How to Use Pickleball Officials: Step-by-Step Referee Guide

This guide explains the complete referee experience, from account setup through tournament day.

1. Create and verify your account

Create an account and choose Referee.
Verify your email.
Sign in and complete the setup checklist on your home screen.

2. Build your referee profile

Open Profile and select Edit About Me.
Add your photo, experience, home location, and optional tournament logistics.
Choose who can see your profile, email, and phone.
Add officiating organizations and member IDs for verification.

3. Add a credential

Open Profile, then Add or Edit Credential.
Choose the issuer and credential level.
Add an expiration date and optional certificate image or PDF.
Submit it for review.

4. Set availability, travel, seasonal homes, and rates

Block dates when you cannot work.
Set your normal driving distance and when you would need lodging or a flight.
Add seasonal ZIP codes if you live in different places during the year.
Add hourly, daily, or per-match rates and choose who can see them.

5. Find pickleball tournaments that need referees

Open Find Tournaments.
Search by name, city, or organization.
Filter by distance, qualifications, openings, lodging, or pay.
Open a tournament to review dates, requirements, compensation, lodging, meals, travel help, and remaining officiating openings.
Save the tournament, sign up, or apply to officiate.

Browse upcoming pickleball referee opportunities.

6. Apply or answer an invitation

Complete any missing requirement shown on the tournament page.
Add an optional message and travel or arrival notes.
Send the application.
For an invitation, choose Accept or Can't Make It. Accepting adds you to the roster.

7. Manage your tournament schedule

Open My Tournaments and choose Upcoming, Pending, or Past.
Open an event for report time, venue, contacts, pay, lodging, notes, and assignments.
Acknowledge a new or changed arrival schedule.
If necessary, cancel your commitment so the coordinator is notified.

8. Use community, training, rules, and paddle tools

Use each tournament community for lodging, travel, meals, and event questions.
Use Training and Resources for practice and reference material.
Use the Rules Reference to reach the correct official rulebook section.
Use Paddle Lookup to search the USA Pickleball and UPA-A official lists separately.

9. Work tournament day from the live screen

Open Happening Now and check in.
Follow the displayed court, role, match, break, and tournament-desk updates.
Use Players Not Here, second-call, final-call, medical, and desk-assistance actions only when they appear.
Select Match Finished and follow the score-sheet return instruction.
Use break, lunch, return, and end-of-day checkout actions as they become available.

10. Get more help

Email support@pickleballofficials.com.