Officials Licence Scheme
The LTA Official Licence Scheme is a professional membership for qualified officials in Britain. Being a member demonstrates to parents, players and venues that an official has met key safety checks and training, and being a member is essential for organising competition and being selected for LTA competitions.
Officials also get access to the Official Hub, a dedicated area of the LTA website, where helpful resources and dedicated benefits help Licensed Officials do their role as best as they can.
What checks and training do officials need to join the Official Licence Scheme?
To join:
- An officiating qualification
- A DBS (or PVG, in Scotland) check issued within the last 12 months
To renew:
- An officiating qualification
- A DBS (or PVG, in Scotland) check issued within the last 3 years
- Safeguarding training completed within the last 3 years
- 8 CPD credits
Benefits for Licensed Officials
| Licensed Umpires, Court Supervisors, Referees |
Licensed Competition Organisers |
|
| Personal accident & public liability insurance | ✔ | ✔ |
| Specialist legal & tax helpline | ✔ | ✔ |
| Discounts at Pro:Direct | ✔ | ✔ |
| 24/7 wellbeing helpline | ✔ | ✔ |
| LTA Officiating shop access | ✔ | ✔ |
| Communications related to your officiating role | ✔ | ✔ |
| Access to an exclusive Official Wimbledon ballot | ✔ | - |
| Ability to be selected by the LTA for competitions | ✔ | - |
| Membership at the Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO) | ✔ | - |
If you're a Licensed Official, you can access your benefits in your Official Hub.
How do I join?
To get started as an official, you'll first need an officiating qualification. This can be a Referee, Umpire, Court Supervisor, or Competition Organiser course.
Next, you'll need a criminal record check which was issued within the past 12 months.
Finally, you can get Licensed by going to your Official Hub.
Continuous personal development (CPD)
Once Licensed, officials complete annual CPD. This ensures that everyone is kept up to date with the latest rules and regulations updates, any changes to officiating procedures, and helps keep officials well connected to one another. CPD can take the form of webinars, face-to-face and remote workshops, an annual conference, and online courses.
CPD is tracked using CPD credits - 1 CPD credit is equivalent to approximately 1 hour of learning, and officials need 8 per year to renew their Official Licence.
Courses can be found on the LTA Find a Course pages.