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General Requirements | Physical Fitness Requirements
The following information has been extracted from the USSF Referee Administrative Handbook and recent memoranda.
Referees who are registered with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) may upgrade to the next referee grade once they have satisfied specific requirements.
Upgrading requires:
- Minimum age
- Game experience at the appropriate level
- Time in present grade
- Training courses
- Written examination
- Assessments
- Physical Fitness Test
Because of the complexity of upgrading, it is strongly recommended that you contact and work with your District Referee Coordinator, District Director of Instruction and District Director of Assessment to ensure you satisfy all requirements. Refer to the Directory for contact information.
If you wish to upgrade to National Referee (Grade 4) from State 1 Referee (Grade 5), you must contact the State Referee Administrator, listed in the Directory, for complete information. Some information is available under News. The process is very complex, and the requirements are very demanding and difficult to achieve.
Change
of Grade During the Year
For a referee upgrading from grade 8 to 7,
there is a $15.00 administrative fee + $5.00 for the difference in registration fees, payable to CNRA. For a referee who qualifies and wants to upgrade from
Grade 7 to 6 during the year, the full fee for registering as Grade
6 less the fee already paid to register as a 7 would be applicable ($75 - $45 = $30) + the $15.00 administrative fee, payble to CNRA.. For a referee upgrading from 6 to 5, there is a $15.00 administrative fee, payble to CNRA.
Contact your District
Referee Coordinator for more information on mid-year upgrades or review the upgrade process and get the necessary forms in the Upgrade - Registration section.
Criteria for Certifying and Upgrading
CRITERIA FOR CERTIFYING and UPGRADING
REFEREE GRADES 9 - 11 |
| CRITERIA |
ASSOCIATE REFEREE
(Grade 11) |
ASSISTANT REFEREE
(Grade 10) |
RECREATIONAL REFEREE
(Grade 9) |
| 1. Minimum Age |
None |
None |
None |
| 2. Experience (minimum cumulative career outdoor games at designated level) |
Not Applicable |
Not Applicable |
Not Applicable |
| a. Game level to be counted for advancement |
Not Applicable |
Not Applicable |
Not Applicable |
| b. Time in present grade |
Not Applicable |
Not Applicable |
Not Applicable |
| 3. Training Course Requirements |
Successfully complete USSF Small-sided Games Training Course |
Successfully complete USSF Assistant Referee Training Course |
Successfully complete USSF Recreational Referee Training course |
4. Written Examination
(See Note B) |
75% minimum score on USSF Associate Referee Exam |
75% minimum score on USSF Assistant Referee Exam |
75% minimum score on USSF Recreational Referee Exam |
| 5. Field Evaluation by currently registered USSF Assessor |
Not required. It is recommended that each new referee by observed in one of his first 10 games |
Not required |
Not required. It is recommended that each new referee by observed in one of his first 10 games |
| 6. Physical Fitness Test |
Not Required |
Not Required |
Not Required |
CRITERIA FOR CERTIFYING and UPGRADING
REFEREE GRADES 7 & 8 |
| CRITERIA |
REFEREE CLASS 2
(Grade 8) |
REFEREE CLASS 1
(Grade 7) |
| 1. Minimum Age |
None |
17 |
| 2. Experience (minimum cumulative career outdoor games at designated level) |
Not Applicable |
Referee: 75
Assistant Referee: 25 |
| a. Game level to be counted for advancement |
Not Applicable |
USSF Games (DSC) |
| b. Time in present grade |
Not Applicable |
12 months as Referee Class 2 |
| 3. Training Course Requirements |
Successfully complete USSF Referee Training Course |
5 hours of USSF Intermediate Level Training |
4. Written Examination
(See Note B)
|
75% minimum score on USSF Referee Exam |
85% minimum score on USSF Referee Exam |
| 5. Field Evaluation by currently registered USSF Assessor |
Not required. It is recommended that each new referee by observed in one of his first 10 games |
Pass one evaluation as referee in an U-19 or higher level game employing the DSC |
| 6. Physical Fitness Test |
Not Required |
Required |
CRITERIA FOR CERTIFYING and UPGRADING
REFEREE GRADES 5 & 6 |
| CRITERIA |
STATE REFEREE 2
(Grade 6) |
STATE REFEREE 1
(Grade 5) |
| 1. Minimum Age |
18 |
19 |
| 2. Experience (minimum cumulative career outdoor games at designated level) |
Referee: 100
Assistant Referee: 25 |
Referee: 150
Assistant Referee: 50 |
| a. Game level to be counted for advancement |
U-19 competitive leagues or higher level (using DSC) |
Of the 150 games, a minimum of 50 must be on adult Division 1 league games (using DSC) |
| b. Time in present grade |
12 months as Referee 1 prior to application |
12 months as State Referee 2 prior to application |
| 3. Training Course Requirements |
19 hours of State Referee Training |
7 hours of In-Service State Referee Training |
4. Written Examination
(See Note C)
|
75% minimum score on USSF State Referee Exam |
85% minimum score on USSF State Referee Exam |
5. Field Evaluation by currently registered USSF Assessor
(See Note D) |
Pass two field assessments as a referee and one as an assistant referee in U-19 competitive league or higher (using DSC) |
Pass two field assessments as a referee and one as an assistant referee in top adult Division 1 leagues or higher (using DSC) |
| 6. Physical Fitness Test |
Required |
Required |
CRITERIA FOR CERTIFYING and UPGRADING
REFEREE GRADES 3 & 4 |
| CRITERIA |
NATIONAL REFEREE 2
(Grade 4) |
NATIONAL REFEREE 1
(Grade 3) |
| 1. Minimum Age |
23 |
24 |
2. Experience (minimum cumulative career outdoor games at designated level)
(See Note F) |
Referee: 150 (50 must be Div. 1 adult or higher; 5 must be professional games)
Assistant Referee: 100 (5 must be professional games) |
10 additional games |
| a. Game level to be counted for advancement |
Adult league or higher |
Professional League Division 2 or higher |
b. Time in present grade
(See Note G)
|
2 years as State Class 1 prior to application date; must have been a USSF referee for a minimum of 1 year (foreign trained referee) |
12 consecutive months as National prior to application date; must meet FIFA requirements for selection to international panel |
| 3. Training Course Requirements |
Attend and successfully complete the National Referee Certification Session |
Same as for Grade 4 |
| 4. Written Examination |
Must pass a special National Referee Examination |
Same as for Grade 4 |
5. Field Evaluation
(See Notes D, E, F) |
Pass 3 field assessments as referee and 2 as assistant referee. 2 of the assessments as referee and 1 as assistant referee must be on professional games |
Pass 2 field assessments as referee (one on professional game) and 1 as assistant referee |
| 6. Physical Fitness Test |
USSF Physical Fitness Test required |
FIFA/Cooper Physical Fitness Test required |
| 7. Citizenship |
U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident |
U.S. Citizen |
Notes and Comments
Note A, Registration and Upgrading:
Registration, annual renewal and requests for upgrading must be made through the appropriate State/Overseas Referee Administrator. Referees who have registered as grade 8 or higher may not re-register as grade 9. There is no upgrade path from any of the grades 9, 10 or 11.
Note B, Retaking Exams (grades 11, 10, 9, 8, 7):
If a person does not pass the written examination, the entire examination must be retaken after a minimum waiting period of one month.
Note C, Retaking Exams (grades 6, 5):
If a person does not pass the written examination, the entire examination must be retaken after a minimum waiting period of three months.
Note D, Assessments:
Each failed assessment requires one additional passing assessment as an offset.
Note E, Assessments for National Referee:
Assessments must be by a currently registered USSF National Assessor or an assessor approved by the Director of Assessment and the national office. They must be on games approved by the Referee Committee and played within the dates specified (Jan 1-Dec 31). The minimum acceptable score is 80.
Note F, Professional Games:
The Referee Committee may approve other games to count toward the requirement for professional games.
Note G, Fast Track:
Candidates for upgrading to National Referee must be acceptable to the National Referee Committee. Requirements other than game level, professional game counts and assessments may be waived at the discretion of the National Referee Committee.
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