IHSA Exam Question Bank and Testing Process
This year there are various changes being introduced by the IHSA in the rollout of Arbiter as the Officials Certification platform for IHSA sanctioned sports. It appears, the exam will be administered by the IHSA and all credentials will be maintained in Arbiter. Follow these steps:
Preparation Prior to taking the Exam - Printing the Question Bank
- Obtain the Exam questions for your sport by accessing the IHSA Officials Center
- After entering login/password, select Exams from the left-hand menu of the screen or link to Exams
- You will see the Part 1 Question Bank for your respective sport and year. Select the link on the View Exam button. The Exam will be displayed on the screen along with a button to print. The Question Bank is only available on the day the testing period begins for each sport.
- You can print to a PDF and review it later or print to your local printer connected to your browser.
Note: Officials will no longer access the exam site directly to print the exam questions. We will be posting the Exam Question Bank for each sport on the respective Articles (e.g. Football Articles) page found on the right side of each sport Home Page (e.g. Football) under the Topics (e.g. Football Topics) section. or using the link below.
2026-27 Football Question Bank
2026-27 Flag Football Question Bank
2026-27 Basketball Question Bank (Available in October) - Be sure to take advantage of the Part 1 Exam Review Meeting conducted by your Sports President prior to the Part 1 Exam deadline.
Taking the Exam
- Login into Arbiter Sports and select the link to Eligibility on the top of the home page. The Eligibility Dashboard will be displayed along with a frame for each sport you officiate.
- Select View Details at the bottom of the frame. The Eligibility Details will show all your Eligibility criteria for the current season, including IHSA Registration, Background Check, Hate Speech and Harassment Video, Concussion Presentation and Exam and finally your respective Part 1 Exam. There will be a link to "Take Test" immediately below the Action column of the criteria grid. The dates when you can take the Exam will be displayed here too. Anyone not meeting the deadlines will risk being de-listed from games and placed on a "Probation" status. The deadline date is generally one day prior to the first available contest date as established by the IHSA.
- Take the Part 1 Exam. Generally, Part 1 Exams may be taken up to 2 times while attempting to achieve a passing score. Completed scores will be reported with the date on the Eligibility Details screen. Assigners will have access to updates via Arbiter.