Officiating Levels

The Officiating Program establishes “levels of achievement” for each individual, from the beginner to the highly-skilled official.

First-year officials must register as a Level 1 official and may officiate at the lower levels of hockey. New officials who have past experience in officiating ice hockey may register at a different level, on a case-by-case basis, as determined by the District Referee-in-Chief.

LEVEL 1: May officiate games at age levels 8 or Under thru 12 or Under (Mites through Pee Wees) after completion of the registration and testing process in addition to attending a pre-season seminar.

  • Must complete SafeSport training (if 2007 birth year or older).
  • Must complete and maintain a USA Hockey Sanctioned criminal Background Screen if 18+ as of June 1 of the current Season.

LEVEL 2: May officiate at the 14 or Under (Bantam) and younger age classes after completion of the registration and testing process and after one or two years at Level 1. Attendance at a pre-season seminar is mandatory.

  • Must have been Level 1 or higher within the last two seasons.
  • Must complete SafeSport training (if 2007 birth year or older).
  • Must complete and maintain a USA Hockey Sanctioned criminal Background Screen if 18+ as of June 1 of the current Season.

LEVEL 3: The Level 3 official has proven his abilities over a period of years. The official is required to complete all registration and testing requirements and must attend a pre-season seminar. Level 3 officials may referee games through the 17 or Under age classification (Midget) as well as Over 20 (Senior) and act as a Linesman for Junior hockey games (19 and under).

  • Must have been Level 2 or higher the previous season.
  • Must complete SafeSport training (if 2007 birth year or older).
  • Must complete and maintain a USA Hockey Sanctioned criminal Background Screen if 18+ as of June 1 of the current Season.

LEVEL 4: Level 4 officials may work all levels of USA Hockey. Applicants must have one year experience at Level 3, must successfully complete the open-book exam, the closed-book exam, a skating test and attend a pre-season seminar.

  • Must have been Level 3 or higher the previous season.
  • Must complete SafeSport training (if 2007 birth year or older).
  • Must complete and maintain a USA Hockey Sanctioned criminal Background Screen if 18+ as of June 1 of the current Season.

Scheduling of Games

Registration with the USA Hockey Officiating Program does not guarantee any official any game assignments.

Officials are responsible for obtaining their own game assignments from Local Game Schedulers as designated in each District. Any game scheduler who assigns incompletely registered officials for games is subject to serious liability as he/she jeopardizes the insurance coverage of the officials and both teams involved. Whenever possible, only level-qualified officials should be assigned to games.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • An official may not change their membership level to a higher level once their online membership application is submitted.
  • “Complete” membership registration means that an official has completed all steps at the level for which they have applied.
    “Incomplete” means that an official has submitted a membership application but has not completed all the necessary steps to be complete at any level.
  • A new incomplete official may not officiate any USA Hockey sanctioned games until they are completely registered and receive their current season referee card and crest.
  • Once complete, a membership is valid through November 30 of the following season (e.g., a 2023-24 membership is valid through November 30, 2024). If the member does not complete their current season membership prior to November 30, their membership expires and they become ineligible to work USA Hockey sanctioned games until they complete their current season membership registration.
  • To be eligible to officiate in any State, District or National Tournaments, an official must be completely registered on or before December 31 of the current season.