Referee Recertification

Recertification is an annual requirement for all referees. It is also an excellent opportunity to refresh one's education about the game. The MSRC administrative and instructional staff works hard to prepare for the recertification season for referees in Massachusetts to create an atmosphere that is conducive to sharing ideas and experiences about refereeing.

Recertification 2024-25

Overview

Building on the approach introduced in 2022, our team is looking to make the recertification process one of continuous education to be engaged throughout the year.. This year's program combines a required virtual, online educational module with a set of other educational modules from which a referee may select to fulfill the required educational hours for certification. That is, each referee can choose a topic of interest and/or attend multiple, elective modules to gain as much knowledge as possible.

Again this year we will be offering Field Sessions to allow for practical training. Attendance at a Field Session can be an element of recertification for any referee. Referees at higher levels rely on field work to continue advancing in knowledge and there will be such opportunities for more experienced referees to do that as part of recertification.

Our MSRC Central database allows that (a) the certification requirements can done in any order, and (b) each referee can see his/her/their status and progress towards meeting the certification requirements. Once all of the requirements are met, the system will automatically add you to the queue to process your certification.

Administrative Requirements

All referees — Referee, Regional Referee — must complete all of the following:

• Sign Waiver — this is an online task within your MSRC Central profile. Once per year, when you log into your MSRC Central account you will be directed to "sign" the statement. This electronic signature replaces the old "registration form" that had been scanned and email in previous years.
• Pay Registration Fee — as in previous years, payment can be made via credit card online or by mailed-in check. The payment is not tied to any course and can be made at any time in the certification process.
• Upload Current Photo to MSRC profile
• Pass Certification Test
• US Soccer Learning Center Supplemental Courses
  
  • Introduction to Safe and Healthy Playing Environments
  • SafeSport (if 18-years-old or older)
  • National Background Check (if 18-years-old or older)

Course Requirements

Referees (Referee and Regional Referee) must attend:

• Mandatory Module — Look for RECERT- 2025 Law Changes & Points of Emphasis. This module will cover Laws of the Game changes and other important information
• Elective Modules — Examples include RECERT - Handling, RECERT - Managing Dissent, RECERT - Positioning, etc.
  2 modules for Level I & II (defined below)
  1 module for Level III (defined below)

Alternative! – if you attend three PREP sessions or ART session, these collection of events can replace an Elective Module.

Notes:

• Referees may attend additional, elective modules at no additional cost.
• All course modules and field sessions require pre-registration (i.e. no drop-ins)
• Elective Modules are "levelled":
  Level I for (a) every referee under the age of 18, and (b) any referee 18+ with 1 or 2 years experience beyond the age of 18
  Level II for any referee 18+ with 3-6 years experience beyond the age of 18
  Level III for Regional referees and any referee age 18+ with 7+ years of experience beyond the age of 18
• The MyStatus tab within your MSRC Central profile will show the progress being made against the requirements. That tab will offer links to complete some requirements, including, Pay Registration Fee.
• The Question and Answer document contains answers to the most common questions.

Look at our Course Schedule for dates and times of course modules and field sessions.