Licence & development

Which licence you need, which documents it takes, and how to renew it before every season.

Licensing

Licence & development

Coaches in ÖEHV leagues — including Austrian AWHL and EWHL teams — need a valid ÖEHV licence. It is renewed before every season; minimum requirements per age group are set out in the ÖEHV coaching licence regulations.

Licensing runs via the ÖEHV coaching platform in combination with Spond: applications and documents are submitted through the “ÖEHV Trainer:innen” group. Every licence is valid for one season, from August to April.

To the regulations

At a glance

Applies to: all ÖEHV leagues incl. AWHL & EWHL
Validity: one season, August to April
Minimum requirement: per age group, as set out in the ÖEHV regulations
Further training: two per season, incl. at least one ÖEHV Coaches Clinic
Application via: coaches platform with Spond
Fee: via Spond, no combined club invoice

Documents

Licence types & documents

Coaches licence themselves with their highest completed qualification. Which documents are required depends on the licence type.

A, B and C licence: For everyone holding a completed Austrian qualification
D licence: Without a relevant qualification, or in roles with no licence of their own — such as strength and conditioning or video coaches
Guest licence: For qualifications completed abroad, as an A, B or C guest licence

Which documents do I need?

Document	A · B · C	D	Guest
First issue
Proof of qualification: certificates for the basic and specialist C licence module, state certificate of the instructor or coaching education	A · B · C: ja	D: entfällt	Guest: entfällt
Proof of qualification from abroad: certificate, diploma or award including the curriculum — in German or English, otherwise a certified translation	A · B · C: entfällt	D: entfällt	Guest: ja
Copy of a valid identity document	A · B · C: entfällt	D: entfällt	Guest: ja
Criminal record certificate, general and extended	A · B · C: ja	D: ja	Guest: ja
Safe Sport e-learning	A · B · C: ja	D: ja	or Safeguarding Essentials
Signed code of conduct	A · B · C: ja	D: ja	Guest: ja
Licence fee via Spond	A · B · C: ja	D: ja	Guest: ja
Renewal
Confirmations of participation in coaching development courses	two · C licence: one	D: entfällt	two · C guest: one
At least one of them an ÖEHV Coaches Clinic — participation is recorded in the Spond profile	A · B · C: ja	D: entfällt	Guest: entfällt
Criminal record certificate submitted again	every 36 months	every 36 months	after three years
Safe Sport e-learning, if not already provided at first issue	A · B · C: ja	D: ja	Guest: ja
Licence fee via Spond	A · B · C: ja	D: ja	Guest: ja

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The documents in detail

Safe Sport e-learning

The e-learning course by 100 % Sport / Safe Sport has to be completed once. It takes around 90 minutes and ends with a knowledge test. After passing, the confirmation of participation can be downloaded directly and attached to the licence application.

Coaches who do not speak German complete the English-language course “Safeguarding Essentials” instead.

Criminal record certificate

The general certificate can be requested and downloaded online if ID Austria is set up. The extended certificate for “child and youth welfare” cannot: it has to be submitted in person, using the application form of the current or future club, fully completed and signed, together with an official photo ID.

Submit in person at

the provincial police directorate
a police commissariat
the mayor's office
the municipal authority

Both certificates must be no older than three months when submitted with the licence application.

Code of conduct

The ÖEHV code of conduct applies to coaches, officials and everyone working in Austrian ice hockey on a voluntary, part-time or full-time basis. For licensed coaches, accepting it is part of the licensing process: the code has to be signed and attached to the licence application.

Breaches are sanctioned in line with the ÖEHV disciplinary rules as amended.

Further training

Two courses per season

Renewing a licence requires two further training courses per season; the D licence is exempt. The C licence and the C guest licence require one course per season. At least one of them has to be an ÖEHV Coaches Clinic. Taking part in the ÖEHV Coaches Mentoring also counts towards renewal.

For ÖEHV courses, participation is recorded in the Spond profile or internally. Anyone completing a qualification — instructor course, coaching base course or specialist course — has it recognised as further training and does not need to provide additional courses for the following season's renewal.

External courses

only courses relevant to work as an ice hockey coach are recognised — for example athletics, mental training, communication or integrity
a confirmation of participation has to be provided for every external course
confirmations are accepted in German or English only
for an additional course, the ÖEHV recommends the programmes run by Sport Austria

Application

Application & fees

All licence applications — first issue as well as renewal — are submitted through the dedicated online platform in combination with Spond. The platform is announced via the ÖEHV website and via Spond from July at the latest ahead of each new season.

Submitting an application requires a completed Spond registration with access to the “ÖEHV Trainer:innen” group, as the required documents and proofs are transmitted via the Spond chat.

The licence fee can only be paid through Spond, by the person submitting the application. After payment, Spond automatically issues an invoice by email that can be presented to the club. A combined invoice for an entire club is not possible.

Exemptions

Once per coach and club, for a maximum of two seasons

Exemptions are granted only once per coach and club, and for a maximum of two consecutive seasons. They have to be applied for in writing at the ÖEHV.

Requirements

relevant and documented coaching experience, evidenced by an ice hockey CV
the intention to take part in the next scheduled education
participation in the further training courses mandatory for the licence actually required
valid licensing through a current qualification or a D licence

Licence checks

Before every season and on a sample basis during the season

In the ÖEHV leagues, the validity of licences and whether a licence matches the age group or league is checked before every season via responses from the club contacts of ÖEHV competition management.

In addition, samples are checked against game sheets and available livestream footage. This also verifies whether the coaches listed on the game sheet were in fact behind the bench. Breaches are sanctioned in line with the ÖEHV disciplinary rules as amended.

Documents