About Certification Exams

I receive many inquires from people about becoming a certified umpire. The term means different things to different people so let me try to clarify the term certified umpire.

There are organizations that oversee and administer proprietary versions of baseball. Umpires who officiate games played under such an organization's rules must be certified by that organization. The two most notable are – National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA.) and National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). These organizations review their rules each year and consider ideas that they believe will enhance the sport for their particular environment. Consequently, changes are much more frequent in these brands of baseball. Officials must stay aware of all changes, attend annual rules sessions and pass annual certification examinations.

If you have a desire to umpire on one of these levels, you should contact the local umpires' association that assigns coverage for those games to learn about their membership and training requirements. If unsure, call a school's Athletic Director to inquire what association assigns their officials.

In contrast, all levels of professional baseball and vast majority of recreational baseball is played under the Official Baseball Rules (OBR). To the best of my knowledge, even the major leagues do not require an annual certification exam. There seems to be a simple rule; you train, you get evaluated. If you know your stuff and handle games well, you get hired and advance on your own merit.

© copyright 2010, Mark Swiss / Central Maryland Umpires
Office of Training and Umpire Development. All rights reserved.