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NFL officials (striped shirts) and guests prepare to toss the coin to start the 40th annual Pro Bowl.

In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game.

During professional and college football games, seven officials operate on the field. Arena football, high school football, and other levels of football have other officiating systems.

American football officials are commonly referred to as referees, but each has a title based on their position. They consist of: Referee, Head Linesman, Line Judge, Umpire, Back Judge, Side Judge, and Field Judge. Because the referee is responsible for the general supervision of the game, the position is sometimes referred to as head referee. ^[1][2][3]

An official (right) watches Navy's Shun White (#26) score a touchdown. Visible on his belt are his yellow penalty flag and an orange bean bag.

National Football League officials pose with United States Navy officers prior to the 2005 Pro Bowl.

American football officials generally use the following equipment:

• Whistle

  Used to signal that the down has already ended.

• Penalty Marker or Flag

  A bright yellow colored flag that is thrown on the field toward or at the spot of a foul. It is wrapped around a weight, such as sand or beans (or occasionally bb's, though this is discouraged (especially after the Triplette-Brown incident), as it can injure a player), so it can be thrown with some distance and accuracy. Officials typically carry a second flag in case there are multiple fouls on a play.

• Bean Bag

  Used to mark various spots that are not fouls. For example, it is used to mark the spot of a fumble or where a player caught a punt. It is typically colored white or blue, depending on the official's league, college conference or level of play.

• Down Indicator

  A specially designed wristband that is used to remind officials of the current down. It has an elastic loop attached to it that is wrapped around the fingers. Usually, officials put the loop around their index finger when it is first down, the middle finger when it is second down, and so on. Instead of the custom-designed indicator, some officials use two thick rubber bands tied together as a down indicator: one rubber band is used as the wristband and the other is looped over the fingers. Some officials, especially Umpires, may also use a second indicator to keep track of where the ball was placed between the hash marks before the play (i.e. the right hash marks, the left ones, or at the midpoint between the two). This is important when they re-spot the ball after an incomplete pass.

• Game Data Card and Pencil

  Officials write down important administrative information, such as the winner of the pregame coin toss, team timeouts, and fouls called. Game data cards can be disposable paper or reusable plastic. A pencil with a special bullet-shaped cap is often carried. The cap prevents the official from being stabbed by the pencil while it is in his pocket.

• Stopwatch

  Officials will carry a stopwatch (typically a digital wristwatch) when necessary for timing duties, including keeping game time, keeping the play clock, and timing timeouts and the interval between quarters.

For ease of recognition, officials are traditionally clad in a black-and-white vertically striped shirt, white knickers with a black belt, black shoes, and a peaked cap. A letter indicating the role of each official appears on the back of the shirt at college and NFL levels. Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, an American flag was added to the shirts of NFL officials. In 2006, the NFL completely redesigned the shirts, going to a sleeker-looking uniform which, however, no longer identified a given official's position from the front. Also new for 2006 were black pants with a white stripe down the side to be worn in cold weather. These looser-fitting pants allow for layering of warmer clothes underneath.^[4] The officials are colloquially called "zebras" due to their black-and-white striped shirts.

For several decades, every NFL official wore white hats. In 1979, NFL referees started to wear black hats with white stripes, while every other NFL official continued to wear white ones. Finally, in 1988, the NFL switched to the high-school and college football style: the referee wears a white hat (which now includes the NFL logo, first added for Super Bowl XXXIX), and the other officials wear black hats with white stripes.

Officials' hats are also occasionally used as additional equipment. If a player not carrying the ball steps out of bounds (a wide receiver running a deep passing route or a player running downfield on punt coverage, for example), the official will drop his hat to mark the spot of where the player went out of bounds. The hat also is often used to signal a second foul called by the official on a play (by those officials that may carry only one flag); to indicate unsportsmanlike conduct committed against the official himself (as when a player shoves an official); or when some other situation requires a physical mark and the official has already used the ordinary item on the play. Some conferences discourage the use of the hat in these situations, and the bean bag will be used instead.

The NFL and College Football primarily use a seven-official system.

A referee (foreground) follows the action of a play between the Texas Longhorns and the Rice Owls.

The referee (R) is responsible for the general supervision of the game and has the final authority on all rulings. Thus, this position is sometimes referred to as head referee and is considered to be the crew chief. He can be identified by his white cap, while the other officials wear black ones.

During each play from scrimmage, the referee positions himself behind the offensive team, favoring the right side (if the quarterback is a right-handed passer). He also counts offensive players.

On passing plays, he primarily focuses on the quarterback and defenders approaching him. The referee rules on possible roughing the passer and, if the quarterback loses the ball, determines whether it is a fumble or an incomplete pass.

On running plays, the referee observes the quarterback during and after he hands off the ball to the running back, remaining with him until the action has cleared just in case it is really a play action pass or some other trick passing play. Afterwards, the Referee then checks the running back and the contact behind him.

During punts and field goals, the referee observes the kicker (and holder) and any contact made by defenders approaching them.

In college football, the NFL and other professional leagues, and in some high school games, the referee announces penalties and the numbers of the players committing them (college and professional), and clarifies complex and/or unusual rulings over a wireless microphone to both fans and the media.

During instant replay reviews in the NFL and college football, the referee confers with a replay official, who is stationed in the press box above the field, on the play and then announces the final result over the wireless microphone. For replays in the NFL, the referee also views the play on a monitor stationed near the sidelines and makes the final decision; the replay official makes the final judgment in college football.

In addition to the general equipment listed above, the referee also carries a coin in order to conduct the pregame (and if necessary, overtime) coin toss.

An umpire watches a play from behind the defensive line during a game between the UCLA Bruins and the California Golden Bears.

The umpire (U) stands behind the defensive line and linebackers, observing the blocks by the offensive line and defenders trying to ward off those blocks — looking for holding or illegal blocks. Prior to the snap, he counts all offensive players.

During passing plays, he moves forward towards the line of scrimmage as the play develops in order to (1) penalize any offensive linemen who move illegally downfield before the pass is thrown or (2) penalize the quarterback for throwing the ball when beyond the original line of scrimmage. He also assists on ruling incomplete passes when the ball is thrown short.

As the umpire is situated where much of the play's initial action occurs, he is considered by many to hold the most dangerous officiating position.

In addition to his on field duties, the umpire is responsible for the legality of all of the players' equipment.

The head linesman (H or HL) stands at one end of the line of scrimmage (usually the side opposite the press box), looking for possible offsides, encroachment and other fouls before the snap. As the play develops, he is responsible for judging the action near his sideline, including whether a player is out of bounds. During the start of passing plays, he is responsible for watching the receivers near his sideline to a point 5-7 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

He marks the forward progress of the ball and is in charge of the chain crew in regard to its duties. In addition to the general equipment listed above, the head linesman also carries a chain clip that is used by the chain crew in order to properly place the chains and ensure an accurate spot when measuring for a first down.

The line judge (L or LJ) assists the head linesman at the other end of the line of scrimmage, looking for possible offsides, encroachment and other fouls before the snap. As the play develops, he is responsible for the action near his sideline, including whether a player is out of bounds. He is also responsible for counting offensive players.

During the start of passing plays, he is responsible for watching the receivers near his sideline to a point 5-7 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Afterwards, he moves back towards the line of scrimmage, ruling if a pass is forward, a lateral, or if it is illegally thrown beyond the line of scrimmage.

On punts and field goal attempts, the line judge also determines whether the kick is made from behind the line of scrimmage.

In high school (four-man crews) and minor leagues, the line judge is the official timekeeper of the game. In the NFL, college and other levels of football where the official time is kept on the stadium scoreboard clock, the line judge becomes the backup timekeeper.

The field judge (F or FJ) works downfield behind the defensive secondary on the same sideline as the line judge. He makes decisions near the sideline on his side of field, judging the action of nearby running backs, receivers and defenders. He rules on pass interference, illegal blocks downfield, and incomplete passes. He is also responsible for counting defensive players. He has sometimes also been the official timekeeper.

With the back judge, he rules whether field goal attempts are successful.

The side judge (S or SJ) works downfield behind the defensive secondary on the same sideline as the head linesman. Like the field judge, he makes decisions near the sideline on his side of field, judging the action of nearby running backs, receivers and defenders. He rules on pass interference, illegal blocks downfield, and incomplete passes. He also counts defensive players. During field goal attempts he serves as a second umpire.

In college football, the side judge is responsible for either the game clock or the play clock, which are operated by an assistant under his direction.

The back judge (B or BJ) stands deep behind the defensive secondary in the middle of the field, judging the action of nearby running backs, receivers (primarily the tight ends) and nearby defenders. He rules on pass interference, illegal blocks downfield, and incomplete passes. He covers the area of the field in between himself and the umpire. He has the final say regarding the legality of kicks not made from scrimmage (kickoffs).

With the field judge, he rules whether field goal attempts are successful.

In the NFL, the back judge is responsible for ruling a "delay of game" infraction if the play clock expires. In college football, the back judge is responsible for either the game clock or the play clock, which are operated by an assistant under his direction. In high school (five-man crews), the back judge is the official timekeeper of the game. The back judge is also the keeper of the play clock in high school games, and times the one minute allowed for time outs (only 30 seconds are allowed during team time outs during televised college games to reduce time).

Arena football, high school football, and other levels of football have other officiating systems.

• A three-official system uses only the referee, head linesman, and line judge, or in some cases, referee, umpire and head linesman. It is common in junior high and youth football.
• A four-official system uses the referee, the umpire, the head linesman, and the line judge. It is primary used at lower levels of football, including junior varsity and some high school varsity.
• A five-official system is used in arena football, most high school varsity football, and in most semi-pro games. It adds the back judge to the four-official system.
• A six-official system uses the seven-official system without the back judge. It is used in some high school and small-college games.

When the NFL began play, only three officials (referee, umpire, head linesman) were used. The field judge was added in 1929, the back judge in 1947, the line judge in 1965 and the side judge in 1978.

The practice of having the referee announce penalties or clarify complex and/or unusual rulings over a wireless microphone started in the NFL in 1975. College football and other professional leagues soon adopted this practice.

For years, college football referees were prohibited from announcing the number of a fouling player, except in the Mountain West Conference. In 2004, the rules were changed throughout college football to permit the fouling player's number to be announced.

Among the various Halls of Fame for major North American sports, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is unique in that it has not inducted any officials; the Baseball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Fame and Hockey Hall of Fame have each inducted game officials as members.

Because their regular season spans only 17 weeks, the NFL is the only major sports league in the United States that only pays their officials on a contract basis as opposed to being full time salaried employees. Advantages to this system include being able to eliminate unqualified Officials simply by not offering them a contract the following season where terminating full time employees would require them to show cause. Critics argue that full-time officials would free them from the distractions of a second job, but proponents of part-time officials point out that the NFL would lose a number of qualified officials because many of them are owners, presidents, or C.E.O.s of various companies. Proponents also argue that there is only one game per week and the regular season is only 4 months long, and that having full-time officials does not necessarily guarantee that they will make fewer officiating mistakes. The level of training and review in which NFL officials participate makes additional time redundant. In any event, veteran officials can make quite substantial salaries for their work.

• List of current and former NFL officials
• Super Bowl officials
• American football rules

• National Football League Digest of Rules.
• National Football League Official Signals.
• The Double Life of Ed Hochuli from KJZZ-FM
• football.refs.org - Officiating rules and mechanics for college and high school football.
• USA Football's officiating center
• Information and photos of the current NFL referees
• American Football - Officiating at the Open Directory Project