How to Referee Volleyball

Rule 22.1 lists the officials who make up the refereeing team: the 1st referee, the 2nd referee, the Challenge referee, the reserve referee, the scorer and four (or two) line judges. The same rule adds that for FIVB, World and Official Competitions a Challenge referee (if the video challenge system is in use), a reserve referee and an assistant scorer are compulsory. Only the 1st and 2nd referees may blow a whistle during the match (Rule 22.2.1), and it is the 1st referee who gives the signal for the service that begins the rally (Rule 22.2.1.1).

First Referee The 1st referee stands on the platform at one end of the net and decides finally: no other official may overrule the call. The main in-match decisions under Rule 23.3.2.3 are:

• The faults of the server and the positions of the serving team, including the screen
• The faults in playing the ball (this is the rule that makes double contacts and held balls the 1st referee's call)
• The faults above the net, and the faulty contact of a player with the net, primarily but not exclusively on the attacker's side
• Attack-hit faults of back-row players and the Libero, and a completed block by a back-row player or an attempted block by the Libero
• A ball crossing outside the crossing space, and the served ball or the 2nd and 3rd hit passing outside the antenna
• Warnings and sanctions for misconduct and delay

Second Referee The 2nd referee works standing outside the playing court near the post, on the opposite side of and facing the 1st referee (Rule 24.1), and is the official the coach deals with. The 2nd referee controls the work of the scorer, the team benches and the warm-up areas (Rule 24.2), checks at the start of each set and whenever necessary that the players' actual positions on court correspond to the line-up sheets (Rule 24.3.1), and decides under Rule 24.3.2:

• The faulty contact of a player with the net primarily but not exclusively on the blocker's side, and with the antenna on their own side of the court
• Faults of penetration into the opponent's court and the space under the net
• The positional faults of the receiving team
• Faults of the Libero, and contact of the ball with an outside object

Rule 24.2.6 is the one most often misattributed: the 2nd referee “authorizes the regular game interruptions, controls their duration and rejects improper requests”. Time-outs and substitutions are the 2nd referee's, not the 1st referee's. A coach who asks the 1st referee for a time-out is asking the wrong official. Note also what the 2nd referee does not rule on: a rotational fault is caught by the scorer, who stops play with the buzzer (Rule 7.7.1.1) after checking the serving order (Rule 27.2.2.2).

Challenge Referee (Rule 25) The Challenge referee examines the images of the challenged action and transmits what the examination revealed directly to the 1st referee over the referee communication headset; the 1st referee then decides (Video Challenge System Regulations, section 9). The role is compulsory at FIVB, World and Official Competitions where the video challenge system is in use.

Reserve Referee (Rule 26) The reserve referee replaces the 2nd referee if that official is absent or cannot continue, or if the 2nd referee has taken over as 1st referee; the 1st referee's own replacement is the 2nd referee (Rule 24.2.1). Between those duties the reserve referee handles the substitution paddles and bench tablets, keeps the free zone clear, brings the match balls and guides the moppers.

Line Judges (four or two) Line judges signal with a flag under Rule 29.2.1: whether the ball is in or out; the touches of “out” balls by the team receiving the ball; the ball touching the antenna, and the served ball or the 2nd and 3rd hit crossing outside the crossing space; any player other than the server stepping outside their own court at the moment of the service hit; the foot faults of the server; and any contact with the top 80 cm of the antenna on their side during a player's action of playing the ball.

Scorer and Assistant Scorer The scorer keeps the score sheet, records the starting line-up or checks the data submitted electronically (Rule 27.2.1.2), controls the serving order of each team and indicates any error to the referees immediately after the service hit (Rule 27.2.2.2), and uses the buzzer to notify irregularities. The assistant scorer prepares the Libero control sheet and the reserve score sheet, records the replacements involving the Libero, and operates the manual scoreboard on the officials' table (Rule 28.2). If you want the viewer-facing side of the same data, see the volleyball live scoreboard guide.

Two changes matter most to anyone whistling in 2026. The Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028 freed the serving team from the rotational order at the service hit and added a new screening fault; the NCAA, from the 2026 season, made a foot completely crossing the center line a fault on its own and made center-line decisions reviewable for the first time.

FIVB, Rule 7.4 — only the receiving team must be in rotational order. Rule 7.4 now reads that at the moment the ball is hit by the server each team must be positioned within its own court (except the server), that the players of the receiving team must be in the rotational order at the service hit, and that the players of the serving team are free to occupy any position at the service hit. The 2021-2024 edition required the rotational order of both teams. In practice a positional fault is now a receiving-team matter, which is why Rule 24.3.2.2 gives the 2nd referee the positional faults of the receiving team, while Rule 23.3.2.3 leaves the 1st referee the server and the serving team's positions including the screen.

FIVB, Rule 12.5.3 — hands down until the ball has crossed. The 2025-2028 edition added a hard, objective screening rule on top of the judgment call in 12.5.1 and 12.5.2: any player of the serving team is forbidden to raise hands above the head during service, until the ball has passed beyond the net. No such sentence exists in the 2021-2024 edition. It is the 1st referee's call (Rule 23.3.2.3) and it does not require proof that the receiver's view was actually blocked. The raised hands are the fault.

NCAA, from the 2026 season — the center line. The Division I Women's Volleyball Oversight Committee and the Divisions II and III Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the change on 19 February 2026. NCAA Rule 15.2.4.3 now reads that completely crossing the center line with the foot or feet is not permitted, while completely crossing it with other body parts is permitted provided there is no interference with the opponents. Before 2026 a completely crossed center line was a fault only if it caused interference or a safety hazard. The NCAA framed the change as alignment with international rules.

NCAA, from the 2026 season — the challenge. Rule 18.1.4 adds center-line violations to the reviewable decisions, so a coach may now challenge whether an opponent's foot completely crossed the line; officials may also look at possible net faults while reviewing that challenge. Rule 18.1.5 sets the request: the head coach forms a “C” with their hands, immediately after the play and before any time-out is initiated.

The genuine cross-code convergence. NCAA Rule 13.2.4 for 2026 states that any player on the serving team is not permitted to raise their hands above the head during service until the ball has passed beyond the net, which is in substance the same sentence as FIVB 12.5.3. Two codes adopted the same screening restriction in the same cycle, which is rare enough to be worth learning once.

Time-outs still differ. FIVB Rule 15.1 allows two time-outs per set and Rule 15.4.1 keeps all of them at 30 seconds; the 2025-2028 rulebook contains no technical time-out at all. NCAA Rule 11.2.3 adds for 2026 an alternative time-out protocol: a technical time-out when a team reaches 15 points in sets 1-4 (maximum 90 seconds), no media time-out in the fifth set, and two team time-outs per set at a maximum of 75 seconds. The NCAA describes it as an option, not a new default. The scoring side of this split is covered in how volleyball scoring works.

Rule 22.2.3 requires a referee who whistles to indicate, with the official hand signal, the nature of the fault and the team that will serve next. The signal is not decoration: it is how the scorer, both benches and the hall learn what was called. These are the signals that carry the most information.

Authorisation to serve: The 1st referee moves the hand to indicate the direction of service. This whistle begins the rally (Rule 22.2.1.1).

Team to serve: The referee extends one arm toward the team that will serve next, which is also the team that won the rally.

Ball in: The arm and hand point downward toward the floor.

Ball out: The forearms are raised vertically, hands open, palms towards the body.

Positional or rotational fault: The forefinger makes a circular motion in front of the body. One signal covers two different faults with two very different consequences; see the faults section below, because this is where most confusion in volleyball officiating lives.

Ball touched: The palm of one hand brushes the fingers of the other, which are held vertically. Note the direction: the palm moves across the fingers, not the reverse.

Double contact: Two fingers are raised, spread open. The rulebook names no particular fingers.

Four hits: Four fingers are raised.

Catch (held ball): The forearm is raised slowly, palm upward.

Net touch: The referee indicates the relevant side of the net with the corresponding hand. Under Rule 11.3.1 the whole net between the antennae counts, not just the top of it.

Attack-hit fault: The forearm makes a downward motion with the hand open. It is used for an illegal back-row attack and for an illegal attack on the Libero's overhand finger pass.

Penetration into the opponent's court or foot fault: The referee points to the center line or the relevant line.

Substitution: The forearms rotate around each other in front of the chest. It is the 2nd referee who authorises it (Rule 24.2.6).

Time-out: A flat hand, palm down, is placed over the vertical fingers of the other hand to form a T, and the referee then indicates the requesting team. Again, the 2nd referee authorises it (Rule 24.2.6).

Delay warning and delay penalty: The referee covers the wrist with a yellow card for the warning and with a red card for the penalty, which costs a point and the service.

Blocking fault or screening: Both arms are raised vertically, palms forward. One signal covers both faults. From the 2025-2028 edition the screening half includes the objective case in Rule 12.5.3: a server's team-mate with hands above the head before the ball has crossed the net.

The scorer and assistant scorer read these signals to complete the score sheet, so a signal given too fast or toward the wrong side produces a sheet that disagrees with the scoreboard. If you are learning the signals in order to follow a match rather than to whistle one, the volleyball positions explained guide covers the court geography the signals point at.

Rule 11.3.1 is short and absolute: contact with the net by a player between the antennae, during the action of playing the ball, is a fault. There is no exemption for the lower net and no “top band only” test: that wording belongs to editions withdrawn long before the 2021-2024 cycle, and it is still the single most repeated piece of out-of-date volleyball lore. The 80-centimetre figure does survive in the current rulebook, but not as a limit on this fault. Rule 29.2.1.6 makes the top 80 cm of the antenna the line judges' remit, while the net-contact fault itself covers the whole net between the antennae.

What makes net contact a fault. Two conditions, both required: the contact is between the antennae, and it happens during the player's action of playing the ball. A player who brushes the net while walking back to position between rallies has not committed a fault. A setter whose shoulder grazes the bottom of the net while setting has. Rule 11.4.4 adds that a player also interferes with play by touching the net between the antennae or the antenna itself during the action of playing the ball, by using the net for support, or by hindering an opponent's legitimate attempt to play the ball.

Two things that are not faults. Rule 11.3.2 permits touching the posts, ropes or any object outside the antennae, provided it does not interfere with play. Rule 11.3.3 is the one spectators argue about: when the ball is driven into the net and the net consequently touches an opponent, no fault is committed.

The center line. Rule 11.2.2.1 permits touching the opponent's court with a foot or feet provided some part of the penetrating foot remains either in contact with or directly above the center line and the action does not interfere with the opponent's play. Both conditions are in the rule, and the second one is the half most often dropped when the rule is quoted. Rule 11.4.3 makes a foot that completely penetrates the opponent's court a fault. For any other body part, the test under Rule 11.4.2 is interference: penetrating under the net is a fault when it interferes with the opponent's play. The widely repeated “anything above the knee is a fault” is not in the FIVB rulebook.

Where the NCAA now differs. From the 2026 season NCAA Rule 15.2.4.3 makes a foot completely crossing the center line a fault on its own, with no interference test, while completely crossing with other body parts stays permitted provided there is no interference. The practical effect for an official working both codes: the foot is stricter in the NCAA and the rest of the body is looser.

Reaching beyond the net. Rule 11.1.1: in blocking, a player may touch the ball beyond the net provided they do not interfere with the opponent's play before the latter's attack hit. The older “before or during” formulation is not in the current edition and was not in the 2021-2024 edition either. After an attack hit, Rule 11.1.2 permits the hand to pass beyond the net provided the contact was made within the player's own playing space. The 2025-2028 edition changed that wording from during an attack hit to after an attack hit, which is the follow-through everyone already plays.

The antennae and the crossing space. The ball must cross the net within the crossing space, between the antennae and their imaginary extensions. Rule 10.1.2 permits a ball sent into the opponent's free zone through the external space to be played back, but from the 2025-2028 edition only when it comes from the first hit of the team — a narrowing of the previous text, which allowed it after any hit. Line judges signal antenna contact and crossing-space violations with the flag (Rule 29.2).

At FIVB competitions a team has a maximum of two challenges per set. A team that challenges and is right does not lose the challenge; a team whose challenge is inconclusive also keeps it. Only an unsuccessful challenge costs one (Video Challenge System Regulations, section 2). The common shorthand “two failed challenges per set” is right about the arithmetic and wrong about the mechanism, because it hides the inconclusive case.

Who actually looks at the video. Not the 1st referee. The Challenge referee examines the images and transmits what the examination revealed directly to the 1st referee over the referee communication headset (section 9). The 1st referee then makes and signals the decision. The Challenge referee is a mandatory official at FIVB competitions under Rule 22.1.

What can be challenged. Section 3(b) lists ball in/out, block touch, net fault, antenna touch, foot fault, floor touch, last touch, and reaching beyond the net, the last of these only where the required technology is up and running. Two details of that list are worth knowing. Foot fault is broader than the serve: it covers contact of the server's foot with the court, faulty contact with the three-metre attack line, and the complete crossing of the center line by a player's foot or feet. And block touch covers a double hit by the same player in a block situation, so a double contact is not categorically unchallengeable. A held ball is not challengeable, and neither are sanctions.

The seven-second window. A team has seven seconds after the rally is over to challenge any action that occurred during the rally, including the service (section 4). The request goes through the Electronic Team Tablet, not a hand signal: the team presses the CHALLENGE button, which sounds the challenge horn, then selects the suspected fault from the menu within those seven seconds. The 2nd referee clarifies the specifics with the coach, the 1st referee signals acceptance and confirms the detail to the Challenge referee. The 1st referee may also request a review independently.

How the NCAA version differs. Under NCAA Rule 18.1.5 for 2026 the head coach requests a challenge by forming a “C” with their hands, immediately after the play and before any time-out is initiated. Rule 18.1.4 adds center-line violations to the reviewable list for the first time, and officials may also look at possible net faults while reviewing a center-line challenge.

The first fault prevails. The review is not answered literally. Section 13 states that the first fault observed in the sequence of images under review, even if it is not the specific action being challenged or is not specified in the menu of challenges, prevails over any subsequent fault and forms the basis of the 1st referee's final decision. So a team that names the wrong fault may still get a decision in its favour on a different one, and a team that names the right fault may lose the rally to an earlier fault of its own that the cameras caught. Section 18 softens the cost: if a team loses the challenge because its claimed fault was not the first one observed, but the evidence nevertheless shows that the claimed fault did occur, the team keeps its number of challenges.

What this means at the whistle. Officials who work both codes should rehearse the request mechanics separately from the reviewable list, because the two codes differ on both.

Positional fault (Rule 7.5). A team commits a positional fault if any player is not in the correct position at the moment the ball is hit by the server. Under Rule 7.4 the players of the receiving team must be in the rotational order at the service hit while the serving team is free to occupy any position, so in practice this is a receiving-team call, and Rule 24.3.2 gives it to the 2nd referee. The consequence under Rule 7.5.4 is a point and the service to the opponent, and the players' positions are rectified. Nothing comes off the scoreboard. If the server also commits a serving fault at the moment of the hit, the server's fault is counted first (Rule 7.5.2); if the service becomes faulty after the hit, the positional fault is the one counted (Rule 7.5.3).

Rotational fault (Rule 7.7). This is the fault that does cancel points, and it is a different fault. A rotational fault is committed when the service is not made according to the rotational order. The scorer stops play with the buzzer, the opponent gains a point and the next service, and under Rule 7.7.2 the scorer determines the exact moment the fault was committed and all points scored subsequently by the team at fault are cancelled while the opponent's points stand. If that moment cannot be determined, there is no cancellation, only the point and the service. Conflating the two faults is the most common error in volleyball commentary and in guides written from memory; how volleyball rotations work sets out the rotational order the fault is measured against.

Four hits (Rules 9.3.1 and 14.4). Rule 9.3.1 defines the fault: a team hits the ball four times before returning it. Rule 14.4 supplies the exemption that decides most arguments: a block contact is not counted as a team hit, so after a block the team is entitled to three hits to return the ball.

Back-row attack fault (Rules 13.2.2 and 13.3). A back-row player may complete an attack hit at any height from behind the front zone, and at take-off the player's foot or feet must neither have touched nor crossed over the attack line. The fault under Rule 13.3.3 is specific: a back-row player completes an attack hit from the front zone if at the moment of the hit the ball is entirely higher than the top of the net. A ball only partly above the net height is not an illegal back-row attack, however the jump looked. Where the player lands is irrelevant.

Double contact and held ball. A player who contacts the ball twice in succession, or lets it touch two parts of the body consecutively, has made a double contact, except on the team's first hit, where consecutive contacts in one action are permitted. A held ball is one caught or thrown rather than hit. Both are judgment calls and both belong to the 1st referee under Rule 23.3.2.3, which covers the faults in playing the ball. A held ball cannot be challenged; a double hit by the same player in a block situation can, inside the challenge system's block-touch category.

Screening (Rule 12.5). The serving team must not prevent the opponent, by individual or collective screening, from seeing the service hit and the flight path of the ball (Rule 12.5.1), and a screen is made by waving arms, jumping or moving sideways during the execution of the service (Rule 12.5.2). Rule 12.5.3, new in the 2025-2028 edition, adds an objective version: no player of the serving team may raise hands above the head during service until the ball has passed beyond the net. NCAA Rule 13.2.4 adopted the same restriction for 2026.

Illegal substitution and illegal Libero replacement. These are caught at the officials' table rather than by a referee's eye. The 2nd referee authorises the regular game interruptions and rejects improper requests (Rule 24.2.6), working against the line-up sheet whose positions were checked at the start of the set (Rule 24.3.1); the assistant scorer records the replacements involving the Libero and keeps the Libero control sheet (Rule 28.2), which is how an irregular replacement surfaces. The counting rules behind both are in the volleyball substitution rules guide.

Volleyball refereeing is a tiered pathway that starts with a national federation and ends, for a small number of officials, at an FIVB course with a hard age window. The FIVB does not take beginners: its course is for referees who are already working internationally.

Start with your national federation. Entry-level certification is issued by national federations such as USA Volleyball, Volleyball England, the DVV in Germany or PZPS in Poland. The entry age, the course format and the number of supervised matches required are set by each federation, not by the FIVB, so check your own federation's current pathway rather than a generic figure. A typical sequence is a rules course, a written examination on the Official Volleyball Rules, and a practical assessment officiating real matches under an evaluator.

National progression. Higher national grades usually require a minimum number of officiated matches at the grade below, a further course on rules interpretation and match management, and written plus practical examinations. The higher grades allow national league and national championship appointments, and they are the pool from which confederations nominate international candidates.

The FIVB Volleyball Referee Course. This is the gate to an FIVB international badge, and its entry requirements are explicit:

• Age: minimum 30 and maximum 45 at any point during the year of the course, verified against an official passport
• Already a current international referee, registered with the FIVB at least three times within the previous five years
• Nominated by the Continental Confederation Refereeing Commission, with national federation endorsement; each confederation must submit at least one female candidate meeting all criteria
• An entry examination on the Official Volleyball Rules, the Guidelines and the Casebook, plus English language proficiency
• Completion of the designated refereeing e-learning modules before the course
• Medical clearance on the M-4 form, examined by an FIVB Medical Delegate

Numbers and outcome. The course is capped at 25 participants. A candidate who completes it successfully is graded as an FIVB International Referee at level C, the entry grade, and progresses from there through appointments and evaluations. FIVB international referees officiate at World Championships, the Volleyball Nations League and the Olympic Games, and keep their status through regular officiating and periodic re-certification.

The realistic read on timing. Because the FIVB course window closes at 45 and requires three prior FIVB registrations inside five years, the international route has to be built in your thirties at the latest. Officials who start refereeing in their twenties and reach a national A grade by their early thirties are the ones who fit the window.