Information for
Potential,
New and
Transferring
Officials
Florida High School Athletic Association
Welcome to the Florida High School Athletic
Association!
Objective: This presentation will answer frequently asked
questions for:
• Individuals who are interested in high school officiating,
but never have officiated;
• Newly registered officials;
• Transferring officials (from other states).
We hope you find this to be of assistance.
Thank you for your interest in giving back!
Requirements for all officials
Register with a local officials association
•Register with the FHSAA
•View the mandatory online rules video presentation
•Take the mandatory online open or closed book rules
examination
•Comply with the Jessica Lunsford Act !!!
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•Register with a local officials association
You must join and maintain membership in a local official
association which has been sanctioned by the FHSAA Office. A
local association must grant such an individual conditional
membership until such time as the individual is registered with
the FHSAA Office.
To locate an association near you, please visit our website at
http://officials.fhsaa.org/ or contact the Officials Registrar at
(352) 372-9551 extension 290.
•Register with the FHSAA
Registration with the FHSAA is mandatory.
FHSAA registers officials in the following sports:
Baseball
Softball
Basketball
Swimming and Diving
Football
Track and Field
Flag football
Volleyball
Lacrosse
Wrestling
Soccer
Water polo
•Register with the FHSAA, continued
Requirements for Registration
1. Be 18 years of age or older
2. Submit to the FHSAA Office a valid application for registration
(available online)
3. Pay appropriate non-refundable registration fees
4. Join and maintain membership in a local officials association
(must declare local officials association at time of registration)
5. Certify that you have never been arrested for or convicted of a
felony
•Register with the FHSAA, continued
Requirements for Registration
1. Be 18 years of age or older
• The FHSAA has a Student Officials Program which allows a 16
year old (or older) high school student to register and work as a
contest official.
• Student officials will be allowed to work middle school (6th-8th
grades) and junior high contests (8th-9th grades).
• Student officials ARE NOT REQUIRED to complete the online
rules video and online exam.
•Register with the FHSAA, continued
Requirements for Registration
2. Submit to the FHSAA Office a valid application for registration
(available online)
The registration form may be accessed at:
http://tech.fhsaa.org/.
•Register with the FHSAA, continued
Requirements for Registration
3. Pay appropriate non-refundable registration fees
To register, an official must pay $27 per sport plus a $7
processing fee. (Paper registration processing fee is $27).
Example, online registration for two sports at the same time
of registering is $61. Online registration for two sports,
registering at two different times, i.e. fall sport and spring
sport is total of $68. Paper registration for one sport is $54.
•Register with the FHSAA, continued
Requirements for Registration
4. Join and maintain membership in a local officials association
(must declare local officials association at time of registration).
The local association contact information may be requested
at officials@fhsaa.org. Be sure to include your city location
and sport(s) of interest.
•Register with the FHSAA, continued
Requirements for Registration
5. Certify that you have never been arrested for or convicted of a
felony.
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This begins the compliance process in accordance with Jessica
Lundsford Act!!!
If the answer to this question is yes, officials are encouraged to
complete the background check and get “clearance” prior to
completing the registration process.
For more information regarding this, please contact the FHSAA
Office at officials@fhsaa.org.
•Register with the FHSAA, continued
An application for registration can be made online at www.fhsaa.org
and by clicking on the contest officials page, or the ifhsaa link.
Prior to registering, you will need:
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to obtain a valid email account,
have the name of your local officials association available; and
be able to pay using a Visa or MasterCard.
Once you’ve completed your registration and your payment has been
processed, your name will be electronically submitted to your local
officials association as well as to the FHSAA’s roster of registered
officials.
•View the online rules video presentation
Each FHSAA official must complete a minimum of one FHSAA online
rules video presentation in the sport(s) in which he or she is registered
in each year. This must be completed by the designated date
(deadline).
•View the online rules video presentation, continued
To access the online rules video presentation go to the eClassroom link
of the FHSAA Webpage at www.fhsaa.org. At the end of each
presentation you will be asked for important information this office
needs in order to credit you for your participation. You will also be
able to print a certificate of completion for your records. The online
rules video presentations only runs for a certain period of time in which
you can receive credit. Please be sure to visit the officials page of
FHSAA’s website for dates.
•View the online rules video presentation, continued
At the end of the video rules presentation cycle in each sport, officials
who fail to complete a mandatory FHSAA online video rules
presentation in the sport(s) for which they are registered shall be
suspended, effective immediately, from officiating. This suspension
shall be lifted upon payment of the non-completion fine in the amount
of $50.00.
An appeal for waiver of penalties may be submitted to the FHSAA no
later than 15 calendar days from the date of the last scheduled online
video rules presentation for consideration.
•Take the mandatory online rules exam
Taking the exam is required each year, for each sport that you
register in with the FHSAA. You can access the exams through
the eClassroom link of FHSAA’s website at
http://www.fhsaa.org/eclassroom/.
The FHSAA requires a 75% or higher to officiate varsity
competition.
Failure to take the rules exam by the designated date (deadline)
will result in a $50.00 fine and suspension.
•Take the mandatory online rules exam,
continued
Exams are administered online under the following guidelines:
Open Book
Consists of 50 questions
(True / False and/or Multiple
Choice
Closed Book
Consists of 50 questions
(True / False and/or Multiple
Choice
Unlimited time to complete
50 minutes to complete
•Comply with the Jessica Lunsford Act
Officials are independent contractors and require a level 2 screening
(background check). This is a check of a person's background via
state and national databases to ascertain whether the individual has
been convicted of a crime(s) and its/their nature. It requires you to
file with the district school board a set of fingerprints taken by an
authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of the school or
school district who is trained to take fingerprints.
You may refer to Florida Statutes 1012.467 and 1012.468 at:
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_St
ring=1012.467&URL=CH1012/Sec467.HTM.
•Comply with the Jessica Lunsford Act
Your local officials association will need your finger print clearance
prior to assigning you.
You may contact your local county school district office for
information regarding locations to complete the fingerprint process.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. I’m really interested in officiating. How do I get started?
A. First you’ll need to register with the FHSAA, as well as with the
local officials association in your area. Once registered, you will
be required to view one FHSAA sponsored rules video and take the
exam online. Your local officials association will assign you based
on your knowledge of the rules, clinic attendance and exam grade.
Your name will also be searched against the states sexual predators
list by the county school board to comply with the Jessica Lunsford
Act.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. How do I find a local officials association in my area?
A. Send an email to the FHSAA office at officials@fhsaa.org,
identifying your location (city of residence) and sport in which you
are interested in officiating. The FHSAA staff representative will
provide contact information for the local association. The official
is advised to make contact with the individual(s) to make
arrangements to join the local association and attend meetings.
Q. Does the local officials association charge a fee?
A. Yes, however, you will need to contact your local officials
association to confirm the cost.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. How do I get game assignments?
A. Once registering with FHSAA is complete and contact with the
local association is established, the local association will advise of
the assignment process used.
Many associations require training meeting attendance or
evaluation of level of officiating as a part of the assignment
process.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. I am an experienced official transferring from another state and
worked numerous state championships in my previous state. How
will this affect the level of contests to which I’m assigned by my
local association?
A. See answer to previous question. . Be advised that Florida’s
policies and procedures may differ from other states.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. If transferring from another state, how do I get credit for my
years of experience?
A. The state association’s office will need to communicate (or
verify) years of experience to the FHSAA. Please note that all
years of experience may not be accepted.
Q. What are the start-up costs as a new official?
A. Good question!
Registration cost, fingerprinting costs, uniform cost.
Many local officials associations have special incentive programs
for new officials to help offset costs.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. I have a new official wanting to register and the mandatory rules
presentation is over, can this person still register?
A. Yes, a new official who registers after all rules videos have
concluded will be exempt his/her first year only .
Q. Do new officials pay a late registration fee?
A. No.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. I’ve registered to officiate, but my plans have changed. May I
have a refund of my registration fee?
A. Registration fees are non-refundable. However, officials should
notify the FHSAA office directly to ensure that no fines are
assessed for failure to complete the online rules exam or online
rules presentation (video).
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. I currently live out-of-state and travel to Florida during the season.
Am I still responsible for meeting the requirements of online exam
and rules presentation?
A. Because of online testing and rules presentation accessibility,
officials who reside out of state will be required to meet the same
requirements as officials who reside in Florida.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. How much does it cost to register with FHSAA?
A. Registration cost $27.00 per sport and $7.00 for the processing fee.
Q. When can I register?
A. Registration begins in June for the following school season. Fall
sports are due no later than July 14th, winter sports are due no later
than September 1st and spring no later than December 1st.
Requirements for all officials (Summary)
Register with a local officials association
•Register with the FHSAA
•View the mandatory online rules video presentation
•Take the mandatory online open or closed book rules
examination
•Comply with the Jessica Lunsford Act!!!
•