes on December 31 and a new one opens on January 1. If you will not submit in 2026, copy your goals and hours into the 2027 form once it opens: after December 31 the old form can no longer be submitted, stays viewable only for a short time, and then you lose access to it. For the 2026 form, the office told participants to request signatures in the new form even if they had signatures in the 2025 form, so plan time to ask your Validators and Advisor again. The “Next Congressional Award Level Record Book” form does not expire.
Keep your own typed copy of your goals and hours, as the office recommends, so the move takes minutes. The Record Book helper in the Congressional Award tracker keeps them laid out for you.
What each section asks
| Area | Goals per Record Book | What you fill in for each goal |
|---|---|---|
| Voluntary Public Service | Up to 4 | Your goal; the activities you did; how you improved or what you learned; how you served the greater community; hours and months; a Validator’s name and email. |
| Personal Development | Up to 2 | Your goal; the activities you did; how you improved or what you learned; hours and months. |
| Physical Fitness | Up to 2 | Your goal; the activities you did; how you improved or what you learned; hours and months. |
| Expedition/Exploration | 1 | The trip questions below, or your virtual write-up. |
Every goal also needs a Validator, who confirms it through a validation form (below). A new Record Book lists only new hours: the national office keeps the hours approved in your earlier ones. List all your new hours, even beyond the minimum. Goals can be umbrella goals that group similar activities; see 24 goal examples.
The expedition section
You choose an in-person or a virtual Expedition/Exploration, not a mix. For a virtual one, you upload your write-up there. For an in-person trip, the questions cover:
- Where you went, the start and end dates, and the number of days and nights.
- How many travel days you had.
- Whether you visited a college: at most one a day, and not the same college over several days.
- Your goal for the trip, and how you prepared and planned it, with the resources you used.
- Who planned the itinerary: you, another group, or a partner of the Congressional Award such as Philmont Scout Ranch.
- Whether it was a sign-up trip with an organization, an internship or work-study program, a conference, convention, mission trip or competition.
- How you were challenged: obstacles, thinking on your feet, taking initiative.
- What you did each day, with how long each activity took, to show 6 to 8 hours of activity.
Keep a journal with times during the trip. Ideas and the rules are in Congressional Award expedition ideas.
Validation forms, in order
- When a goal’s hours and months are done, enter its Validator’s email on Submittable and send the request. You can add a note on the activities and hours. Each goal has one Validator.
- Validators confirm from the email; they do not need a Submittable account. If a request never arrives, school district addresses are a common cause: use another address, or ask your Advisor to validate.
- When every Validator has confirmed, send your Advisor’s request last.
Who can serve and how to ask them is in Advisor and Validators.
After you submit
- Review takes 6 to 8 weeks, longer for Gold Medal books, which a committee reviews. The office cannot speed it up.
- Revisions are normal. Answer every point. If you add hours or months, send the validation requests again. Then re-submit from the bottom of the submission; a revision review can take up to 2 weeks.
- Questions go through Submittable: open your submission and use its Messages tab.
- Gold Medal ceremony: submit by 11:59 pm on February 1, your local time, and any revisions by March 15.
Mistakes that bring revisions
- Missing validation forms, hour totals or details about a goal.
- Old contact information: approvals and medal news go to what you enter.
- Activities from before your Activity Start Date, the day you registered.
- Activities from an earlier Record Book: list only new hours, the office keeps your approved ones.
- Validation requests sent before a goal is finished, or the Advisor’s sent before the Validators’.
- A parent or relative as Advisor or Validator: you confirm in the Record Book that they are not family.
- Activities that earned class credit.
- Hours or months below the level’s minimum in one area.
- Answers written by AI or copied.
Get it ready as you go
The Congressional Award tracker counts your hours and months in each area from your Activity Start Date. Its Record Book helper lays out your hours by month, your organizations, your Validators and your own notes the way the Record Book asks, and the worksheet PDF comes with Plus. The answers stay yours to write. Start tracking free, or print the activity log (PDF).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I submit the Congressional Award Record Book?
Only on Submittable, the award’s online submission site. Record Books are no longer accepted by mail, fax or email; participants with disabilities who cannot use Submittable can ask for an exception.
What happens to my Record Book draft on December 31?
Each year’s Record Book form closes on December 31 and a new one opens on January 1. If you will not submit this year, move your goals and hours into the new form once it opens: the old one can no longer be submitted and stays viewable only for a short time. For the 2026 form, the office asked participants to request signatures in the new form even if they had signatures in the 2025 form.
How long does the review take?
Usually 6 to 8 weeks, not counting revisions, and Gold Medal Record Books take longer because a committee reviews them. You get an approval or a revision email from program@congressionalaward.org.
Do I list all my hours or only the new ones?
Only new hours: the national office keeps the hours approved in your earlier Record Books. List all of them, even beyond the minimum. If you never received an official approval, include every hour.
Can my Advisor see my Record Book?
You can add your Advisor and Validators as collaborators on Submittable, if they have their own Submittable account. They do not need an account to answer a validation request.
Can I use AI to write my Record Book?
No. AI tools can help with research only. They may not generate, draft, proofread or revise your answers, and suspected AI or copied work is sent back for a redo.
How do I submit the next level after an approval?
After an approval, the office sends an additional form called “Next Congressional Award Level Record Book” in Submittable, under your approved submission’s Forms tab. It does not expire. If you did not get one, you can request it.