To get your child cleared for a Wake County school sport, you need to download the current Wake County sports physical form packet from the WCPSS website, have the medical history and physical exam completed and signed by a licensed medical professional, add the required consent and concussion signatures and proof of accident insurance, and upload the entire packet through DragonFly Max before tryouts begin. Until the school marks the student as cleared in that system, they cannot try out, practice, or play.
Download the Correct Packet
WCPSS posts two different packets, and they are not interchangeable. The high school version lives on the district’s “High School Sports” family resources page, and the middle school version lives on a parallel “Middle School Sports” page. Both are available in English and Spanish for the 2026–27 school year.1Wake County Public School System. High School Sports2Wake County Public Schools. Middle School Sports
Individual school athletic pages sometimes host their own copies. Check the date on any form you download. WCPSS and the NCHSAA update the legal language and medical sections regularly, and an outdated version will be kicked back.
Complete the Pre-Participation Physical Evaluation
The physical itself is the Pre-Participation Physical Evaluation (PPE) required by the NCHSAA for every student-athlete before practicing or competing. It has two parts: a medical history form the parent fills out at home, and a hands-on exam done by a licensed medical professional.3North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Instructions for Completing the NCHSAA Student-Athlete Pre-Participation Physical Evaluation
The Medical History
Fill out the history section before the appointment. It asks about past surgeries, hospitalizations, heart and breathing problems, prior concussions, and family medical background, with particular attention to any relative who died suddenly or unexpectedly before age 50. Answer every question. Blank lines slow the appointment, and a family history of heart conditions changes what the examiner listens for during the cardiac portion of the exam.
The Exam and Who Can Sign It
The clinical exam records height, weight, blood pressure, pulse, and vision, and includes a cardiac check, lungs, abdomen, skin, neurological screen, and a musculoskeletal review.4North Carolina High School Athletic Association. NCHSAA Student-Athlete Preparticipation Physical Evaluation Form The NCHSAA instructions refer to a “Licensed Medical Professional” as the examiner; the Wake County middle school rules name licensed medical physicians, physician assistants, and family practitioners.5Wake County School District Athletics. Eligibility Rules
The examiner must sign and date the form. A form without that signature and date will be rejected. Double-check both before you leave the office.
How Long the Physical Lasts
A completed physical is valid for 395 days, which is roughly 13 months.5Wake County School District Athletics. Eligibility Rules If it expires mid-season, your child becomes ineligible that day and cannot practice or play until a new physical is on file. Time the appointment so the 395-day window covers the entire season, including any potential playoff run. A physical done in late May generally carries a student through a full school year of fall, winter, and spring sports.
Signatures, Consent, and Insurance Proof
The administrative pages of the packet collect emergency contacts, medical conditions and allergies, and proof of accident insurance. WCPSS requires every student in athletic programs to carry accident insurance, and you must document that coverage on the consent forms. The district offers limited secondary accident insurance for student-athletes, but it is supplemental and does not replace your own policy.6Wake County Public School District. Student Accident Insurance
Concussion Acknowledgment
North Carolina’s Gfeller-Waller Concussion Awareness Act, codified at N.C. General Statute 115C-12(23), requires both the student and a parent to read and sign a concussion and head injury information sheet every year. The sheet explains what a concussion is, how to recognize the symptoms, and what happens if a student shows signs of a head injury during play: the student gets pulled immediately and cannot return until cleared in writing by a qualified medical professional.7North Carolina General Assembly. House Bill 792 – Gfeller-Waller Concussion Awareness Act The signed sheets go to the coach before the student participates in any tryout, practice, or game.8General Assembly of North Carolina. North Carolina Session Law 2011-147 – Gfeller-Waller Concussion Awareness Act No signature, no participation.
Eligibility Acknowledgment
The packet also includes pages where the parent and student confirm they understand NCHSAA eligibility rules covering academics, age, and residency. Your signature means you accept the consequences if your child does not actually meet those standards, so read the eligibility section below before signing. Violations discovered later can result in forfeiture of games.
Upload the Packet Through DragonFly Max
Wake County uses DragonFly Max as its online registration and clearance platform. Paper copies are not accepted. Everything goes through the digital system, and registration through DragonFly is an eligibility requirement even for summer conditioning sessions.9Wake County Public Schools. Athlete Eligibility and Registration
The order matters:
- A parent creates an account first at dragonflymax.com. DragonFly provides a parent walkthrough at dragonflymax.com/academy/parents.
- After the parent finishes, the student creates a linked account.
- Upload every completed and signed page of the packet, including the physical and the concussion acknowledgment. Blurry scans or photos will be rejected, so check legibility before you submit.
- The school’s athletic director or designee reviews the submission. Log into the account dashboard to check clearance status.
Processing time depends on the volume of submissions. Do not wait until the week before tryouts. If something stalls or you cannot get the platform to accept a document, contact your school’s athletic director directly.
Eligibility Rules the Form Won’t Fix
A completed packet gets your child in the door, but it does not override NCHSAA or WCPSS eligibility rules. Confirm these before the first tryout.
Academics
A high school student must have passed a minimum course load the previous semester: at least five courses on a traditional schedule, three on a 90-minute block schedule, or six of eight on an A/B block format. A student entering ninth grade for the first time is automatically academically eligible regardless of eighth-grade performance.10North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Eligibility Requirements A student who is ineligible at the start of a semester stays ineligible for the entire semester. There is no mid-semester recovery.
Middle school rules are different. Students must earn passing grades in one fewer core class than the number of courses taken the previous semester, and WCPSS requires 85 percent attendance from the prior semester.5Wake County School District Athletics. Eligibility Rules
Age
At the middle school level in Wake County, a student who turns 15 on or before August 31 of that school year is ineligible, and middle school eligibility is capped at six consecutive semesters beginning with the student’s first entry into sixth grade. High school age limits are set by the NCHSAA and should be confirmed through the current NCHSAA handbook.
Residency
The student must live with a parent or legal guardian within the WCPSS district. If the parents are separated or divorced, the primary residence is wherever the parent with court-ordered primary custody lives. If no custody order exists, the residence is wherever the student spends more than half the time at the start of the school year. Any change of residence must be for a genuine, permanent reason and not primarily for athletic purposes.11North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Eligibility Requirements Presentation
Transfers
If your child is transferring into a WCPSS school from a different district, state rule 16 NCAC 06E .0207 makes a student who transfers without a genuine change of residence ineligible for interscholastic athletics for 365 calendar days after enrolling.12North Carolina High School Athletic Association. NCHSAA Transfer Agreement Form The 365-day period can be waived if the superintendents or designees of both the old and new districts sign the NCHSAA Transfer Agreement Form. If either side declines, the waiting period stands. A bona fide family move into the new attendance area for reasons unrelated to athletics avoids the waiting period, but expect the district to verify the move.
Practice Days Before the First Game
Even after clearance, a student cannot step straight into a game. At the middle school level, WCPSS requires six days of practice before playing in a game in every sport except football, which requires eight. The same practice minimums apply to any student returning from an injury or illness lasting five or more days, and those students also need a written medical release from a licensed physician before rejoining practice.5Wake County School District Athletics. Eligibility Rules High school practice minimums follow NCHSAA rules, which also set a minimum number of practice days in football before any scrimmage or game.
A Few Middle-School-Only Rules Worth Knowing
Several additional rules apply only at the middle school level:
- The student must be enrolled in seventh or eighth grade.
- No student can participate at the middle school level for more than six consecutive semesters starting from their first entry into sixth grade.
- The student must have been present for at least 85 percent of the previous semester.
- A student must be in school the entire day to practice or play that day.
- A student who is suspended or serving in-school suspension on a given day cannot practice or play that day.5Wake County School District Athletics. Eligibility Rules
And again: use the middle school packet from the WCPSS “Middle School Sports” page, not the high school version. The forms are not interchangeable, and submitting the wrong one means redoing the whole packet.2Wake County Public Schools. Middle School Sports