How to become a soccer referee!

Becoming a soccer referee is fairly straightforward. This website documents the path for getting your referee license. Some of the information on this website is specific to Northern California. Anyone not governed by the California North Referee Administration (CNRA) may need to follow a different path.

Below are the sections that describe how to become a referee, get game assignments, and maintain your license:

Grassroots Referee Training

This section describes the steps for obtaining a basic Grassroots (aka, grade 8) referee license.

  1. Register on the U.S. Soccer Learning Center website
  2. Sign-up for a First Time Referee training.
  3. Complete the Compliance Assignments:
    • Background Screening
    • SafeSport Training
    • Introduction to Safe and Healthy Playing Environments
  4. Complete the Pre Course Assignments:
    • Online Grassroots Referee Course
    • 2023 Laws of the Game Update
    • First Time Grassroots Referee Quiz
  5. Once the referee trainer submits proof of your completion, then you'll receive your new referee badge within 3-5 weeks.
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Referee Game Assignments

This section describes how to get and manage referee game assignments.

  1. Find a referee assignor on California North Referee Administration Assignor website.
  2. Once you identify a referee assignor in your area, contact them to get the group name and number.
  3. Register on the Game Officials website using the group name and number provided by the referee assignor.
  4. Additional referee assignors can be added to your account if there are more than one referee assignors in your general area, and the Game Officials website allows you to easily switch between the assignors.
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Referee License Renewal

This section describes how to renew your referee license. NOTE: If it has been more than 3 or more years, the applicant will need to re-take the First Time Referee training. More information can be found here.

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Upgrading to a Regional Referee License Renewal

This section describes how to upgrade your referee license from Grassroots to Regional. The gist is that you must have refereed 50 games as a referee and 25 games as an assistant referee, as well as satisfy the FIFA sprint and interval tests.

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Become a Mentor Referee

This section describes how to become a mentor referee. The gist is that you must have been a referee for two years and you must lead a video analysis session, a practical exercise, and observe the performance of match officials along with some training on learning.ussoccer.com/referee.

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Laws of the Game

This section describes how to access the laws of the game.

  • The official laws of the game can be dowloanded from the International Football Association Board website.
    • In addition to downloading the iOS app that contains the laws of the game, you can also purchase a paper back version on the IFAB Webshop.
  • The NorCal Referees website describes rules of competition for Northern California.
    • The rules of competition can be handy for looking up information related to field sizes, substitutions, and how to deal with tie-breakers where a tie is not allowed.
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Referee Gear

This section describes how to acquire referee gear.

  • The main company to purchase referee uniforms is the Official Sports website.
  • A good company for whistles and flags is the Law Five website.
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Referee License Types (formerly Grades)

This section describes the different types of referee licenses. When I first started out refereeing in 1993, referee licenses were distinguished by grades. A referee would generally start out at a grade 8, and then advance to higher grades through an assessment process. The US Soccer Federation describes the following mapping of referee grades to their new license types:

  • Grassroots (formerly grades 9 to 7)
  • Regional (formerly grades 6 to 5)
  • National (formerly grades 4 to 3)
  • PRO
  • FIFA

The above information was found at the following U.S. Soccer Federation website, which may require you to already be logged into your referee account in order to view it properly.

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Miscellaneous Soccer Websites

This section contains miscellaneous links to soccer related websites.

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MLS NEXT

This section contains information related to MLS NEXT. For Napa County, referee assignments are handled on Game Officials assignment website under a separate group. A referee must fill out and sign a Referee Waiver and a W-9 form, which should be emailed to P. Kelley, in order to take assignments for MLS NEXT games. For the MLS NEXT games, they request referees show up 1 hour prior to the start of the game. The MLS NEXT Referee handbook has all the details regarding referee process, rules, and expectations.

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