1. Effective January 1, 2022, Regional Certificates are valid ONLY within the same calendar year. 

Any athlete who resides in a country with a Regional Certificate requirement must compete in a Regional contest in his or her country and must obtain a Regional Certificate before competing in a Pro Qualifier contest anywhere in the world. 

In 2023 and each year thereafter, this athlete must again compete in a Regional contest in his or her country to meet the yearly Regional Certificate requirement.

If an athlete resides in a country with a Regional Certificate requirement but there are no Regional contests in that country until later in the year, the athlete may compete in a Pro Qualifier contest anywhere in the world provided the Pro Qualifier contest is held before the first Regional contest in his or her country.  When this Regional contest is held, the athlete may not compete in any other Pro Qualifier contest without first obtaining a Regional Certificate from his or her country.

Effective January 1, 2023, the italicized countries shown below also have a Regional Certificate requirement:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, Spain, (District of) Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vietnam

*Athletes from Denmark, Finland, and Norway may compete in a Regional contest in any one of these three countries, as well as in Sweden, to fulfill the requirement for an Official Regional Certificate.

**Athletes from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay may compete in a Regional contest in any one of these 8 countries to fulfill the requirement for an Official Regional Certificate.

***Athletes from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam may compete in a Regional contest in any one of these 7 countries to fulfill the requirement for an Official Regional Certificate.

2. Athletes must abide by the Regional and Pro Qualifier rules of the country in which they reside.

3. If an Athlete qualifies for an IFBB PRO card at a Pro Qualifier and, before applying for the card, competes in another Pro Qualifier or competes in a contest that is not sanctioned by NPC WORLDWIDE, the Athlete automatically and without notice forfeits the right to apply for the card.

4. US athletes must compete in an NPC contest not more than one year before competing in an NPC WORLDWIDE Regional or Pro Qualifier contest. US athletes who are posted overseas, or whose employment requires them to work overseas, are exempt from this requirement and compete under the rules of the country in which they reside.

5. Canadian athletes must compete in a Canadian Pro Qualifier not more than one year before competing in an NPC WORLDWIDE Regional or Pro Qualifier contest, except for the Arnold Amateur USA where only a current membership is required.

6. At NPC Worldwide Masters competitions, the number of pro cards awarded shall be decided by NPC Worldwide and the IFBB Pro League.

7. AT AN NPC WORLDWIDE PRO QUALIFIER COMPETITION, if an Open division has less than 5 competitors, the division winner may petition the IFBB Professional League for a pro card.  The petition must:

1. 1. 1. be submitted in writing to info@IFBB-ProLeague.com;
      2. be received by the IFBB Professional League no later than 14 days after the date of the competition FINALS.  Petitions received after the 14-day deadline will not be considered;
      3. Include official stage photographs of the individual poses and all comparison poses; and
      4. for Fitness, include a video of the fitness routine.

      This rule is retroactive from January 1, 2022.

      *These rules are subject to change without notice.  Please contact Tony Blinn at tblinn@ifbbpro.com if you have any questions.

      As of January 1, 2020, all athletes must have an NPC WorldWide Membership if they wish to compete in any NPC WorldWide Regional or NPC WorldWide Pro Qualifier contest. Memberships will be checked prior to entering check-in’s at every contest.

      Please go to www.npcworldwide-register.com to register.

      For updated NPC WorldWide information and rules, please visit NPCNEWSONLINE.com and IFBBPRO.com.