2018 registration began July 1, 2017 and will be open until June 30, 2018.  For 2018 requirements, click the link below.

• Referee Certification Requirements

Assignor Appointments

Assignors should be selected by the affiliated competitions being served with advisement from the State Referee Committee.

Assignor appointments should be made for a period of at least one year and assignors should be familiar with the registration and certification processes for officials.

When an assignor is also a referee, they should not officiate in any competition where they also serve as an assignor (unless in an emergency situation).

Assignment Priority

While each U.S. Soccer Match Official is expected to keep the assignments they accept, there are certain occasions where a individual should be released from a lower level assignment to officiate in a higher level competition.

To this end, the following games are listed by priority for assignment:

1. International and National Team games assigned by U.S. Soccer
2. Games assigned by the Professional Referee Organization (PRO)
3. Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup assigned by U.S. Soccer
4. Youth National Team games assigned by U.S. Soccer
5. Regional and National competitions assigned directly by U.S. Soccer's Affiliate Members.
   Includes, but is not limited to:
   • USASA
   • US Youth Soccer
   • US Club Soccer
   • U.S. Soccer Affiliate Members
6. State level competitions assigned directly by U.S. Soccer and U.S. Soccer's Affiliate Members.
   Includes, but is not limited to:
   • State Adult Associations
   • State Youth Associations
   • League games assigned by U.S. Soccer
   • U.S. Soccer Affiliate Members

Please note that this policy does not apply:

• Within 72 hours of the scheduled game time unless an emergency situation exists
• When a substantial financial commitment has been made for the assignment (e.g., non-refundable airline tickets)

Responsibility of officials:

• Keep the lines of communication open about upcoming national and international appointments as far in advance as possible
• Communicate the receipt of a higher priority appointment to their assignor, State Referee Administrator, and U.S. Soccer (if applicable) as soon as possible
• Report an assignor that refuses to release the official for a higher priority assignment to their State Referee Administrator and the U.S. Soccer Referee Department

Responsibility of assignors:

• Identify the highly experienced officials on your assignment roster who are likely to be assigned to a higher priority assignment and always be prepared to fill these slots on an emergency basis
• Cooperate with officials and other assignors on those rare occasions when the game priority policy is invoked
• Report any concerns regarding officials to the State Referee Administrator

Equal Opportunity

Referee assignors must offer equal opportunity to all qualified referees and avoid discrimination against any individual or group regardless of age, race, color, religion, gender, national origin or disability.

Directory of Registered Officials

A directory of currently registered and certified officials must be furnished to registered and certified assignors by the State Referee Administrator and this directory may not be transmitted in any way to any outside third party. Assignors should review the directory prior to making any assignment and prior to the start of each season.

Rotation of Assignments

Assignors and referees must recognize that officiating where familiarity or family relationships with coaches or players exist should be avoided. Assignors should limit the number of times a referee officiates for any one team or club.

Referees and assistant referees should be rotated on a regular basis among all the assigned leagues and all the teams within a league. No referee should be assigned to any one league or club exclusively.

Feedback on Officials

A standardized rating system should be documented by the assignor with updated input from developmental and formal assessments, coaches' reports, mentors, evaluations and other sources of information made available.

Assignors are encouraged to listen to complaints about officials. When the complaint concerns an official who has demonstrated bias, unfair officiating or incompetence, the assignor should direct that the complaint be filed in writing to the State Referee Administrator and all such reports should be investigated.

In some instances, an assignor may want to work with the State Director of Assessment to obtain an objective assessment in response to complaints about an official's performance.