Becoming a Football Official in Vermont
Built from VFOA officers, recorded in docs/sources.md. Last checked August 27, 2026.
Dues, fees and association practice change. Confirm with the association before relying on this.
You do not need to have played football. You do not need experience officiating anything. Most people who do this started by asking one question of one person, and the answer to that question is at the bottom of this page.
What the job is
High school football in Vermont is worked by crews — five officials on a varsity crew, four on many sub-varsity games. Each of you has a position with its own keys and its own responsibilities, and the crew works as a unit. Games run through the fall, and your season starts before that with preseason meetings.
A game is roughly a two-and-a-half hour commitment on the field, plus travel and a pregame with your crew beforehand. You are not on the field alone and you are not expected to know everything on day one — that is what the crew and the mentors are for.
What you need to start
- No prior experience, and no playing career.
- Enough fitness to keep up with the play for a couple of hours. Wing officials move most.
- A way to get to games, some of which will be a drive.
- The equipment — a striped shirt, black pants, hat, shoes, flag, beanbag, whistle and a down indicator.
Almost everyone starts on youth and sub-varsity games and works up from there.
What it costs to start
Be aware of this up front, because it is the real barrier and nobody should discover it later:
| Registration | $25/year — covers the background check, the assignment system, and your insurance for the year |
| Membership dues | around $100/year — waived for your first year |
| Equipment | The one real outlay. Football takes more gear than most sports. |
Two things take the edge off that. First-year officials do not pay dues, specifically because the association knows you are buying equipment that year. After the first year, dues are usually taken out of your mileage reimbursement rather than paid separately. And in the association's own words:
Please do not let equipment be a deterrent to starting, if that is an issue we likely can work something out.
That is a real offer. Ask.
What you get paid
| Game | Fee |
|---|---|
| Varsity | $97.50 |
| Junior varsity | $75.00 |
Plus mileage, reimbursed at the standard IRS rate at the end of the season — you submit a form listing your mileage and the game it was for. Payment runs through the Arbiter system, and you withdraw it by whichever method you prefer.
The equipment page puts it plainly: you will likely cover your equipment cost through your first couple of weeks of youth games.
What's required
- Register and pay the $25 registration fee.
- Background check — required, and run by the registration system when you sign up. There is nothing separate to arrange.
- Concussion training through NFHS Learn. That is the only required course.
- Meetings — three or four before the season, at least one of them in person, and attendance is expected. During the season most meetings are virtual.
- No rules exam. The association uses quizzes to build knowledge, usually worked through as a group rather than graded.
Your rule book comes with your membership, in print and digital.
How to start
- Get in touch. Reach out to the current acting director through the contact page. That is the first step and there is no form to find or window to wait for.
- Register, which runs the background check and sets up your assignment account.
- Do the concussion training on NFHS Learn.
- Come to the preseason meetings. This is where you will meet the people you will be working with.
- Get your equipment — see the equipment page, and say something if the cost is a problem.
- Put your availability in Arbiter, ideally a week before the season starts.
- Work your first games, which will be at the level you are ready for.
Your First Season covers what happens after that — what to study, in what order, and what your first game is actually like.
The honest part
People will yell at you. Coaches, sometimes parents, occasionally players. Most of it is not personal and none of it requires a response beyond doing your job. It still stings the first few times.
Your first few games will feel fast and disorienting. You will miss things. You will not be sure of a rule in the middle of a play. The answer, every time, is to talk to your crew — that is what they are there for, and asking is not a mark against you.
The association has mentors who will go out of their way to help you learn. You are not expected to figure this out alone, and the officials who stay are the ones who asked for help early.
Common questions
Do I need to have played football? No.
Can I do this with a full-time job? Yes — most officials do. Games are mostly evenings and weekends, and in-season meetings are usually virtual.
What if I can only work some weeks? That is fine. You keep your own availability in Arbiter and you are assigned from what you have marked.
What if I am not ready for varsity? You will not be assigned varsity. You are assigned to the level your mechanics, rules knowledge and judgement are ready for, and you move up when you are ready.
How do I actually start? Through the contact page. One email.