referee certification

Watch the CalSouth Referee Program below to learn how to get certified today.

STEP 1: Join NOCRA Referee Association

To help you understand your membership as a referee, here is an Organizational Chart:
US SOCCER FEDERATION
CALSOUTH
REFEREE ASSOCIATIONS
Our Federal Soccer Association who establishes U.S. curriculum and guidelines
​Our State Soccer Association to administer and approve certifications
Individual local associations responsible to assign referees to games; educate, mentor and advance
NOCRA is an Official CalSouth Referee Association

STEP 2: CalSouth Referee Certification - Getting Started

  • Learn about the basics of becoming a referee - explore CalSouth's FAQs.
  • Complete an In Person Scrimmage - for the first hour attendees will do field exercises (Referee and AR Mechanics, Touchline and Goal line decisions, Offside,etc.). Then the attendees will Referee and/or AR the scrimmage with a mentor. This is perfect for those who play soccer or with some referee experience.
  • ​Complete In Person Field Training - this consists of three hours of field exercises, perfect for those just starting out.

STEP 3: SafeSport Certification (How to add to your Profile)

SafeSport Trained certificate requirement for all referees 18 years or older for the 2023 season.

The SafeSport Trained course covers the following topics in-depth:
  • Mandatory Reporting
  • Emotional and Physical Misconduct Education

A certificate is available once the course is concluded. This certificate is to be uploaded and verified in the individual Cal South registration system profile. This feature works the same way as the Concussion Education Certificates. 

Cal South has secured an access code to complete these requirements at no expense to our affiliates. You will receive an email from CalSouth with the access code.
SafeSport Certification
  1. Complete the SafeSport Training.
  2. Save the Certificate to your device.

Two Options to post the certificate:
A. Email your certificate to [email protected]
B. Upload the Certificate to your CalSouth Account.
  1. Log into your CalSouth Account.
  2. Upload the SafeSport Certificate to your CalSouth Account.
  3. CalSouth will update the Registered List with those who have completed the certification.

Note: You also are required to have Concussion Awareness Certification.

STEP 4: Check the Cal South Registered Official's List

To referee you must be on the CalSouth Registered Official List to be assigned games.

Referee Re-Certification

For those referees that are already certified, each year you must re-certify to continue to referee.
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additional inspiration & information
Check out this video of Alexi Lalas and Esse Baharmast on the importance of refereeing.
CalSouth Referee Program Overview