How do I enforce penalties?

Question

Accepted Answer

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.