Referee Emeritus

The purpose of the emeritus grade is to retire from the highest level the referee has attained.It may not be used to circumvent the testing and registration procedures of U.S. Soccer.

The emeritus grade allows a National or State Referee the option of retiring from those levels of officiating while retaining that grade and continuing to referee at a lower level.

To become an Emeritus Referee, the official must submit a personal letter of intent to the State Referee Administrator who will initiate the appropriate paperwork.The referee must have held the grade for a minimum of three years prior to the request.(The three years do not have to be consecutive or immediately preceding the request for emeritus status – but at anytime in the referee's career.)

Active Emeritus Referees must qualify each year for the level that they will be officiating and pay the published fees for that level.Emeritus Referees will receive an Emeritus Referee Badge, a card, law book and all general mailings.

An Emeritus Referee may reinstate as an active referee at the level the official retired from once all the criteria for the grade has been met.

National Assessor Emeritus

The purpose of the emeritus grade is to retire from the highest level (National Assessor) that the assessor has attained.It may not be used to circumvent the testing and registration procedures of U.S. Soccer.

The Emeritus National Assessor grade allows the assessor the option of retiring at the highest level of assessing while retaining that grade and continuing to assess at the state level.

To become an Emeritus National Assessor, the assessor must have held the National Assessor grade for a minimum of three years prior to requesting emeritus status.

Active emeritus assessors must qualify each year and meet the State Assessor re-certification requirements and pay the published fee for that level.The Emeritus National Assessor will receive a registration card, a law book, and all general mailings.

An Emeritus National Assessor may be reinstated at a future date as an active national assessor at the invitation of U.S. Soccer, having met all the current requirements for that grade.

Lifetime Membership

The Referee Committee of the U.S. Soccer Federation recognizes those referees who have distinguished themselves through long-time, unselfish contribution to soccer officiating, instruction, assessment and administration in the United States by offering Lifetime Membership to those individuals.

Criteria
Referees who have reached the age of 60 or older and meet any of the following criteria are eligible for lifetime membership, provided they displayed a thorough dedication to the referee program.

A. Their registration activity as referee, instructor, assessor or referee administrator must span at least twenty-five consecutive years.
B. All recipients of the Eddie Pearson or Bill Scofield awards.
C. All referees who are recipients of the U. S. Soccer Federation Hall of Fame Meritorious Service Award, if the award was received for their contribution to the referee program.
D. All former FIFA Referees and FIFA Assistant Referees who retired from the FIFA list solely due to age eligibility.

Nominations
A. Each State Association, State Referee Committee, or State Referee Administrator may recommend any candidate based on any combination of the above criteria.
B. Any member of the U.S. Soccer Referee Committee may recommend any candidate based on any combination of the above criteria.

Screening
A. The National Referee Office will be responsible for verifying that the candidate meets the requirements stated in the recommendation.

Award
The award is a certificate that signifies their dedication to the program over the years.The recipients are entitled to free registration for all programs (referee, instructor, assessor, etc.) in which they actively participate.

Future Registration
A copy of the letter or certificate designating Lifetime Membership should be attached to each registration form each year.