As part of the Wood Badge course, each participant writes a ticket - an plan that states how the participant will accomplish their goals in their Scouting position by putting into practice the skills taught during the course. To gain the full benefit of Wood Badge, the participant first learns on course, and then practices in their normal Scouting position to gain full mastery.

The story is told of how, during the days of Baden-Powell, a soldier discharged from the military was not provided transportation home. He was left at the location of his last post. To get home, the soldier had to decide where he wanted to go and make a plan to get there. Similarly, your ticket is your road map to successfully accomplish your goals in Scouting. It is your written plan of action to practice the leadership skills and attain the troop model that you will be taught.

In Wood Badge the ticket will be written around your Team, Crew, Troop, or Pack (or several units if you have a District position). It would help you to have a clear idea of your vision in your current position before the course so that as material is presented, you can immediately see how it could be applied. Why are you serving? What do you hope to accomplish? What will success look like? The first step in accomplishing your goals is to have a clear picture of what success looks like.

Tickets should be challenging, meaningful, attainable, and measurable. The ticket defines how the participant will put their learning into practice. They should not contain goals or objectives that are out of your area of responsibility or Scouting position unless you first clear the ticket item with the professional and/or volunteer leader who is responsible for the area affected.

These might require approvals of other people. You might want to discuss your goals with the other unit leaders, the chartered organization, or others. Having some general agreement in advance makes the goal more attainable. It is important that those affected understand and approve the goal, and you will want to have general conversations with several people about their needs before Course, so you know some opportunities.

Sometimes, tickets must be changed. Should your position in Scouting change, or should other circumstances prevent you from completing any portion of your ticket, you may propose a change to your ticket counselor for approval.