Youth Flag Football Rules

Flag football is where most Vermont officials work their first games, and it is not simply tackle football with the tackling removed. The clock runs, the alignment is dictated, a heavy ball carrier may not advance the ball, nobody punts, and the difference between a legal stop and a 10-yard tackle is a judgement you make twenty times a game. This page is the whole rule set, section by section.

What this page is

Vermont's youth flag programs run on rule sets that are close relatives of one another: the same two grade levels, the same flag-pull mechanics, the same weight rule, the same instinct to write down every penalty rather than lean on NFHS. This page is a generalised version of one of them — the 2026 Middlebury Flag Football rules (PDF, 5 pages) — with the town's name, its commissioner and its internal administration lifted out so an official working any Vermont flag game has a complete rule set to read and compare against.

Two things follow from that. Every rule below is somebody's actual rule, in force in 2026, not a proposal or a composite invented for this page. And every rule below is also somebody else's maybe: a program that has never adopted the 18-point rule, or that spots a punt substitute at 20 yards rather than 25, is not breaking anything. Treat this as the shape of the game and your league's sheet as the authority. Section numbers are the source document's own, so a coach holding that PDF and an official reading this page are looking at the same rule.

The two levels at a glance

Working a flag game after a season of high school football? The differences are the whole job, and there are more of them than this table holds. Flag vs. High School is a two-sided index card of them — clock, scoring, contact, alignment, kicks and the penalties that read differently — small enough to keep in a shirt pocket.

Terms

Fumble

Losing the ball after having possession.

Muff

The ball falls through the kick returner's arms; no possession was established.

LOS

Line of scrimmage.

POI

Point of infraction — where the foul happened, as opposed to the line of scrimmage.

Nearly every penalty below is marked from one or the other, and getting that wrong is the most common enforcement error in a flag game. When in doubt, say the spot out loud to your partner before you mark it off.

1. Field & 2. Equipment

The field measures 40 yards by 80 yards.

Every player must wear a helmet with a face guard, shoulder pads, a mouthpiece, properly padded football pants, a jersey in their team's colour, and a belt with flags.

• No metal cleats. Rubber cleats are fine.
• No jewellery, on anyone, during the game.

3. Pregame

1. Officials check equipment before the game and again at the start of the second half.
2. Check that flags release cleanly and that jerseys do not cover them. Flags must be easily accessible — a jersey tucked over a flag is the single most common pregame fix you will make.
3. All players must start on either offense or defense.
4. Teams field between 7 and 11 players, and both teams field the same number.

4. Game time

Running time

1. Grades 7/8: 12 minutes running time in the first and third quarters, and the first 11 minutes of the second and fourth. Exceptions: officials' and team timeouts.
2. Grades 5/6: 10 minutes running time in the first and third quarters, and the first 9 minutes of the second and fourth. Same exceptions.

Running out the clock

A team may end a half by taking a knee and running the clock out. This is a formal procedure, not something that just happens:

1. The coach tells the head official they intend to run the clock out.
2. The officials tell the defense the offense is taking a knee.
3. The defense may not rush the passer or penetrate the offensive line.
4. Officials stop the play at the snap.
5. If the coach decides to resume normal play, they must tell the head official, who tells the defense.
6. Failing to announce a return to normal play is unsportsmanlike conduct on the head coach.

Stop-time

The final minute of the first half and the final minute of the game are stop-time. The clock is stopped at one minute and both teams are notified; the head official manages the clock from there. There is no stop-time if a team leads by 18 or more.

No more than 30 seconds may run off between plays during stop-time. The clock stops for:

1. Incomplete passes
2. Plays out of bounds
3. Touchdowns and safeties
4. Changes of possession
5. First downs — the clock stays stopped until the chains are reset
6. Kickoffs — the clock starts when the receiving team snaps the ball on its first offensive play
7. Accepted penalties. A declined penalty restarts the clock.
8. Timeouts
9. Officials' injury time

Halftime, timeouts and injuries

5. A 5-minute halftime. No break between quarters.
6. Two 1-minute timeouts per half, per team. A player or a coach may call one.
7. An injury stops the game. The injured player must then leave for one play, and both teams stay on the field during injury time.

The play clock

30 seconds at 7/8, 45 seconds at 5/6, running from the moment the ball is spotted. The head official announces 10 seconds remaining.

1. A first infraction is a warning; after that it is 5 yards.
2. 5/6 coaches may be on the field with their teams.
3. 7/8 coaches may be on the field for the first two games of the season only.

5. Scoring and the 18-point rule

"The ball and the flags" is the rule people forget. A runner who reaches the ball over the goal line while their flags are still short of it has not scored, and a runner whose flags are in the end zone but whose ball is not has not given up a safety.

The 18-point rule

When a team leads by 18 or more, the following are mandatory and are applied in this order, one more each time the leading team scores again:

1. Defensive linemen may cross the line of scrimmage 3 seconds after the snap.
2. If the winning team scores again, the losing team gets 5 downs to make a first down.
3. If the winning team scores again, the winning team gets only 3 downs to make a first down.
4. If the winning team scores again, the winning team must punt or surrender the ball on third down.

The game clock also stops running for a team ahead by 18 or more only for injuries and officials' timeouts — stop-time at the end of the half is off.

6. Playing rules

The whistle

An official's whistle stops all plays. On an inadvertent whistle, if the runner's flags were still on, the offense chooses: replay the down, or take the ball where the runner had advanced when the whistle blew.

Coin toss

The winner chooses to kick, receive, or defer to the second half. If they defer, the other team chooses to kick or receive. Once kicking or receiving is settled, the other team chooses the goal it will defend.

Touchbacks

The ball is placed at the 20 to start play.

Ball carriers

1. The ball is spotted where the flag is pulled — not where the runner ends up.
2. A stiff arm by the ball carrier is legal.
3. A foot, knee or elbow down in bounds before the player goes out makes the catch good.
4. A player may be pushed out of bounds if they are within 3 feet of the sideline. Beyond that it is a tackle.
5. If a runner loses their flags with no contact, the play ends when the defense touches them.
6. If a runner's knee touches the ground, or they fall with their flags still on, they are down.
7. When a runner's forward progress is stopped, the officials stop the play.
8. A runner may not leave their feet to advance the ball. The ball is spotted where they left the ground.
9. Whenever officials see a runner in an unsafe position, the play is stopped. This one is broader than every other rule on the page, and it is meant to be.

Fumbles, snaps and muffs

This is the single biggest split between the two levels.

Grades 5/6

1. A fumble on a play from scrimmage is dead where it happened.
2. A dropped snap from centre is a fumble, dead at the line of scrimmage. This includes shotgun snaps.
3. Any ball caught in the air — fumble or pass — is live and may be advanced.

Grades 7/8

1. A fumble on a play from scrimmage is a live ball, recoverable by either team.
2. A dropped snap from centre is a fumble, including a shotgun snap.
3. Any ball caught in the air — fumble or pass — is live and may be advanced.
4. Muffs on kickoffs: a dropped ball is a muff. Only the receiving team may recover it, the kicking team may not, and the receiving team may advance it after recovering.

Blocking

1. High school hand-contact rules apply — blockers must have open hands. No blocking below the waist and none from behind. An illegal block is 10 yards from the LOS.
2. Double-team blocking is legal, from a running or a stationary position.

Substitutions

Unlimited.

The weight rule

A player over 120 lbs (5/6) or 150 lbs (7/8) may not advance the ball as a running back or a kick returner. Three exceptions:

1. Allowed: catching and advancing a forward pass beyond the LOS, or catching and advancing an interception or a fumble taken in the air.
2. Allowed: advancing a ball kicked to them on the front line of the kickoff return team.
3. The quarterback rule. An over-weight player may play quarterback. They may take the snap and hand off or pass. They may not advance the ball — doing so returns the ball to the LOS and costs a down. The player must wear a helmet cover so everyone can see who they are, and the offense must tell the head official the rule is in use, who then tells the defense.

The helmet cover is not decoration: it is how the defense knows the ball cannot come at them from that player, and how you know a run by that player is a foul rather than a good play. Check for it in your pregame, and check that the announcement actually got made.

Sportsmanship

Coaches and players are expected to exhibit good sportsmanship consistently.

7. Rules of alignment

Flag football dictates the formation in a way tackle football does not, and the alignment fouls below are the ones an inexperienced crew misses all afternoon. Take a beat before every snap and count.

Offensive line

1. An offensive lineman's helmet must be aligned inside the waist of the centre.
2. 7- to 10-man teams: at most three players may be off the line of scrimmage, and the quarterback is one of the three. Everyone else is on the line. An 8-man team therefore has 5 on the line.
3. Linemen may not go more than 2 yards beyond the LOS until the ball is passed — 5 yards. Exception: a pass completed behind the line of scrimmage.
4. Garbage alignment. There must be at least one lineman with a normal split, 1 to 3 feet, on either side of the centre. Guard–centre–guard is required.
5. Eligible receivers are the end players on the LOS and the players in the backfield.
6. An offensive end may be jammed within 5 yards of the LOS.

Defensive line

2. Linebackers must be 2 yards off the line of scrimmage.
3. Nose tackles may not line up head-up on the centre.

Rushing the passer

1. Only players on the defensive line of scrimmage may rush the passer.
2. The maximum number of rushers equals the number required on the defensive line — so a 9-man team may rush 4, and no more.
3. The quarterback becomes a ball carrier once they break the 3-yard box on a roll-out. Until then, contact is roughing the passer.

Ball carriers

Ball carriers must line up behind the LOS.

8. Kickoffs

Grades 5/6 — no kickoffs

1. The first play of the game and the first play of the second half start at the 20.
2. Play restarts at the 20 after a score.

Grades 7/8

1. Kick off from the 30. The receiving team's front line sets between the 40 and its own 35 and stays in that zone until the ball is kicked.
2. The receiving team needs a minimum of five players on the front line — four for a 7-man team.
3. No player over 150 lbs may be behind the front line.

A kickoff that goes out of bounds gives the receiving team a choice; see kickoff out of bounds under the penalties.

9. Punting

Neither level punts. In place of a punt the ball is moved downfield:

• Grades 5/6: 25 yards.
• Grades 7/8: 30 yards.
• Either way, the deepest the ball can be spotted is the opponent's 20-yard line.

10. Penalties

All penalties go through the head official.

Half the distance

No penalty may take the ball more than half the distance to the goal line. In practice: a 10-yard penalty inside the 20 is marked half the distance, and any penalty inside the 10 is half the distance.

Preventive officiating

Officials are encouraged to practise it — warn players out of the neutral zone, tell a coach about movement before the snap. At this level, a word before the snap is worth more than a flag after it, and the rule set says so explicitly.

The breakaway rule

If in the official's judgement an offensive or defensive player is tackled or held having obviously broken loose for a touchdown, the ball is spotted on the 1-yard line with an automatic first down.

Sideline violation

Players and coaches may not stand on the sideline between the 20-yard line and the goal line. One warning, then 5 yards from the LOS.

Offensive penalties

Defensive penalties

Degrees of tackle

Officials warn coaches and players that further flagrant tackles could bring disqualification.

Illegal — examples

• Grabbing the jersey in a way that stops forward progress.
• Intentional contact that knocks a player down with no attempt made at the flag.

Legal — examples

All three of these end with the runner on the ground and no foul:

• Pushing a runner out of bounds near the sideline, from inside 3 feet.
• Getting blocked into the runner, who falls.
• Impeding the runner's progress in order to pull the flag, and the runner falls.

Defensive pass interference

1. 10 yards from the LOS.
2. If the interference is inside the 10-yard line or in the end zone, the ball is spotted on the 1-yard line with an automatic first down.

Kickoff out of bounds

The receiving team chooses:

1. Re-kick with a 5-yard penalty.
2. If the ball went out between the goal line and the 30, take it at the 30.
3. If it went out before reaching the 30, take it where it went out.

Unsportsmanlike conduct

Coaches are encouraged to review this rule with parents and fans. Coaches are responsible for their own conduct and their players'.

Spiking the ball, trash talking, throwing one's flags, swearing, altering a flag belt, hitting out of bounds, fighting, and any behaviour disrespectful to officials, opponents or coaches: 10 yards from the LOS. Flagrant tackling and flagrant charging are unsportsmanlike and are marked 10 yards from the POI.

3. Officials may remove a player for a series of downs, or eject them, at their discretion.
4. Two unsportsmanlike penalties in a game, or one in each of two successive games, suspends the player for 4 full consecutive quarters from the second infraction.
5. A coach penalised for unsportsmanlike conduct is required to officiate a flag football game the following weekend.
6. A coach penalised twice in a game, or once in successive games, is suspended from coaching the next game.

Fans

1. First incident: the head official asks the coach to speak to the fan.
2. Second incident: the head official stops the game and the commissioner asks the fan to leave. The game resumes once they have gone.

The league commissioner

The commissioner tracks players penalised for unsportsmanlike conduct and for flagrant tackles, and may make temporary changes to the rules at their discretion. Permanent rule changes need the league board's approval.

Report ejections, flagrant tackles and unsportsmanlike penalties to the commissioner after the game, the same day if you can. The suspension rules above only work if somebody is counting, and the only person in a position to count is the official who was there.

Where the rule set is thin

Four places a flag rule set will not answer your question. Sort these out in your pregame with the coaches rather than mid-game:

• 11-man teams. Teams may field up to 11, but the offensive alignment rule is written for 7 to 10, and the defensive line table stops at 10. Nothing says what an 11-man team must put on either line.
• Punt snaps at 7/8. The fumble section is headed "Fumbles, Punt Snaps and Muffed kickoffs" while the punting section says there is no punting at 7/8 — a leftover from a year when there was. There is no punt to snap for.
• Face mask asymmetry. Offensive face mask is 10 from the POI; defensive face mask is 10 from the LOS. That is what the rule says. It is worth confirming with your league that it is intended.
• Guarding the flag is spotted at the point of infraction with no yardage; jumping a pile is spotted there with loss of down. Neither carries stated yardage, so they cost only the ground already lost.

Working the game

Three habits carry a flag game more than rule knowledge does:

• Count before every snap. Both teams have the same number of players; three off the line at most; the right number on the defensive line; linebackers 2 yards back. Half the fouls in this rule set are visible before the ball moves.
• Know who is wearing the helmet cover. The quarterback rule is the one an inexperienced crew misses, and it is the one coaches ask about.
• Talk first. The rule set asks for preventive officiating by name. These are 10- to 14-year-olds, and a warning teaches where a flag only punishes.

If you are new to officiating and this is where you are starting, that is the normal path in Vermont — read Your First Season next, and Becoming a Football Official if you want to work high school games too.