Referees not registered in the previous year

Any referee who was not registered with the U.S. Soccer Federation the previous year may be certified at the grade previously held after taking and passing the written qualifying examination, fitness test, and assessments. The following policy applies to referees who were previously certified and registered with the Federation:

1. Grade 8 referees who miss 1-4 consecutive years of registration can be reregistered as a grade 8 after completing a Referee Re-certification clinic.

2. Grade 8 referees who miss 5 or more consecutive years must re-take the entire Entry Level Referee Training Course.

3. Grade 7 Referees and Higher - Referees can only be registered at the grade they qualify for. Referees who were Grade 7 or higher should be downgraded a minimum of one (1) grade, as per current policy (as long as they have met the criteria for that grade). Once they retake the appropriate course as listed above for grade 8 referees and have completed all the requirements for the previously held grade, they may be upgraded.

4. US Soccer Federation Referee Instructors who wish to re-certify as a referee after a lapse in referee registration may be registered as a grade 8 referee upon meeting current re-certification requirements, no matter how long it has been since they last registered as a referee, if they are currently registered as a US Soccer instructor and have taught, at a minimum, one entry-level referee training course in the last two years.