NFL FLAG penalties
Most NFL FLAG penalties are 5 yards. Unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness are 10. Offensive fouls often cost a down too. Many defensive fouls give the offense a first down.
SoCal Fire Elite 7, Lakeview Lady Hawks 61st half2nd & 20 to midfieldBall on own 5
Example: NFL FLAG 5v5, girls' youth, NFL FLAG tournament
SoCal Fire Elite had 2nd down at its own 5, up 7-6. The defense was flagged for pass interference.
In NFL FLAG, the ball goes to the spot of the foul with an automatic first down. That moved SoCal 15 yards, to its own 20.
Watch: Logging a penalty (0:32)Young players make the same few fouls again and again. Knowing the list helps you coach them out.
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Updated · cited to the official rulebooks · Compare every ruleset
How penalties work here
Most penalties are marked from the line of scrimmage. Fouls the book calls spot fouls are marked from where they happened. A penalty can't go more than half the way to the goal line.
A spot foul is marked from where it happened. Say the defense commits one in its own end zone. The offense gets the ball at the 1 with a first down. If the offense does, it is a safety.
A half or game can't end on a defensive foul. Play goes on unless the offense turns the penalty down.
The fouls
Foul names are ours, in plain words. Each one cites the rule to check. The rest of the NFL FLAG 5v5 rules
- Flag guarding (shielding your own flags)By the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from where the foul happened.
- Pass interference by the defenseBy the defense
Spot foulAutomatic first down
Walked off from where the foul happened. The rulebook lists it as a spot foul with an automatic first down and gives no yardage.
- Pass interference by the offenseBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Defensive holding or illegal contactBy the defense
5 yardsAutomatic first down
Walked off from where the foul happened. NFL FLAG's rule changes page lists illegal contact as a new 5-yard spot foul from fall 2024.
- Offensive holding or illegal contactBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from where the foul happened.
- Screening or blockingBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from where the foul happened.
- Charging (running into a set defender)By the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from where the foul happened.
- Stripping (pulling the ball from the carrier)By the defense
5 yardsAutomatic first down
Walked off from where the foul happened.
- Flag pull on a receiver who has not caught the ball yetBy the defense
5 yardsAutomatic first down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Defense offside, or a bad substitutionBy the defense
5 yardsAutomatic first down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Offense offside, moving early, or a bad substitutionBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- More than 1 player moving at the snapBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Illegal procedureBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Delay of gameBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Bad forward pass (caught or landing behind the line, or thrown from past it)By the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Rushing from too close (inside the 7-yard rush line) or too earlyBy the defense
5 yardsAutomatic first down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Blocking a rusher's pathBy the offense
5 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Roughing the passerBy the defense
5 yardsAutomatic first down
Walked off from the line of scrimmage.
- Rough play (unnecessary roughness) by the defenseBy the defense
10 yardsAutomatic first down
- Rough play (unnecessary roughness) by the offenseBy the offense
10 yardsLoss of down
- Unsportsmanlike conduct or taunting by the defenseBy the defense
10 yardsAutomatic first down
Walked off from the dead-ball spot (taunting: the line of scrimmage). Any player or coach flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct in one game is disqualified.
- Unsportsmanlike conduct or taunting by the offenseBy the offense
10 yardsLoss of down
Walked off from the dead-ball spot (taunting: the line of scrimmage). Any player or coach flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct in one game is disqualified.
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
- Coaches & Teams: Stat your own games, free
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.
5 yards, and the offense loses the down.
Related rules
- Flag football penalties
- USA Flag 5's penalties
- USA Flag 7's penalties
- High school flag football penalties
- IFAF flag football penalties
- College flag football penalties
- Every rule, every ruleset, side by side
Official rulebooks
- NFL FLAG Official Playing RulesRevised March 24, 2025. Free from the publisher.
Sources cited on this page
- NFL FLAG Official Playing Rules (NFL FLAG, Revised March 24, 2025)
- NFL FLAG Important Rule Changes (NFL FLAG changes, Effective fall 2024 league and tournament seasons)