California girls' flag football rules (CIF)
California plays NFHS rules with its own state choices. The field is 80 yards between goal lines and 40 yards wide. Hash marks are required. Halftime is 5 to 10 minutes. The clock stops at 2:00 in each half. A lead over 27 in the 4th quarter starts a running clock.
If your team plays in California, these are the choices your games use. Sections can add their own.
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What CIF chose
- RulebookCIF rule
California plays the NFHS flag football rulebook with the state's own adoptions on top.
Southern Section
The Southern Section names the 2026 NFHS book for 2026-27, up from the 2025 book a year earlier.
- FieldTable 1-7 #1
NFHS Diagram 1: 240 by 120 feet, or 80 by 40 yards, between the goal lines. Add two 10-yard end zones. Tournaments or tight spaces may use a 120 by 120 foot field. That field has one line to gain, at midfield.
- Hash marksTable 1-7 #13
Required. They are 23 to 24 feet apart and 16 yards in from each sideline. Use pylons or cones when the field has no lines for them.
- Puntingnot in CIF's list
CIF bans place kicks, kickoffs and field goals. Its list says nothing about punts, so this is left blank.
- Field goals and kicked triesTable 1-7 #5, #7, #20
None. CIF has no field goals, no kickoffs and no place kicks, and no kicking tee.
- Flag beltsTable 1-7 #11
Each player wears 2 flags, a flag on each hip. The flags pull off the belt and contrast with the shorts. The belt sits snug at the waist. If it slides and blocks a flag pull, the official can end the play or call flag guarding. Flags can be up to 2.5 by 16 inches. The piece that clips each flag on must be a youth size.
CIF item 11CIF Point of Emphasis, Flags and Belts
Southern Section
The Southern Section's guide allows junior flags only. Flags range from 1.5 by 14 inches to 2 by 16 inches. The belt is one piece with no knots. That 2-inch width limit is tighter than the state's 2.5.
- Shorts and pantsCIF point of emphasis
Bottoms are one solid color that contrasts with the flags.
CIF Point of Emphasis, Flags and Belts
Southern Section
Pants, shorts or a skirt, with no pockets, exposed drawstrings, belts or belt loops.
- BallTable 1-7 #6
Tan or brown, laced, leather or composite, and inspected before the game. The white stripes near the laces are not required. Size follows NFHS Rule 1-3-1, and each CIF section picks the playoff ball.
- SnapCIF rule
The player taking the snap lines up 2 or more yards back from the scrimmage line.
- Game lengthCIF rule
Varsity uses NFHS timing. A team playing 2 or more games in a day may use a running clock. The clock still stops normally in each half's final 2 minutes. This needs written section approval and a week's notice. Non-varsity games may use 10-minute quarters with the same notice.
Southern Section
Varsity quarters are 12 minutes and lower levels are 10. On a day without school, a team may play up to 3 games in 1 tournament. Games must be an hour apart. Total playing time is 144 minutes at most.
CIF-SS season preview Length of quarters (p. 16)CIF-SS season preview Tournaments, item 2 (p. 16)CIF-SS Blue Book 2104.1
- Two-minute markCIF rule
From 2026-27 the clock stops at 2:00 in each half and restarts on the snap. It is not a timeout; in 2025-26 CIF used it as an optional extra timeout.
- Coin tossTable 1-7 #18
4 minutes before the start, unless the section approves another time.
- HalftimeTable 1-7 #17
5 to 10 minutes, set by the section running the game.
- OvertimeTable 1-7 #14
After a 3-minute break, there is a coin toss with no deferring. Each team starts at the other team's 10 and gets a try after its drive. If still tied, teams take turns with 1 try each from the 3. A team wins when it scores and the other does not. Each team gets 1 timeout for all of overtime. There is no game clock, and the defense can score.
Southern Section
Same procedure, and the ball is dead the moment possession changes.
- Mercy ruleTable 1-7 #15
A running clock once the margin passes 27 points in the fourth quarter, stopping only for team and officials' timeouts. The game is not ended.
Southern Section
The Southern Section runs the clock in the second half once a team leads by 21 or more. This does not apply in its playoffs.
- OfficialsTable 1-7 #2, #3
At least 3, taking charge of the field 30 minutes before the game.
- Instant replayTable 1-7 #9
Not used in the postseason.
- Media timeoutsTable 1-7 #19
Allowed when needed for coverage, up to 2 a period.
- SeasonCIF-SS rule
Season dates are set by each section; the state document read here does not give them.
Southern Section
Games start no earlier than August 8. Teams play 28 games at most. The regular season ends by Wednesday, October 14.
Not in CIF's documents
- Mouthguards: no CIF rule beyond what NFHS requires.
- Rushing rules: CIF's documents add nothing to NFHS.
- Punts: CIF's list is silent (see the punting row).
- Ball size in inches: CIF points to NFHS Rule 1-3-1 without restating it.
- Sections other than the Southern Section were not checked.
The NFHS rules underneath
California starts from the NFHS book. The core, in our words, with the rule number. More on high school rules
Field and players
- Players on the field
7 to start. Players may get hurt or thrown out with no one left to sub in. Only then may a team play short. Never below 5.
Possession
- Downs and first downs
4 downs to get to the line to gain. It is the first 20- or 40-yard line ahead of the ball, set when the series starts. Near the goal, the goal line is the target.
Scoring
- Touchdown and extra point
Touchdown: 6. On the try, you pick 1 point from the 3 or 2 from the 10. Field goals (3) and kicked tries (1) count only where the state allows them. Then the other team starts at its 14. A team still behind may keep the ball instead. It gets 4th down at its own 20.
Plays
- Flag guarding
Using the hands, arms or ball to stop a flag pull. It only counts if there is contact. Penalty: 10 yards. You keep the down.
Clock and game
- Game length and clock
Four quarters of 12 minutes, with a 1-minute break after the 1st and 3rd. Each state sets halftime between 5 and 20 minutes. You get 25 seconds to snap. Each team has 3 timeouts per half, 1 minute each, and loses any it doesn't use. Until the 2-minute mark of each half, an incomplete pass or a runner going out keeps the clock running.
Stat it in BreakAway
From 5v5 and 7v7 to NFL FLAG and your own house rules, if you play it, BreakAway can stat it. See how rulesets work
- BreakAway U lesson · 0:29Calling halftimeSwitch halves in one tap
- BreakAway U lesson · 0:39Logging the extra pointOne point or two
- BreakAway U guideHow to stat a flag football game
Who it's for
- High school: Season-long stats for high school flag football programs
In the glossary
Pick your ruleset. Stat the game.
Start from a curated list of presets. Change any rule for your team, league or tournament. Field and downs, how the game's organized, scoring, punts and turnovers, overtime. Saved to your team for the next game. Tap to use it and you're ready to stat. Real stats, generated as you go.
A completed pass, logged in seconds.
Questions.
Each team gets a drive from the other team's 10, then a try. Still tied? Teams trade single tries from the 3.
No. CIF has no field goals, no kickoffs and no kicking tee.
Related rules
- Illinois girls' flag football rules (IHSA)
- North Carolina girls' flag football rules (NCHSAA)
- Tennessee girls' flag football rules (TSSAA)
- Maryland girls' flag football rules (MPSSAA)
- Every rule, every ruleset, side by side
Official rulebooks
- 2026 CIF By State Adoption (NFHS Rule 1, Table 1-7)2026-27, posted on cifstate.org August 13, 2026. From CIF.
- CIF Southern Section Blue Book, Article 210 Flag Football2026-27. From CIF.
- CIF-Southern Section 2026-27 Girls Flag Football Season2026-27, file dated July 15, 2026. From CIF.
- Get the official NFHS rulebookThe NFHS Flag Football Rules Book is sold by NFHS. The cells here answer one question each in BreakAway's words; the book is the rule.
Sources cited on this page
- 2026 CIF By State Adoption (NFHS Rule 1, Table 1-7) (CIF, 2026-27, posted on cifstate.org August 13, 2026)
- CIF Southern Section Blue Book, Article 210 Flag Football (CIF-SS Blue Book, 2026-27)
- CIF-Southern Section 2026-27 Girls Flag Football Season (CIF-SS season preview, 2026-27, file dated July 15, 2026)
- NFHS Flag Football Rules Book (NFHS, 2026-27)
- NFHS 2026-27 Flag Football Rules Changes (NFHS changes, Final, May 2026)