Becoming a Referee and Upcoming Entry Level Field Sessions

ALERT! THE REGISTRATION FOR REFEREE CANDIDATES AND RECERTIFICATION FOR THE 2026 REFEREE BADGE YEAR IS CLOSED AS OF JUNE 1, 2026. THE SYSTEM WILL RE-OPEN FOR 2027 REFEREE BADGE YEAR IN MID- JULY 2026.

You’re on your way to becoming a certified US Soccer referee!

Review this information FIRST for IMPORTANT course requirement information.

You must create a USSF LEARNING CENTER profile ( learning.ussoccer.com).You will create your account in the sign up section and follow the directions. Remember that you are signing up to create a profile in the REFEREE section.
COMMON MISTAKES THAT REFEREE CANDIDATES PRESENT ARE INACCURACIES IN THE PROFILE AREA OF THE USSF LEARNING CENTER OR OMS! THE INFORMATION SUBMITTED MUST BE CORRECTLY AND CONSISTENTLY PRESENTED IN BOTH SITES!
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT PAYMENT MUST BE MADE IN ADVANCE OF THE NEXT STEPS! ADDITIONALLY, AS PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS HAVE CHANGED AS OF 7/1/2025, REFUNDS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE.
You must create an EPSARC Referee Account and then register for the Online Lessons clinic.
Complete the online lessons via the USSF Learning Center ( learning.ussoccer.com/referee)
Once the online lessons are done you will be able to select a Field Session to attend, however, the referee candidate should concurrently obtain the following:

+Order your referee uniform from Officials Sports International- see below:

Uniform and Gear: Do you need a uniform and referee gear kit? You may order your uniform at any time! You should contact Official Sports International directly to order your uniform and any other gear or equipment you need or desire. OSI can be reached at https://officialsports.com. Do keep in mind that EPSA default referee uniform kit is a YELLOW TOP, BLACK SHORTS and BLACK LONG SOCKS.

+Attain your Risk Management Clearances- See below:

RISK MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS:

Background Clearances – EVERYONE 14 years of age and older must complete Risk Management protocols correctly!

Pennsylvania Background Clearances NOTE: clearances may take up to 30 days to complete (although many are coming back within a few days) – allow sufficient time.
There are THREE BACKGROUND CLEARANCES THAT MUST BE COMPLETED by everyone, dependent upon age:

ALL ADULTS (18 years and older) must complete the FBI FINGERPRINT CLEARANCE USING CODE 1KG6XN via www.identogo.com.
ALL MINORS (Those persons under 18 years of age) must complete the Affidavit of Compliance with parental/guardian signature- see immediately below:

https://epsarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Disclosure-Statement_Minors.pdf

ALL PERSONS must complete the Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Clearance via https://epatch.pa.gov/
ALL PERSONS must complete the Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance via www.compass.state.pa.us. or https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/clearancelearnmore

3. Once you have received all three (3) relative risk management forms, you will:

Upload clearance documents into your OMS EPSARC account for review:
Be sure the documents are saved on your computer as a pdf or jpeg file format
Log into your account at epsarc.omgtsys.com
Click on Administration > Provide SafeSport/Background documentation
Upload each document individually.

FIELD SESSONS

IMPORTANT: Entry Level outdoor field sessions will be available when climate conditions prevail and there will be limited indoor field sessions over the winter. Continue to check the link below for current courses.

LICENSES RECEIVED FROM A COURSE AFTER 7/1/2025 WILL BE FOR 2026 REGISTRATION WITH THE ABILITY TO REF UNTIL 12/31/2026. LICENSES RECEIVED FROM A COURSE AFTER 7/1/2026 WILL BE FOR 2027 WITH THE ABILITY TO REF UNTIL 12/31/2027.

RISK MANAGEMENT/CLEARANCE EXPECTATIONS

It is expected that you will have completed and successfully passed your USSF Referee Examinations, completed and successfully passed your Safesport course, and applied, obtained and submitted ALL of your RMO/Clearance documents PRIOR to your field session. You will not be permitted to select your field session unless you have successfully fulfilled ALL of your RMO/Clearance documents. You will also be instructed , as part of referee lessons, that your RMO/Clearances must be uploaded correctly in lesson 8 (Background Check Reminder). Once you have successfully completed your field session, you may receive your badge on site. Once this process is complete, then you may contact an assignor and begin your journey as a USSF Referee. ( mod. 11/20/2024)

With this change in policy, it is anticipated that once each referee candidate has taken and successfully passed their USSF Referee Examinations, successfully passed your Safesport course, have received RMO/Clearance verification notice from EPSARC/USSF, and successfully completed the field session, then the newly appointed referee will receive their badge immediately at the conclusion of the field session. At this point, the newly appointed referee may reach out to an assignor and accept referee assignments. Do keep in mind, that assignors are also obligated to establish the validity of each referee’s compliance status.

REQUIRED FIELD SESSIONS FOR NEW REFEREES

IMPORTANT: Entry Level outdoor field sessions are held throughout the year. There may be limited indoor field sessions over the winter. Continue to check the EPSARC.org website for current courses. The field session MUST be successfully completed AFTER the candidate has obtained a passing grade on the USSF Referee On-line Examination and the complete fulfillment of the Risk Management Requirements. Once these critical and mandatory components have all been successfully performed, you should anticipate that you will become a USSF Referee.

View upcoming In-Person Field Session Trainings

GENERAL LIST OF UP-COMING FIELD SESSIONS FOR 2027

ALERT! THE REGISTRATION FOR REFEREE CANDIDATES AND RECERTIFICATION FOR THE 2026 REFEREE BADGE YEAR IS CLOSED AS OF JUNE 1, 2026. THE REFEREE EXAMINATION SYSTEM WILL RE-OPEN FOR 2027 REFEREE BADGE YEAR IN MID- JULY 2026.

NEW REFEREE FIELD TRAINING SESSION SA-12-0726-EGRH DOWNINGTOWN, PA SUNDAY 7/26/2026 11AM – 5PM MALISSA MOORE ( MMOORE@SIDELINESOCCERSOLUTIONS.COM) UNITED SPORTS DOWNINGTOWN, 1426 MARSHALLTON-THORNDALE ROAD, DOWNINGTOWN, PA 19335.

NEW REFEREE FIELD TRAINING SESSION SA-04-0726-EGRH ROYERSFORD, PA SATURDAY 8/1/2026 9AM – 3PM PAUL LUCAS ( PLUCAS@WESTMONTUNITEDSOCCER.ORG) WESTMONT SOCCER COMPLEX, 560 ROYERSFORD ROAD, ROYERSFORD, PA 19468.

NEW REFEREE FIELD TRAINING SESSION SA-08-0826-EGRH GLENSIDE, PA SATURDAY 8/8/2026 9AM – 3PM FRANZISKUS BERTL ( UDSC.INFO@GMAIL.COM) HUNTER SOCCER CLUB, PENBRYN PARK, 220 HOUSTON AVENUE, GLENSIDE, PA 19038.

NEW REFEREEBFIELD TRAINING SESSION SA-17-0826-EGRH WEST CHESTER, PA SUNDAY 8/9/2026 10AM – 4PM BRAD VAN COTT ( bvancott@PENNFUSION.ORG) RUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL, 1100 SHILOH ROAD, WEST CHESTER, PA 19382

NEW REFEREE FIELD TRAINING SESSION SA-10-0826-EGRH LANCASTER, PA SUNDAY 8/16/2026 9AM-3PM STEPHANIE COOKE ( DIRECTORMTSC@GMAIL.COM) MANHEIM TOWNSHIP SOCCER CLUB/LANCASTER FC, 2254 BASSETT DRIVE, LANCASTER, PA 17601.

NEW REFEREE FIELD TRAINING SESSION SA-13-0726-EGRH LANGHORNE, PA SATURDAY 8/22/2026 9AM – 4PM WILLIAM FULLER ( WILLIAMFULLER861@GMAIL.COM) MIDDLETOWN COMMUNITY PARK, 2600 LANGHORNE-YARDLEY ROAD, LANGHORNE, PA 19047.

NEW REFEREE FIELD TRAINING SESSION SA-06-0826-EGRH GLENSIDE, PA SUNDAY 8/23/2026 12N – 6PM FRANZISKUS BERTL ( UDSC.INFO@GMAIL.COM) HUNTER SOCCER CLUB, PENBRYN PARK, 220 HOUSTON AVENUE, GLENSIDE, PA 19038.

NEW REFEREE FIELD TRAINING SESSION SA-14-0826-EGRH CHAMBERSBURG, PA 8/23/2026 9AM – 3PM JENNIFER FAITH (FAITHJENN@GMAIL.COM) UNION SOCCER CLUB, 375 WEST WASHINGTON AVENUE, CHAMBERSBURG, PA 17201.