[JRutledge]

I think people are missing the point. In certain sports or levels, it is easy to know who you are working with well in advance. I know as a football and basketball official, I will never work a game with an unlicensed official because the assignors would not assign someone (or even put them on the Arbiter system) without a license. And if I looked an official up, they are going to very likely be listed. And in football I work with the same crew, so it would be rather hard for us not to know someone's status considering we check those things. That is different as a basketball official as you work with a different set of officials every game practically. But in baseball where the sport is volatile as to when you play and who is available, that is a much harder thing to do. I have gone to games without having any idea who my partner is because of a moving in venue or changing in time. I have had to move from going to one place the a Monday to early Tuesday morning going to a completely different site that is not on the paper contract or email contract. Heck every day I get an email from an assignor now (not working baseball currently) to fill in a game. Often there is no information about partners even if the assignor uses Arbiter. So unless you take a phone with you on the field or you know the exact name or spelling or exact number of an official, not sure how you can totally ensure you are working with a licensed official?

Peace