Officiating
Officials/Referees
Officials are the lifeblood of any hockey game. Without officials, no games would be played. In ice hockey, an official is a person who has some responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. There are two categories of officials, on-ice officials, who are the referees and linesmen that enforce the rules during gameplay, and off-ice officials, who have an administrative role rather than an enforcement role. For youth hockey, we are focused on and work with on-ice officials 99.9% of the time.
If you're interested in becoming an official here is what you will need to become an official or renew your official status:
- Register with USA Hockey as an ice official. This step is required prior to performing any other actions.
- In the upcoming weeks, you'll receive your rule book and paper instructions in the mail.
- If you're a new official, you'll need to check your email you registered with USA Hockey in step 1 for your USA Hockey SSO Username. There will be instructions in that email on how to gain access to the Learning Portal.
- If you're a returning official, you'll need to log into the USA Hockey Learning Portal here.
- Once you're in the Learning Portal, you'll navigate to the Officials Home tab. Your available courses will show up 30-60 minutes after you perform step 1 above.
- Register for a classroom seminar. The seminars are online different days and times, you'll need to register for a specific day and time. They are approximately 3 hours long. You'll need to be physically available during the session to interact as required.
- Register and complete your level modules. These can be completed even prior to taking the classroom seminar.
- Register and complete the Playing Rules Exercise.
Keep in mind, you'll need to refresh your certification as an official each year.
If you have any questions, please contact the Referee Coordinator.
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