Yes. Very. These pages are just a casual local communication tool , but this is serious work. USA Cycling is the national governing body for the sport of cycling in the United States, recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and Union Clycliste Internationale (UCI). 

The Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association, MABRA, is USA Cycling's local association for Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, northern Virginia, and eastern West Virginia. MABRA officials hold USA Cycling licenses that are recognized internationally. 

We're not mooching volunteers for a charity event or asking you to chaperone a triathlon for a Walmart gift card. Officials are responsible for the sporting aspect of all USA Cycling competitive races.

Motorcycle referees, or motorefs, are USA Cycling licensed officials riding on course with the bicycle racers. Within the team of officials, they are uniquely situated to observe, communicate, and help manage the organized chaos of a road race. Good motorefs greatly enhance safety and sporting results for road races, but they don’t just appear; they have to be developed. 

It doesn’t hurt, but no racing experience is required. You need interest and the ability to grow to understand how races may progress, how racers think, and what might happen when a race, spectators, and the public meet up together on the road. You can develop that experience without having a resume as a racer. We will work with you if you're serious.

To be an official, no, but to motoref, yes, absolutely! You must be a proficienct motorcyclist so you’re not a liability to the race. You should enjoy a long day in the saddle in any weather. Motorefs typically work the whole day of racing and races go rain or shine. 

If you're still new-ish at motorcycles, let’s talk anyway. You can get started as a ground official while you build to where you need to be on the motorcycle.

You can stay very busy working bicycle races if you want. All sanctioned races have at least a Chief Referee and Chief Judge; most have Assistant Judges and Referees, too. Between the MABRA road calendar and our neighboring regions, there are road races most weekends from February to August. Most road races use motorefs, usually at least 2, sometimes 6. The cyclocross season runs from September to December; no motorefs there, but great racing and more officiating opportunities. With experience, officials are eligible for bigger events on the national & international calendars, like a pie eating contest where you can win more pie. 

MABRA is a pretty good place to be. There are current and former local riders doing great things on big stages, some wearing national champion jerseys and holding pro contracts. Besides our active local race scene, there are big national and international races in or near the mid-Atlantic. The top-rated UCI road race in the US since 2022 has been the Maryland Cycling Classic. In 2026 there will be UCI road races in PA and NY, too. The US Pro Road National Championships are in Charleston, WV (2024-2028). Cyclocross has a strong local calendar plus the Charm City UCI race, PanAm continental championships at DCCX (2025-2026), and nearby national series events.

Scheduling is a dialog between you and the officials assignor based on need, ability, and availability. When assigned, officials typically work a full race day. There is no minimum commitment of days per season or such. If you only work a couple of race days a year, you're still an asset to MABRA. In the year you get started, allow room to do a few races to get on top of it and consolidate what you learned during licensing. Officiating is an acquired and perishable skill. 

Who knows whether this could be your thing? There's a chance it might be if you appreciate the magnificent sport of bicycle racing, want to contribute to competitions in a supporting role as part of a team of officials, and have some free weekends during race season. Poke around here for info. Get out and explore the local race scene; you can find the racing calendars at MABRA and details for specific races at BikeReg. Chat with folks you know. Meet some you don't. Talk with racers, officials, organizers. You need to figure out whether this is a fit for you. 

Do you really need a license? Yes and no, but mostly yes. There are no test drives as a motoref; you cannot ride a motorcycle on course in a race, or be a motorcycle passenger, without a motoref license. However, you don't need a license to come out to a race and mill about smartly to get a look and engage. Hang around the finish and the pits, see what the officials do, talk to them between the hectic moments, and share your interest in officiating. Perhaps they can give you useful insights and opportunities to better see and hear what's going on. You decide. If what you see passes your sniff test, jump in and get licensed to kick the tires in earnest.

It's all very reasonable. More in subsequent FAQs and at the links, but the big picture is:

1. Get your commissaire (official) license. Practical stuff: read the rule book, take some training and a test on its application, and administrate a few things.

2. Work a few races to find your footing as a new official. See First Races.

3. Complete the additional training for adding your motoref endorsement.

4. Keep working as a motoref and as a ground official to build experience and proficiency. 

Whether your goal is a few local races or future world championships and Grand Tours, that's how it starts. Bonus: MABRA punches above its weight and is a pretty good place to get started. 

See USA Cycling’s Become An Official page to get licensed. Look at all the tabs. The overall licensing approach has been around for a while and is solid. USA Cycling updated and improved the administrative process a good bit in winter '25/26. 

Any training opportunities we become aware are posted on our front page and you may see some posted here.

If you dive in, please drop us a note to let us know you're out there working on it.

The stuff at USA Cycling stands alone. Folks can get confused and we've seen enough go through the process that we have a sense of where that happens. We captured some bonus "help me" lessons learned from past licensing wins and woes. You can take a glance at that for context but note we're on the outside looking in and backward; things continue to evolve. You'll get the latest info from USA Cycling and the best help from officials@usacycling.org. Let us know if you run into something new.

Sure. But first, it's important to stress:

• We're NOT your only hope. Happy to help on the margin if you get a little off course, but...

• Current licensing procedures are in USA Cycling’s Become An Official page. Read. It. Slowly.

• Again, you'll get the latest info from USA Cycling and the best help from officials@usacycling.org. 

That said, we've compiled some gratuitous insights from your predecessors recent experiences and sniveling, summarizing what confused them or what wasn't as super explicit as they wanted. Maybe this helps. Beware it's current only as of our last reports from prior victims. USA Cycling continues to evolve the process so pay attention to what they're saying and let us know if you run into something new.  

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Your USA Cycling account portal is at the center of it all. If you don't already have an account and basic membership, get one. If you already have one -- a membership, race license, whatever -- use that. Your USA Cycling number number won't change, it just adds some trimmings. In the new-for-2026 terminology, you're working to add Support License - Commissaire and Moto Referee Technical Discipline.

Support License - Commissaire. Requires 1) entry-level course, 2) background check, 3) SafeSport, & email closure.

• The online entry-level official course is in the portal's LMS. It is available 24/7/365 to DIY. If links are misbehaving, you can navigate there. At the moment, it's at Learning > All Courses > Commissaires > Entry-level; that path may change, look around.

• When you complete the course, you should get a certificate right away and then a while later (24-72 hrs?) a separate email with the latest instructions on how to finish adding your license to your account. Be patient, check your spam box, don't make work for them but if things seem adrift they'll help you at officials@usacycling.org. 

• That email will tell you, again, your license requires SafeSport training and a records check (BI for all, + MVR for motors). The website already told you that. You don't need to wait to be re-told; you can start them from within your account portal and work them in parallel with the entry-level course, which isn't a bad idea since the BI will take at least a few days to adjudicate, maybe longer. Track them until a "Pass" posts in your account profile and then it will be smooth sailing when you send in your course completion certificate.

Moto Referee Technical Discipline. Requires 1) Commissaire license (above), 2) MR course, 3) MVR, & email closure.

• The motoref course is only done as an instructor-led in-person session (often via Zoom). It's a day long and they're not offered often. Don't wait for the motoref course to come along before you get started as an official. More on that thought here. 

• If you didn't already do the MVR check, get that done as the course approaches. It's a second, separate transaction with the same vendor, NCSI, that did your BI; you didn't get it done if you only launched one inquiry and paid one fee.  

• In your motoref course, they will explain to you how to close the deal. Typically once your Commissaire license and MVR Pass are showing in your portal, it's just a simple email to officials@usacycling.org to send in your motoref course completion certificate and ask for the endorsement to be added.

Total time & effort to get licensed? Not sure. YMMV. For the training: how fast do you read and soak things in? What do you already know? On the administrative and transactional end of things, the background check(s) are typically efficient web forms to submit but then take some days to adjudicate. There are some emails along the way with humans in the loop in USA Cycling's small & responsive professional staff, handling things promptly but not at Amazon web click-through speed. It doesn't all happen overnight with a pen whip, nothing is frivolous, but it's all fairly reasonable and necessary for a meaningful certification. You can't NOT expect officials to, for example, read the rule book and review its application in practice. Start early and keep at it with reasonable expectations.

No, not if you manage it properly. Competitive cycling is a small world. Everyone is conflicted. You must be impartial and avoid the appearance of favoritism. You probably shouldn't Chief Ref a race put on by the team you manage but you do NOT need to cut all ties to officiate or recuse yourself from every race with a teammate in it. If you're still racing actively, your larger concern is probably the conflict of time with your racing. You can't squeeze a race in on a day you're officiating, since there is no fluff in the crew to cover for you while you skip out for your category. 

It's incidental. You won’t lose money but look elsewhere if you're after an income. Officials get paid for work at races per the USAC Schedule of Fees and get reimbursed the standard USG rate for commute and in-race mileage. MABRA approved a local fee bump of +$45 on top of those day rates, starting Feb 1, 2026. On the cost side, there are some ankle-biter fees for getting licensed, currently $30 for a new official plus $111.13 for a new motoref. MABRA may mitigate that provided you get your license and work some races; discuss with the officials coordinator.

Nope. Don't do it to be in the spotlight. It’s always about the riders, their safety, fair sport, and good racing. It’s never about the officials. You are a part of a team that is essential to a competition you ideally do not feature prominently in. Think bass player or sound board, not singer or lead guitar. A good motoref is never in the finish photo.

It doesn't take much. Don't focuse on gear. The best gear gets out of your way to let you focus on the race. 

In a nutshell: 

1. BYO motorcycle. It should be agile, reliable, have a decent range and a sane exhaust. 

2. An open face helmet or flipped-up modular lets you communicate with riders.

3. Miscellaneous: MABRA can loan you an official's vest and radio for your first races; beyond that, you only need some little things you probably already have, so net entry cost is near $0. If you get hooked, you can spend a few bucks later for upgrades that make your job easier. 

More on the First Races and Resources pages.