Looking forward to the 2025-26 High School season (and 2026 Middle School season), the following are requirements for officiating and information on processes LPSRA uses to manage our requirements for participation; 

Rules of Competition 

• Registration and Code of Ethics forms submitted by referee 
• Familiarity with NFHS 2025-26 Soccer Rulebook & Points of Emphasis 
• Training hours (18hrs, see below) and successful completion of NFHS Exam (90%) 
• Proactive management of Coach and Spectator Behavior 
• Shin Guard Policy (NOCSAE) 
• Match reporting (notes below) – lead responsibility REF by 8am following morning 
• Officiating with Dual systems (Frosh/JV, and occasionally Varsity) and Tri system (Varsity). ● Official uniforms: (3) jerseys [yellow-green-red], three-stripe socks. 

Match Official Pay Rates 

A new agreement has been negotiated, pending approval from our CCAA section. The agreement favors match officials by a) increasing officiating fees (below), b) covering all assignor fees, and c) provides for a reduction in membership fees year-over-year. Referee pay increases $6-9 per position from our 2022-25 agreement. Annual increases in pay are also covered (in parentheses, 2026-27 and 2027-28). The negotiated prices include costs paid to LPSRA for administrative overhead to manage the program (assignor fees, instruction, software, program leadership, and rule books). 

Varsity – REF – $84 Varsity – AR – $74, Varsity – DUAL – $80, JV – DUAL – $64, JV – SOLO – $73 

Payment for services are still managed by member schools, and payment will be through ArbiterSports or by check. Contact each school for any payment disputes or checks not received. 

Officiating Costs 

Cost for LPSRA membership to officiate 2025-26 CIF season is $75 (extra $4 if paid by credit card), to be paid before 11/15. Invoicing will be sent by the LPSRA Treasurer to emails on file. 

California CIF will be instituting a mandatory background check starting 2026-27 (managed by PeopleTrail). Annual fee is $29 to be paid by each referee, covers multiple sports, and includes excess liability/medical insurance. The service is available this year (2025-26, but is voluntary) for those referees interested in taking advantage of the service (email link will be provided). 

Training & Exam Requirements 

CIF requires both training hours and successful completion on an annual exam to officiate games. 

Governance of all CIF contests will be by current 2025-26 NFHS Rules of the Game and Points of Emphasis. All referees will be provided NFHS Rule books (paid for by LPSRA). Additional rules will be emailed to our officials. 

Total training time required is 18 hours and LPSRA provides you many options (below) to satisfy that requirement;

● USSF/NISOA/Other Training: Members can transfer up to 8hrs of verified training through these organizations. For 1st year members in USSF, 8hrs time spent onboarding (RPT training, exam, onboarding assessment) can be included for transfer hours. For all LPSRA members, training hours are captured by referee coaches and will automatically be accounted for. 

• LPSRA CIF-NFHS Training: LPSRA will provide 5 online sessions (10/6, 10/13, 10/20, 10/27, and 11/3) approximately 2 hours each and one face-to-face meeting (11/10) for training. Topics will be presented that are pertinent to the high-competitive, high school environment.

• CIF Scrimmages: Officials may volunteer to support CIF scrimmage games (usually available 1-2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving) and be offered up to 2hrs of training time. This allows the referees to tune-up their skills prior to the season. 
• CIF Exam: We consider the time to read & understand the 2025-26 NFHS Rules as well as taking the CIF exam valid training time. 2hours credit will be given on successful passing of the exam. 

The CIF exam requires a pass rate of 90%. A link will be provided to access the exam. 

Experience and stamina at 16U, high competitive level 

Referees willing to officiate CIF matches must have previous experience at 16U level to officiate games, and the stamina to manage an 80minute match. LPSRA promotes ongoing improvement of officiating skills and will, upon request of the official, assign qualified referee coaches/mentors/assessors to work with referees on skills. We will also work with you to be assigned to higher competitive club matches in preparation for the CIF season. 

Match Reporting 

Referees and Dual1 positions will be required to post game scores, match comments, misconduct, and coach/spectator behavior assessments. Data is required in two platforms; 1) SoccerMatchReports.com, and 2) CIFCS website (misconduct only). We attempted, through our negotiations, to only use one site but were not successful. To successfully manage the CIF program, we require realtime data to respond to issues (coach, player, spectator) and the CIFCS site doesn’t allow us to do so. We also reviewed ArbiterSports but there are no automatic notifications on misconduct and behavior. 

• Soccermatchreports.com Signup links and instructions will be provided in future emails. 
• CIF: https://www.cifcshome.org/misconduct/login, password is 123 

Assignment 

• Derek Wink is CIF Assignor (derekwink@gmail.com, 805.478.1309). Colleen Sebastian (coanse@att.net, 805-305-0631) may be helping during tournament season. 
• To be assigned, you must complete registration and ethics forms, pay membership, meet exam requirements, meet (or working toward) experience requirement, and meet (or working toward) your training hour requirement. 
• Maintain your availability to referee by updating your “blocks” in ArbiterSports 
• Assignment priority by; 

○ Completion of assignment requirements (on first line) 

○ Experience/capability/Stamina level 

○ Completion of all match reports for previous games 

○ Referees working toward training requirement 

○ Referees working toward their experience requirement 

• Once assigned to a match (notification by email/text), accept assignment as soon as possible to allow the Assignor to set the schedule (goal is 5-6days before match). Assignor must be notified as soon as possible if you can’t make an assignment (illness, emergency, etc). 

Registration Form 

Link here Registration Form. CIFCS/CCAA/SLPRA have a legal requirement to collect match official data and confirm information – also used for SCSOA info. For 2026-27 year, as noted in Officiating Costs, there will be a mandatory background check working in parallel to the registration form. 

Code of Ethics Form 

CIFCS/CCAA requirement – link here: Code of Ethics Form

CIF Playoffs 

Eligibility for officiating playoff matches; 

○ Interest shown by request to officiate in playoffs to LPSRA leadership 

○ Approval by LPSRA CIF playoff appointment team 

○ Meets all standards 

○ Passing assessment by CIFCS assessor