The National Referee certification is awarded only by the PAVO National Rating Team (NRT) at specific rating sites around the country each year. Because this certification is for the most highly skilled and experienced referees, PAVO establishes a selective application process, stricter rating criteria, and more demanding renewal requirements.

NRT evaluators must hold a PAVO National Referee certification or Retired-National certification, and are selected by the NRT Director based on their on-court referee experience, teaching abilities, and observation skills. At a NRT site, candidates are evaluated by NRT evaluators, and must score a minimum of 90 to pass. Candidates must also demonstrate scoring proficiency, as defined by the NRT Director. The current NRT Director is Mara Wager.

National Referee Certification Standards

List of PAVO Nationally Certified Referees

Application Process

• National Rating Team Training Application Process 

Candidate Criteria

To be accepted as a candidate at a National Rating site, applicants must:

• Hold a current PAVO State certification for at least two (2) years, hold a current PAVO National certification, or hold a PAVO Retired National certification.
• No later than September 1 and at least two (2) weeks prior to the date of the rating session, take Form A of the theoretical exam, online, without using a rules book or other resources. A minimum score of 90 is required and the exam session is limited to 90 minutes. If a minimum score of 90 is not attained on Form A, the referee can be re-examined using Form B; the same deadline, time constraints, and minimum score requirements apply.
• No later than September 1 and at least two (2) weeks prior to the date of the rating session, complete the current PAVO Line Judge exam, online, as well as the PAVO Scorer exam, online.
• Complete all 400-level iREF modules prior to attending your NRT site. Accessing iREF 400 requires previous completion of iREF 200 and 300.
• Submit evidence of one of the following on the NRT Application Form: 

  -	Referee at an NCAA 1st/2nd round, regional, or championship event (any division), the final round of the NAIA National Championship, or the final round of the NJCAA National Championship (any division) in at least one (1) of the two (2) previous years.
  -	Be recommended by three (3) different individuals who serve in any of the following capacities:
  	a.  College or university women's volleyball coach (maximum of two recommendations). b.  PAVO National Rating Team member (maximum of one recommendation). c.  Applicant's PAVO Affiliated Board Chair. d.  PAVO National Referee with national tournament officiating experience as a referee (maximum of one recommendation).      Note: National Referees may only sign three candidates' recommendations per year. e.  Coordinator/Supervisor of Officials of an NCAA conference (maximum of one recommendation).

* Completed application process and a $250.00 application fee must be submitted online.

Initial National Referee Certification Requirements

• Pass an on-court examination at an NRT site with a minimum score of 90. There must be at least three (3) raters, all holding PAVO National or Retired National certifications.

NOTE: Rating expires on December 31, four years after the year in which the certification is awarded.

Maintaining a National Referee Certification
Certification expires on December 31 in the fourth year after the year in which the certification is awarded.

Although a National certification is valid for four (4) years, officials who hold this certification must meet annual requirements to maintain their certifications. If a National Referee fails to meet any of these requirements once during a term, no renewal points can be earned that season. Two failures to meet any requirement during a term will result in loss of National Referee Certification.

Renewing a National Referee Certification
Certification expires on December 31 in the fourth year after the year in which the certification is awarded.

In addition to meeting the annual requirements for Maintaining a National Referee Certification, listed above, there are additional requirements for renewing a National certification at the end of each 4-year term:

Criteria for Retired National Referees

A PAVO National Referee may choose to take retired status and maintain an affiliation with PAVO in order to remain active as a trainer for the Affiliated Board with whom they are associated/registered. PAVO has established the following criteria:

• Hold a National Referee certification for at least two, four-year terms.
• Meet all requirements for Affiliated Board membership and PAVO membership.

The Application for Retired National Status must be submitted to the NRT Director (Mara Wager, nrt.director@pavo.org) by December 1 of the year your National Referee certification will expire. The applicatoin must be signed by the applicant and the Chair of the member's Affiliated Board.

Direct questions to Lynette Muller, Executive Administrator, PAVO Central Office at pavo@pavo.org or 316-788-4035.

Direct technical questions to PAVOhelp@gmail.com.