Anyone can become a referee with The FA granted you must be at least 14-years-old and a resident of England to attend the FA Referees Course.


The first stage on your referee ‘journey’ is to attend a Referee Course which predominately takes place over the course of a number of weekends.


After completion of the course you will then be allocated a league to referee 5 games in your local area.

After completing the course Referees will attend a final assessment module.  On completion of this you will become a fully qualified and certified registered Referee.


This is a 3 day course costing £115.  To express an interest in attending a Referee course in your area please complete the online link.


How do I become a referee


To set you on your path to becoming a referee, you must first complete a referee interest form (see documents section below):

Becoming a Referee - the process:

  • Click here to complete the online referee interest form.
  • Once a Get into Refereeing Evening is scheduled in your area you will be sent an invite to attend.  
  • Course dates and locations will be released in due course; however attendance will only be allocated to those whom have attended a Get into Refereeing Evening. Please note that attendance at the Get into Refereeing does not guarantee a place on a course.
  • All of our courses are now arranged in line with demand for courses from football in that area (Leagues) in the first instance then that of the potential candidates.