The Officiating Program conducts over 400 pre-season educational seminars for its officials during the fall months. These full-day seminars are mandatory for all officials registering with USA Hockey. All seminars are conducted free-of-charge to all participants. The content of these educational seminars ranges from on-ice skills to rules interpretations to advanced theories of officiating. As experience is gained, officials advance to higher level seminars.

1. Contact our local USA Hockey Supervisor of Officials for information you will need to become a referee and do it before the end of October of the season you want to officiate. The best time to contact a supervisor is in July and August preceding the hockey season. Once November comes and you have not contacted a Supervisor for information, it is probably too late to become a referee for that season. Try again during the following summer.
2. Attend a USA Hockey Officiating Seminar anywhere in the country (you do not have to attend one in your home area necessarily). At the seminar, make sure to receive a USA Hockey Referee Application Form. Bring skates, helmet and a whistle as a minimum for the on-ice portion. Also, to receive credit for attending the seminar, make sure that you have signed the official attendance sheet at the end of the seminar.
3. Mail in the USA Hockey Referee Application Form along with the appropriate fee directly to USA Hockey in Colorado. You will receive a rule book and open book rules exam directly from Colorado when they receive your form.
4. Do the open book rules exam when it comes to you from USA Hockey. Carefully mark the answer sheet. When you are done, mail the answer sheet directly back to USA Hockey in Colorado.
5. If you have passed the exam and have attended a seminar, you will receive your officiating crest for your sweater and your referee ID card. Place the crest on your officiating sweater. It is at this point that you are now fully registered with USA Hockey and you are covered fully by USA Hockey medical and liability insurance. It is at this point in time that you now may be scheduled to officiate ice hockey games. Your registration is valid through November 30 of the following year.
   
   If you have not passed the open-book rules exam, you will be given one more chance to take it. Complete the new answer sheet and mail it in. You are not fully registered until you have passed the exam.
6. Contact the RIHOA assignor. Our assignor will not come looking for you once you get your materials from USA Hockey.
7. Skate games, learn as you go and enjoy officiating this fast and exciting game