High school flag football penalties
Every NFHS penalty is 5 or 10 yards. Only 3 fouls cost the offense a down. Some defensive fouls also give a first down. Pass interference is 10 yards with no first down.
Harbor Point Mariners 33, LC Legends 0Q33rd & 3 (to the 20)Ball on own 17
Example: NFHS (girls' high school), high school (NFHS rules, treated as youth)
On 3rd down at its own 17, Harbor Point needed 3 yards to reach the 20. The defense jumped offside.
The 5-yard penalty moved the ball to the 22. That passed the line to gain, so Harbor Point got a first down.
Watch: Logging a penalty (0:32)LC Legends 0, Harbor Point Mariners 7Q13rd & 4 (to the 20)Ball on own 16
Example: NFHS (girls' high school), high school (NFHS rules, treated as youth)
LC Legends had 3rd down at its own 16, needing 4 yards to reach the 20. The defense was called for pass interference.
In NFHS play, that is 10 yards with no automatic first down. Here the 10 yards carried them past the 20, so they got one anyway.
Watch: Logging a penalty (0:32)High school penalties differ from youth rules. Know them before your players move up.
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How penalties work here
Every NFHS penalty is 5 or 10 yards. The book has no 15-yard foul.
Only 3 fouls cost the offense a down. Each one is 5 yards. They are a bad forward pass, intentional grounding, and handing the ball forward.
Only some defensive fouls also give a free first down. They are contact fouls and unsportsmanlike fouls. Repeat trouble in the sideline team area counts too.
A penalty never takes the ball further than halfway to the fouling team's own goal line.
The fouls
Foul names are ours, in plain words. Each one cites the rule to check. The rest of the NFHS (girls' high school) rules
- Flag guarding (shielding your own flags)By the offense
10 yards
- Hurdling an opponentBy the offense or defense
10 yardsAutomatic first down
First down only when the defense commits it. Hurdling got its own definition (2-18) in 2026-27.
- Pass interferenceBy the offense or defense
10 yards
No automatic first down: pass interference is not among the fouls that carry one (10-1-7).
- HoldingBy the offense or defense
10 yards
- Using hands or arms illegallyBy the offense or defense
10 yards
- Blocking the wrong wayBy the offense or defense
10 yards
- Batting or stripping a ball a player holdsBy the offense or defense
10 yards
Clarified for 2026-27 (9-7-4).
- Offside (crossing the line before the snap)By the offense or defense
5 yards
- False start (moving early)By the offense
5 yards
- Players moving the wrong way before the snap (shift or motion)By the offense
5 yards
- Delay of gameBy the offense or defense
5 yards
- Illegal substitutionBy the offense or defense
5 yards
- Illegal forward pass by the offenseBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
- Intentional grounding (an illegal throwaway)By the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
- Handing the ball forward illegallyBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
- Roughing the passerBy the defense
10 yardsAutomatic first down
- TrippingBy the offense or defense
10 yardsAutomatic first down
First down only when the defense commits it.
- Unsportsmanlike conductBy the offense or defense
10 yardsAutomatic first down
First down only when the defense commits it. A second one disqualifies the player or coach.
- Tampering with a flag or flag beltBy the offense or defense
10 yards
Also a disqualification.
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 · 0:32Logging a penaltyThrow the flag
- BreakAway U lesson · 0:37Flagging the last playAttach a flag to a play
- 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.
10 yards. The offense does not lose the down.
Related rules
- Flag football penalties
- NFL FLAG penalties
- USA Flag 5's penalties
- USA Flag 7's penalties
- IFAF flag football penalties
- College flag football penalties
- Every rule, every ruleset, side by side
Official rulebooks
- 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
- NFHS Flag Football Rules Book (NFHS, 2026-27)
- NFHS Flag Football Rules (NFHS rules page, Rules changes and points of emphasis)