Looking to become rated in real life

How does one go about getting an actual chess rating in real life? Are your restricted on which tournaments you can play in? I would want to start out in low level tournaments as i am still developing as a player. Can you register for any rated event even if you yourself are not yet a rated player? 

Automatically, if you are unrated, you will play in the lower league until your rating settles some where.

Or as it is called, the ''under division.'' 

ok thanks, do you know how many games or tournaments you have to play before they officially give you a rating? 

Yes, simply a rated tournament. Most places hold annual events, you might want to check out the next tournament, you might get details from nearby chess clubs.

thank you, i appreciate the input

np

After your very first tournament, you're rated.  However, it is a "provisional" rating.  You need to play 26 games before you have an "established" rating.

With a provisional rating, the formula to determine your rating change is slightly different.  That's about the only difference between an established rating and a provisional rating.

And yes, you can usually play in any event, in any section, even if you're unrated or provisionally rated.  However, many events limit the prize amount you can win.  (This is to prevent strong players from other countries entering a section far below their ability and cleaning up.)

Actually, they give you official rating after multiple tournaments. Not one, but MULTIPLE depending on how much round each round has

Oh yeah! Don't think over the time limit.

Actually, you'll be given an established rating (a non-provisonal rating) after playing 26 games.  The number of tournaments is actually irrelevant. 

If you could find a tournament that consisted of 26 rounds, for example, you'd have an established rating after that one tournament.

http://greatergreenwoodchessplayers.pbworks.com/f/The+USCF+Rating+System.pdf

Again, a player with a provsional rating is usually elligible for the top prizes in all sections.  It's the unrated players that often have prize restrictions.  For example, at the upcoming Los Angeles Open,

Unrateds ay enter any section, with prize limit U1900 $600, U1600 $400, U1300 $200; balance goes to next player(s) in line.

www.uschess.org

There's a lot of information on the website. Plus if you go to a local club or tournament most people there could answer any questions before the rounds start.

Well europe is under fide rule too and when you join a club, you need a starting rating and the club gives you one between 1000 and 1600 elo which is the max. The club has to judge your skill level. You start playing with that rating like any other player and evolve upwards or downwards.

Do you already have a current USCF membership?

I dont have a rating from any authoritive body

Sign up at USCF. I never played tournaments as a kid, which is how most people start. But rather I bought chessmaster8000 in college and watched a video it had that talked about the USCF and it's tournaments.

I just signed up and started going to tournaments and loved it.

Playing over the board is so much different than on the internet. It's a whole new drama and really highlights the "sport" aspects of chess- in my opinion.

I'm fairly certain you have to be a USCF member in order to obtain a rating from playing in tournaments. In fact, I think you need to be a member to play in any rated tournaments. The membership is actually not very expensive, you can sign up pretty quickly on the USCF website.