Is a check to the head legal in ice hockey?
A · Advanced · Fouls · 2 of 11There is no clean check to the head or neck. A hit where the head is the main point of contact, and could have been avoided, is a minor penalty, or a major and game misconduct if reckless. Attempting to head-butt an opponent is a double-minor, and actual contact can bring a major and game misconduct.
How it works
- The rule: the player giving the hit must avoid the opponent's head or neck.
- Illegal: directing a hit to the head, extending the upper body upward or outward to reach it, jumping, or driving the head into the glass.
- What the referee weighs: whether the hit went squarely through the body, whether the opponent ducked or changed position, and whether the head was picked.
- Head down: a player skating with the head down into a check that does not drive upward is not penalised.
- Penalty: minor, or major and automatic game misconduct.
- Head-butting: attempting it is a double-minor; reckless contact is a major and game misconduct.
- Supersedes: this rule overrides other rules on hits to the head.
The glossary has the illegal check to the head or neck, the head-butting, the double-minor penalty, the major penalty, the game misconduct penalty and the supplementary discipline.
Tricky cases
A player crouches suddenly and takes a shoulder to the head. Penalty?
Not necessarily: the referee considers whether the player put themself in that position.
A body check lands on the chest and slides up to the chin. Illegal?
The referee considers whether the main force was to the body first; that weighs against a penalty.
A player jumps to make a hit that reaches the head. Penalty?
Yes. Jumping to deliver a blow to the head is listed as illegal.
Does a head check count even if the player had the puck?
Yes. Having the puck does not make the head a target.
Why the rule exists
Hits to the head cause concussions. Putting the duty on the hitter to avoid the head protects players even when they have the puck.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Head and neck | No clean check | IIHF 48.1 |
| Head-butting | Double-minor or major | IIHF 47 |
From the rule book
International Ice Hockey Federation, Official Rulebook 2026/27 (version 1.0, June 2026), Rules 47 and 48. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the IIHF Official Rulebook, revised each season.