Referee's Guide to NFL FLAG 12U Flag Football 2026-27

• Across the field: spot the ball in the middle of the field before the ready-to-play whistle. If the offense asks before the ball is ready for play, you can move it toward a sideline, but never closer than 10 yards to a sideline.
• After a flag pull: where the ball is when the flag is pulled (not where the runner's feet are).
• Flag falls off: where the flag lands.
• Out of bounds: stepping on the boundary line is out of bounds.
• Snap, pitch or lateral hits the ground: where the ball hit the ground.
• Illegal jump, leap or hurdle: where it happened.
• Pass clock expires: back to the previous line of scrimmage; the down counts.
• New possessions: the offense's own 5-yard line, except after an interception or a failed 4th-down "play" short of midfield (where the play ended).
• Tries: the 5-yard line (1 point) or 10-yard line (2 points).

The line-to-gain is midfield. No-run zones are the 5 yards before midfield and before each goal line.

• Mark a rush line 7 yards from the line of scrimmage (a marker or an official). Defenders should confirm their position with you each play.
• Up to two rushers, each with a hand raised before the snap, may rush from the rush line. They must rush immediately at the snap; no delayed rush.
• After a handoff, pitch or lateral by the snap receiver, any defender may rush from anywhere.

Penalties (+5 from the line of scrimmage and automatic first down):

• Illegal rush: a rusher leaves the rush line early and crosses the line of scrimmage before a handoff, pitch, lateral or pass; or a defender not at the rush line crosses before the ball is passed or handed off.
• Encroachment: any defender crosses the line of scrimmage before the snap.
• Roughing the passer: non-incidental contact with the QB (rushers may try to block the pass).

If the offense draws a rusher across the 7-yard marker before the snap, that rusher can't legally rush. Jumping the rush isn't a foul until the rusher crosses the line of scrimmage early.

Impeding the rusher (offense): the rusher's path is set pre-snap, straight to the QB, and doesn't move when the QB moves. A moving offensive player who disrupts that path or makes contact is penalized -5 and loss of down. If the offensive player stays still after the snap, the rusher must go around.

• A flag pull is legal only when the ball carrier is in full possession of the ball.
• Defenders may dive to pull a flag, but can't tackle, hold or run through the ball carrier.
• Defenders can't strip or pull the ball from the ball carrier at any time (stripping: +5, spot foul, automatic first down).
• Defenders can't intentionally pull the flag of a player who doesn't have the ball. An illegal flag pull before the receiver has the ball is +5 from the line of scrimmage and an automatic first down.
• If a ball carrier's flag falls off during the play, they're down immediately; spot the ball where the flag lands.
• A player who catches or takes the ball with one or no flags on the belt is down at that spot.
• A sack is a QB flag pull behind the line; spot the ball where the ball was when the flag came off. In the offense's own end zone it's a safety.
• Defenders must give receivers a free release off the line of scrimmage.

Flag guarding is any attempt by the ball carrier to block a defender's access to the flags: stiff-arming; dropping the head, hand, arm, elbow or shoulder; using the ball as a shield; or intentionally covering the flags with the jersey. Jerseys must be tucked in before play, and deliberately obstructed flags count as flag guarding. Penalty: -5 from the spot and loss of down.

Jumping and hurdling: runners can't jump, leap, dive or hurdle while advancing the ball. Blow the play dead and spot the ball where the jump happened. Players may dive to catch a pass or pull a flag.

Allowed without stopping play: spins, jump cuts, a QB leaving their feet to pass, or a runner leaving the ground clearly to avoid a collision. If illegal contact happens while airborne, you can still penalize it.

Charging: a ball carrier running directly into a set defender, including leading with the head or contacting with the shoulder, forearm or chest, is -5 from the spot and loss of down. Ball carriers must try to avoid defenders with established position.

• Officials administer all penalties and judge what contact is incidental to normal play.
• Enforce from the line of scrimmage, except spot fouls, which are enforced from where the foul happened.
• Live-ball penalties first, then dead-ball penalties. Live-ball fouls are part of the play and must be enforced before the down is complete.
• Half the distance: when the yardage is more than half the distance to the goal, enforce half the distance.
• Spot fouls in the end zone: by the defense, ball on the 1-yard line, first down; by the offense, a safety.
• A half or game can't end on a defensive penalty unless the offense declines it.
• Pre-snap, any player entering the neutral zone is an automatic dead-ball foul. You may give a courtesy warning so players can reset.

Defense (all include an automatic first down)

Offense (all include a loss of down)

Clear path: when a defensive foul prevents an obvious touchdown, award the touchdown.

An inadvertent whistle kills the play. The team in possession chooses:

1. Take the ball where the whistle blew, and the down counts, or
2. Replay the down from the original line of scrimmage.

If the inadvertent whistle happens on the last play of a half or the game, the offense gets one untimed down with the same two options.

• Intentional physical play: if you or the field monitor see intentional tackling, elbowing, cheap shots, blocking or any unsportsmanlike act, stop the game and eject the player. It's your decision, and no appeals are considered.
• Offensive or confrontational language: penalize it as unsportsmanlike conduct and decide whether an ejection is warranted.
• Two unsportsmanlike penalties on the same player or coach in a game result in disqualification.
• Electronic communication between a player and their coach or team spectator: the team is disqualified immediately.

Unsportsmanlike conduct is 10 yards from the dead-ball spot, plus an automatic first down against the defense or a loss of down against the offense. Unfair acts (the defense mimicking snap signals, a team not returning 5 eligible players after halftime) are unsportsmanlike conduct charged to the head coach.

• Only the team captain or head coach may ask you about rule clarifications and interpretations.
• A team may use a timeout to question a rule interpretation. If your ruling was correct, charge the timeout. If the rule was interpreted incorrectly, don't charge the timeout and enforce the correct ruling.
• In overtime there are no timeouts; instead each team has one coach's challenge for the whole overtime, and it must concern a misapplied rule, not a judgment call.
• Officials decide what counts as incidental contact, offensive language and dangerous play, and ejections for intentional physical play aren't open to appeal.

• The scoring team must declare a 1- or 2-point try. Changing it requires a charged timeout, and it can't change after a penalty.
• Safety: ball carrier downed in their own end zone (flag pulled or falls out, out of bounds, knee or arm down, fumble in the end zone), a snap landing in or beyond the end zone, a sack in the end zone, or an offensive spot foul in its own end zone.
• If the QB is in the end zone when the 7-second clock expires, it's not a safety: the ball goes back to the line of scrimmage and the down counts.
• Mercy rule: game over at a 35-point lead in regular season (28 in tournaments). Forfeits are 35-0 (28-0).
• Coaches, officials and the scorekeeper verify the score sheet; if a coach leaves without verifying, the score is final.

Stop the clock. Under NFL FLAG rules officials stop the clock for player injuries, and coaches may leave the sideline to attend to an injured player.

For a possible head injury, the CDC HEADS UP guidance for sports officials is "When in doubt, get them out."

• If a player shows signs of a concussion after a bump, blow or jolt (looks dazed or confused, is clumsy or unsteady, answers slowly, vomits, or behaves unusually), have them removed from play right away.
• Call for emergency help if there are danger signs: seizures, loss of consciousness, repeated vomiting, slurred speech, weakness or numbness, or increasing confusion.
• A player removed for a suspected concussion shouldn't return that day; only a healthcare provider can clear them.

You don't need to diagnose. Your job is to spot the signs, stop play and get the player off the field.