Officials Commonly Asked Registration Questions (2024)

Can I attend a seminar before registering as an official?
No, all officials must complete Membership Registration prior to completing Seminar Registration.

How do I get an Official’s Application?
USA Hockey offers online registration for allofficials. Simply look for the

Is there a fee involved with the official’s application?
The official’s registration fee is collected with the application and must be paid when the application is submitted in order for the application to be processed.All revenue generated from the registration fees is used to cover the day-to-day operations the Officiating Program. These include volunteer expenses, seminar expenses, educational materials, printing, postage, and all other expenses incurred to operate the program.

In addition, some districts or affiliates also charge a nominal AffiliateFee in order to fund special programs and local operating expenses. These fees may be collected as part of the USA Hockey application process and then are distributed to the district or affiliate level.

How do I find out if my Local Affiliate charges an annual registration fee?
Not all Local Affiliates (your local governing body) charge a fee each year; however this question can be answered by your USA Hockey Local Supervisor of Officials or District Referee-in-Chief.

It looks as if I'm paying two registration fees to be an official. How do the fees break down?
USA Hockey’s officiating registration fee is considered a separate entity from that of a player and/or coach. Whereas an adult player can also coach under the same registration fee, the official’s fee is separate and must be paid by each official. In the case of the adult player, USA Hockey utilizes the joint fee for them to coach as a means to encourage these adult players to volunteer their time as a youth hockey coach. This is not done on the officiating side for a variety of reasons.

Maintaining a separate fee actually assists us in being able to keep our costs down. USA Hockey purchases insurance coverage for each member type, recognizing that the insurance risk for a player/coach is going to be different than it is for an official. By doing so, our insurance costs are actually held to a minimum. Instead of purchasing a blanket insurance program that covers all inherent risks for all member types at a greater cost to all members, we can be more specific and actually purchase coverage that accounts for the specific risk of each member type.

In addition, the Officiating Education Program is a distinct program that has several benefits included as part of the registration process. These include the Rule Book/Case Book, Officiating Manuals, the majority of the expenses for the officiating seminar, and administrative costs that are specific to the conducting of our direct registration program, including testing and distribution of materials.

In contrast, there is an additional fee charged by the Coaching Education Program for clinic attendance and many of the coaching manuals would also need to be purchased. Finally, in many cases, the officials are perceived to be the only people involved who are getting paid, so the USA Hockey Board of Directors feel strongly that the cost of our Education program should be funded strictly by our officiating membership, hence the independent registration fee and program.

How do I find out who is my Local Supervisor of Officials?
The Officiating Program Directory is locatedat USAHockey.com usingthe Officiating

How do I get my Open Book Rules Exam?
The Open Book Rules Exam can accessed online at the Officials website24-hours after online registration. Informationabout completing theOpen Book Rules Examwill be sent to you from the National Office upon receipt of your application and registration fee. For those who register online, an email will be sent with information on how to complete the online Open Book Exam.

It is strongly recommended that all officials use the current USA Hockey Playing Rules & Casebook and Basic Officiating Manual to complete the Open Book Exam.

Where can I get a Rule Book and Officiating Manual?
All new officials will receive a copy of theUSA Hockey Playing Rules & Casebook and red Basic Officiating Manual in the mail within a few days of their processed registration. Since the USA Hockey Rule Book is a four-year rule book all returning officials will receive a copy of the Playing Rules & Casebook every fouryears (after each rule change process).

The Playing Rules and Casebook and all Officiating Manuals arealso available for (PDF) download online at the

How long do I have to take the Open Book Rules Exam?
The Open Book Rules Exam is designed to be completed in a time frame convenient to the official. An official may sign into their exam and complete the entire exam in one day, or use the "save" feature to save their progress over a few days.

Please understandthat new officials will not be eligible to work games until they have completed the exam and attended a seminar.Furthermore, areturning officials’ previous year registration expires on November 30th of thenew season, so they will need to complete the exam in a timely manner in order to continue to work games. Ultimately, USA Hockey will accept Open Book Exams up until February 28thof the current season at which point the registration season closes.

Do I have to complete the Open Book Exam prior to attending my seminar?

Where do I find out about the seminars in my area?
Since seminar attendance is one of the registration requirements, USA Hockey conducts several hundred seminars throughout the country each season. You can obtain seminar information by clicking the

Sometimes, a local area may add a late-scheduled seminar in order to accommodate officials who did not attend any previously scheduled seminars. These seminars may not appear on the schedule or be posted on the website. In this instance, you may wish to contact your Local Supervisor of Officials to inquire about a late scheduled seminar in your area.

How do I get credit for attending the seminar?
Depending on where you live, each official who attends a USA Hockey seminar must complete Seminar Registrationandcheck-inat the seminar they attend.Seminar attendance information is then sent to the National Office where your attendance is matched up with your registration record.

If Pre-Registration is not required in your area, it is imperative that each official "check-in" at the seminar. Furthermore, they may be required to sign an Attendance Form. Officials who do not go through the required seminar "check-in" process may not be given credit for seminar attendance.

What should I bring to the seminar?
For the In-Person Classroom Session, all officials should bring a pen, notebook, and the USA Hockey Rulebook. While at the seminar, make sure you record the contact information for your local supervisor of officials and local assignor(s) for future reference after you complete your registration and are ready to work games.

For the On-Ice Session, all new officials are expected to bring skates, a hockey helmet, and some form of whistle. We do not require full equipment for new officials.

What is Online Seminar Module Education?
Online Seminar Module Education is a series of video modules that uses videos examples, animation, content slides, and quizes to help educate our 25,000 officials across the country.

Access to the modules will be given 24-hours after membership registration is completed. Once accessed, all officials are encouraged to read the directions at the homepage carefully.

At the end of each module, there is a short quiz to complete. If the official does not answer the required number of questions correctly the official must complete the entire module again.

Online Seminar Education requires both Required and Elective-Menu courses be completed, and an official will not receive credit for Online Education until allcourse categories are completed.

Naturally, keeping your contact information current and accurate in the USA Hockey database is also critical to successful communication. To update your personal information please contact

There is a lot of stuff going to and from the National Office.How long does it take to receive materials?
Generally, we are simply at the mercy of the U.S. Postal Service. Once the material is receivedat the National Office, it will be processed and the appropriate materials will be sent out within 2 business days. Furthermore, the National Office has little control over is the timeliness of receiving seminar attendance and Closed Book Exam information from our volunteer Seminar Coordinators. They are encouraged to submit the seminar materials within a day of the seminar, but sometimes it takes a little longer to reach the National Office.

Of coursesubmitting your Membership Registration,Open Book Exam, Online Education Modules, and SafeSport trainingonline should speed up this process as we are not counting on the Post Office for obtaining some of the necessary information.

Is there a way I can check my registration status?
All USA Hockey Officials may check their registration status online in the USA Hockey Courses System.

Before this can be done, the official must create an online profile for themselves inthe USA Hockey Courses System. To do this the official must start at the USAHockey.com homepage. Use the R

Note: This process simply creates an online website profileand it