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Flag Football rules

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Ask anything about Flag Football rules — answered from the rulebook below.

Flag Football (5-on-5) Rulebook

Flag football is a non-contact variant of American football in which a play ends when a defender pulls a fabric flag from the ball carrier's belt rather than by tackling. The 5-on-5 format is the international standard governed by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and is the version scheduled for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The rules below follow the IFAF rulebook.

1. Objective & Format

Two teams of 5 players each compete to score more points than the opponent by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. Substitutes are permitted; Olympic rosters are capped at 12 players.

  • Field: A playing field of 50 yards (about 46 m) long by 25 yards (about 23 m) wide, plus two end zones of 10 yards (about 9 m) each, for a total length of about 70 yards. The midfield line divides the field into two halves.
  • Duration: Two 20-minute halves. The clock runs continuously and stops only for timeouts and injuries (and during the final two minutes of each half). Each team gets 2 timeouts per half (no carryover).
  • No kicking: There are no kickoffs, punts, or field goals. Every possession begins with a snap at the offense's own 5-yard line.

2. Scoring

  • Touchdown: 6 points
  • Extra-point conversion from the 5-yard line: 1 point
  • Two-point conversion from the 12-yard line: 2 points
  • Defensive interception returned for a score on a conversion: 2 points
  • Safety: 2 points (ball carrier's flag pulled in their own end zone); a safety on a conversion try is worth 1 point

3. Core Rules of Play

  • The offense starts at its 5-yard line and has four downs to cross midfield. After crossing midfield, it has four more downs to score. Failure to advance turns the ball over to the opponent at their own 5-yard line.
  • The ball is snapped from the line of scrimmage; the snap need not pass between the snapper's legs but cannot go forward.
  • The player who receives the snap is the quarterback and cannot run the ball forward; they must hand off, lateral, or pass. A teammate who receives a handoff or lateral may run.
  • The quarterback has 7 seconds to release a pass after the snap; if not, the play is dead. The clock resets once the ball is handed off, lateralled, or faked.
  • Forward passes are allowed; a pass that does not cross the line of scrimmage counts as a running play. Laterals and handoffs are legal behind the line.
  • No-Run Zones sit in the last 5 yards before each goal line (and, in some formats, on each side of midfield). Inside a No-Run Zone the offense must pass and may not advance by running.
  • A play is dead when the ball carrier's flag is pulled, the carrier steps out of bounds, a score occurs, an incomplete pass falls, or the ball touches the ground (there are no fumbles — a dropped ball or muffed snap is dead at the spot of last possession).
  • Runners may spin and dip but cannot dive, jump, or lean forward to gain yardage or avoid a defender, and must try to avoid contact.

4. Fouls, Violations & Penalties

Because the game is non-contact, most penalties guard against illegal contact and flag-pulling abuse:

  • Flag guarding — using a hand, arm, or the ball to block a defender from pulling a flag.
  • Stiff-arming / diving / charging — illegal contact by the ball carrier.
  • Holding, obstruction, or stripping the ball carrier illegally.
  • Defensive contact / pass interference — impeding a receiver before the ball is touched.
  • Offside / encroachment — entering the neutral zone (the length of the football) before the snap.
  • Illegal rush — a defender within 7 yards of the line crossing before the ball is handed off, faked, or passed; only players starting more than 7 yards back may blitz, and a maximum of 2 blitzers may signal.
  • Illegal signal / delay of game — exceeding the 25-second huddle clock or improper blitzer signaling.

Penalties are enforced as yardage (commonly 5 or 10 yards) and, for spot fouls, an automatic first down or replayed down.

5. Win Condition

The team with the most points at the end of the two halves wins. There is no overtime in the regular season. In playoffs, ties are broken by sudden-death tries: each team gets an equal number of conversion attempts (choosing a 1- or 2-point try each time) until the tie is broken.