The first matches of the season were played on 10 August 2002 and the last on 1 June 2003.
Vardar defended their championship title, having won their fifth title, second in a row.
Promoted from 2001–02 Second League Relegated to 2002–03 Second League Promoted from 2002–03 Second League Relegated to 2003–04 Second League Every team will play three times against each other team for a total of 33 matches.
The first 22 matchdays will consist of a regular double round-robin schedule.
The league standings at this point will then be used to determine the games for the last 11 matchdays.