The FIFA Regulations are the complete set of official FIFA rules that govern the agent profession and make up the syllabus of the player agent exam. They bring together twenty-six documents, ten core subjects and sixteen circulars, from the Statutes to the FIFA Football Agent Regulations, by way of the RSTP and the Disciplinary Code. It is a dense body of material that is updated regularly, and every candidate must master the edition selected for the syllabus in order to pass the exam.
Last updated: 08/13/2026
Nearly a thousand pages of legal texts, twenty-six official documents, and a single objective for every candidate: mastering them all before exam day. The FIFA Regulations are the complete set of FIFA rules that govern the sports agent profession and make up the syllabus of the player agent exam. Statutes, Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, agent regulations, Disciplinary Code, circulars — together, these documents form the regulatory framework that every candidate must know inside and out.
Let's take a closer look at all of these documents, subject by subject, along with their purpose, why these regulations change so frequently, and how to tell the version currently in force apart from the one actually tested on the exam.
The FIFA Regulations bring together all of the regulatory texts FIFA uses to organize professional soccer and to govern the activity of agents. This includes the Statutes, the RSTP, the Disciplinary Code, the Code of Ethics, and the regulations covering sports agents.
These are not the Laws of the Game, which fall under the IFAB. They are the legal framework governing contracts, transfers, discipline, ethics, and the player agent profession.
For an agent exam candidate, these regulations make up the entire official syllabus. FIFA's study materials divide them into two groups:
The ten subjects below make up the exam syllabus, and the editions listed are those included in FIFA's official study materials.
The RSTP and the FIFA Football Agent Regulations alone account for a large share of the questions, but every subject can come up on exam day.
On top of the ten core subjects, there are sixteen FIFA circulars, numbered from No. 1827 to No. 1942. A circular is an official text that publishes, updates, or amends a regulation. They are a full part of the syllabus and also have their own revision page.
It is worth noting that if amendments to FIFA regulations are adopted, or if new regulations come into force, after these study materials are published, they will not be included in the exam. That said, candidates are encouraged to stay informed about these changes so they can perform their role as an agent effectively.
FIFA's regulations are constantly evolving, with every season bringing new amendments, editions, and circulars. This evolution is driven primarily by the ongoing modernization of the transfer system and by the legal pressure applied by the courts.
In June 2026, FIFA and FIFPRO signed a landmark memorandum of understanding that redefines the transfer system. Presented as the most significant reform in roughly two decades, it is now built on social dialogue rather than unilateral decisions, and it paves the way for a new transfer system that comes into force on January 1, 2027.
This shift has already produced several updated texts. FIFA has notably published the January 2027 edition of the RSTP, new 2027 Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal, and a 2026 edition of the Disciplinary Code. These versions mark the framework's evolution, but they have not yet been folded into the exam's official study materials.
Legal pressure also weighs on how agents are regulated. On July 16, 2026, in the RRC Sports v. FIFA case, the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down a nuanced ruling on the FFAR.
It confirmed that several key elements (licensing, service fee caps, the ban on multiple representation, the client-pays rule, pro rata payment) can be justified under competition law. It found that competition law is incompatible with the rule barring an agent from approaching a player already bound by an exclusive representation contract outside the two-month window preceding its expiry, on the grounds that this rule gives an undue advantage to agents already in place.
This partial validation remains subject to review by national courts, which will have to verify the proportionality of the rules concerned. It does not automatically reinstate the FFAR, whose worldwide application is still suspended under Circular No. 1873. FIFA has since announced a consultation with agents ahead of the new transfer system planned for January 1, 2027.
All of these texts make up the FIFA Regulations, but the exam does not always cover their very latest version. Two concepts need to be kept apart.
The version in force is the most recent iteration published and applied by FIFA. The version on the syllabus is the edition listed in the official study materials for the current exam cycle. Amendments and new editions published after that date are not assessed in that particular exam cycle.
| Document | Edition on the exam syllabus | New edition already published |
|---|---|---|
| Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) | July 2025 | January 2027 |
| FIFA Disciplinary Code | 2025 edition | 2026 edition |
| Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal | January 2026 | 2027 edition |
For candidates, the rule is simple: study the edition included in the official study materials for your exam cycle, without getting thrown off by more recent versions. Those later versions are still worth knowing for the future practice of the profession, once the license has been obtained.
To obtain FIFA's official study materials in PDF format:
The FIFA Regulations form a set of 26 documents that structure both professional soccer and the agent profession. Ten core subjects and sixteen circulars make up the official exam syllabus, from the RSTP to the Statutes, by way of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations and the Disciplinary Code. This framework is moving fast, driven by the reform of the transfer system and by European court rulings.
For candidates, what matters is drawing a clear line between the version in force and the version on the syllabus. Studying the right version, with a solid method, remains the key to effective preparation.
