How are penalties enforced in flag football?
I · Intermediate · Contact, blitzing and penalties · 9 of 9There are two sizes. Contact fouls and unsportsmanlike acts cost 10 yards, and everything else costs 5. Fouls that only the runner can commit also cost the down, and contact fouls by the defence give the offence a first down. No penalty moves the ball more than half the distance to the goal line.
How it works
- Ten yards: pass interference, illegal contact, game interference and unsportsmanlike acts.
- Five yards with loss of down: flag guarding, jumping, diving, an illegal pass, an illegal run and an illegal hand-off.
- Five yards: false start, offside, delay of game, illegal shift, illegal rush, shielding and too many players.
- Loss of down only: holding the ball past seven seconds, and a passer illegally touching their own pass.
- Loss of down: the down counts as one of the four. It applies only to the offence.
- Automatic first down: given for contact fouls by the defence.
- Half the distance: no penalty takes more than half the ground to the offender's goal line.
- Declining: the team that was fouled may refuse the penalty and keep the result of the play.
- Offsetting: if both teams foul during a play, the down is replayed.
- Clean hands: a team that gained the ball before it fouled may refuse the offset and keep the ball.
- Disqualification: for a flagrant foul or for two unsportsmanlike acts in a game.
- Unfair tactics: the referee may take any fair action, up to awarding a score.
The glossary has the penalty, the loss of down, the automatic first down, illegal contact, offside and the referee.
Tricky cases
The offence commits a false start on its own 7-yard line. How far back does it go?
To the 3.5-yard line. A 5-yard penalty would be more than half the distance to the goal line.
A runner flag guards after gaining 15 yards. Is the penalty marked from the start of the play?
No. It is enforced from the spot of the foul, 5 yards back from there, and the down is lost.
A touchdown is scored while the defence commits illegal contact. What happens to the penalty?
The touchdown stands and the 10 yards are enforced on the try.
A substitute steps off the bench and pulls the flag of a runner who was clear to score. What can the referee do?
Award the touchdown and disqualify the player. Against an unfair act that the rules do not cover, the referee may take any action considered equitable.
Why the rule exists
The rule book admits that penalties "are not perfect" and calls them "a balance between practical simplicity and fair perfection". Two distances and a few fixed extras are easy to apply for a crew of two officials, and the heavier price for contact shows what the game most wants to prevent.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fouls before the snap | Ball stays dead, enforced from the scrimmage line | IFAF Flag Rule 10, Philosophy of Enforcement |
| Fouls only the runner can commit | Enforced from the spot of the foul, with loss of down | IFAF Flag Rule 10, Philosophy of Enforcement |
| Fouls during the play | Enforced from the basic spot | IFAF Flag Rule 10-3-1 |
| Fouls by the defence on a touchdown | 10-yard fouls carry to the try. Others are declined | IFAF Flag Rule 10-3-2 |
From the rule book
International Federation of American Football, International Flag Football Rules 2023 (in force from 1 May 2023), Rule 2-7, Rule 5-2, Rule 10 and the Summary of Penalties, with approved rulings 10-1-2-I, 10-3-2-V and 10-3-3-I. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: IFAF International Flag Football Rules 2023 (PDF).