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How much does a Tournament Director like to charge for an afternoon or evening of his services?
And, how much more would he charge if he is also expected to submit the results to the USCF for formal rating?
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I can’t speak for anyone else, but this particular Local TD would refuse any payment.
Dumping alert!
It depends on the event. If the organizer is trying to make a personal profit then a TD can expect to be paid. I’ve also done multiple tournaments for free, only asking for reimbursement of the rating fees I put on my credit card when uploading the event. As an NTD I’ve also done many tournaments for what works out to $200 a day, sometimes more in larger or more prestigious events where I am the chief. My club used to provide TDs for scholastic events with the only charge being 50 cents per player for the club treasury (plus reimbursement of the rating fee). When we could no longer get enough TDs to donate their time to a half-dozen events in a two month time span I finally had to add $100 per TD (for the TDs) and eventually also increased the 50 cents to 75 mcents. Directing my club’s Thursday night events is all donated time.
Depends on the event and the TD. Jeff’s experience is similar to mine, although as an ANTD, my high end is a bit less than his high end.
I did plenty of events for free as I was coming up, and would still consider doing so if asked far enough in advance and the event wasn’t a major time sink.
As an organizer (I only organize one event a year), my solution to TD cost is to be the TD myself. This would work for a Club TD for a small enough event.
If you’ve got a specific event in mind, I’d use the USCF’s TD search capability to find folks in your area and start asking them.
While I won’t discuss specific amounts that I make, I will say that, in general, the larger or more important the event, the more I expect to be paid.
I don’t charge for local club events (though I did put in a policy for the multi-week events at the Pittsburgh Chess Club about 10 years ago where a TD is entitled to $10 per evening, which basically covers mileage and dinner; the TD can decline this if he so chooses).
I do sometimes travel on my own dime for tournaments (there was a one-day scholastic in my hometown this year that needed a TD; since I was able to take my son for a visit home, as well as a visit to the concurrent US Championships, I agreed to direct that event on the cuff).
Nowadays, though, my schedule only allows me to do certain tournaments regularly every year. These tend to be larger events, which demand a higher level of performance and awareness. For these, I do expect compensation.
A well-known national TD once told me that he keeps track of all of his tournaments. Some he donates his time, some he gets a token fee to help cover mileage and out-of-pocket expense. For the events where he expects to get paid, he told me that he seldom makes more than $5 a hour for his time, especially if that includes travel time.
So, basically, I have the same policy as everyone else who has responded, except that no one will ever ask me to do a big, for profit tournament.
I shouldn’t say “never”. Some day, I might move up the TD ladder. Right now, I don’t have enough experience to be trusted with that sort of event. That’s kind of why I specified “Local TD”. If I can do your event, I don’t think you ought to have to pay for a TD.
There are other NTDs in the area that say my high end for one-day events is a bit low.
Also, I did three Saturday events for free in 2013 (two non-rated events with 20 and 32 players and one event with 88 in the three rated sections and 18 in the non-rated section uschess.org/assets/msa_jooml … 1303099892 ). They did feed me lunch. Those three events are still personal freebies every year.
The price varies depending on the size of the event and how much work the TD has to do. When I was tournament coordinator for one club, I paid a minimum TD fee of 75 cents per player per day. A one day event with 50 players meant a TD cost of $40 (I rounded up). In events with less than 30 players, I paid $1 per player to cover the TD gas and food money. In larger events, the fee went up to 1 dollar per player per day. A state championship or Grand Prix event with 100 players over two days meant a $200 fee for the TD work. Plus pizza and snacks. If there were 200+ players, then I planned on $2 to $3 per player per day and split it among the 3 or 4 TDs who worked the event. Depends on how much work there is to do, size of your entries, other roles and responsibilities TDs might have. We tried to make sure that all of the club’s TDs had significant shares of tournaments to work so that every TD received about an equal share of the total fees paid.
We have some budding TDs who want to learn to TD and get experience at our club. They are willing to work for free. I pay them anyway. No one should work for nothing. They get pizza and drinks, too.
Actually, you’ve already been asked to do such an event (albeit indirectly). USCF always needs TDs for national events.
If you follow through on that link above, you might change your mind. 
Running a large event is a lot of work, and anyone who participates in that process deserves some sort of compensation, IMO.
Also, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you don’t have “enough” or “the right kind of” experience. The best way to get said experience is to hop in on those events, and take advantage of the presence of some upper-tier TDs to pick their brains while you’re at it.
I’m not saying you want to do that, of course. But as conscientious as you appear to be, I have no reason to think you wouldn’t perform well. Also, one advantage of moving up the ladder is that you can organize your own larger events, without having to pay for a properly certified chief TD.
All very reasonable fees. And, quite frankly, it is usually worth every
penny to hire professional tournament directors. To a large extent,
one gets what one pays for.
Rob Jones
As you should. I am running a tournament this weekend, for which
I shall be compensated. BUT, I have also handled registrations and
answered numerous phone calls during the week from those interested in attending. A chief tds job usually starts weeks before
the event itself. There is a lot of work, usually to be performed, and
quite frankly, most of it volunteer. Few get rich running USCF tournaments.
Rob Jones
By coincidence, when this thread was more active I was also in the process of volunteering to TD a tournament for our state chapter.
That tournament was held yesterday.
I decided I would take enough money to cover my real expenses: Gas, lunch, parking.
All perfectly reasonable. Some years the state tournament just flows by and you’re home before you know it without a care. Some years the stuff really hits the fan and you ask yourself why you got your certification in the first place 
. The expense reimbursement soothes the wounds of the second kind.
There is a key reason I have no problem paying tournament directors-- I want their help in the future,
and I need them in the present.
Rob Jones