The FA defined criteria for nomination to level 4 was as below for 2017/18 ....
To be eligible for nomination, referees must meet the following criteria:
•Be a Senior County Referee (Level 5) as at the 1st March 2018
•Have received at least 5 assessments via the County Football Association (If some County FAs can only achieve 3/4 assessments then the top 50% of the club mark merit table criteria will remain) during the period 1st March 2017 - 28th February 2018
•Achieved an average assessment mark of 73 or above.
•Refereed a minimum of 20 adult male/female matches in total during the period 1st March 2017 - 28th February 2018. A number of County FAs include U18 and youth football on their CL1 return but these will not be considered by The FA in the decision-making process.
•Have completed a minimum of 10 appointments as Assistant Referee on adult male/female matches during the period 1st March 2017 - 28th February 2018 (It is recommended that as many as possible are at Supply League level)
•Be prepared and regularly available to referee Saturday and Midweek matches.
•Attend one of a possible 9 regional in-service Nomination Training Sessions, delivered by The Football Association, or have previously attended in 2016-17.
•Successfully complete an examination on the Laws of the Game
•Successfully complete a Contributory League Assistant Referee Fitness Test between 1st July 2017 – 28th February 2018, prior to nomination. The minimum standard to be attained is:
o 12 minute Continuous Run - minimum distance completed 2,600 metres
o 2 x 50 metre sprint – max 7.5 seconds for each sprint
(Unfortunately there have been a number of problems created by fitness tests being arranged by County FAs outside these dates therefore no referee will be promoted for the 2018/2019 season unless the test is within these dates)
Any referee removed from the Level 4 list may now become a candidate for nomination for a return to Level 4 in the following season. However, ALL of the above criteria must be met by the candidate in the period from 1st August 2017 to 28th February 2018.
Those are all set in stone, any candidate not meeting any one of those requirements would not be considered for L4. Over and above this though some counties have additional criteria over and above those listed above. For example, some have minimum level of football for 5 to 4 observations (e.g. neutral assistants, no Sunday games, etc), whereas others allow all games to be observed on.
