Rules reference

Basketball rules, the quick version — with the source behind every line.

The rules as the scorer's table, the timer and a volunteer coach need them during a game: periods and the clock, what the book must record, personal and team fouls, the bonus, time-outs, and the common youth modifications. Each line links the source it paraphrases.

NFHS (high-school) rules are the baseline. Town rec, travel and AAU leagues change them constantly — 6-minute quarters or 16-minute halves, a running clock, the old 7/10 half bonus, lower rims and smaller balls for younger kids, no pressing, equal-playing-time requirements — so your league's published rules always win. Set them once in the Scorebook's Rules sheet and every game in the league follows.

  • High-school games are four 8-minute quarters; the NFHS timer sheet lists four 6-minute quarters for teams younger than high-school age. One minute between the 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th quarters, ten minutes at half-time.Youth/rec: rec leagues run anything from 6 to 10 minutes; many play two halves instead (see Youth & local).NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • Overtime is 4 minutes (half a regulation quarter for non-varsity play) and is an extension of the 4th quarter; overtimes repeat until the tie is broken.Youth/rec: youth leagues commonly play 2–3-minute overtime, sometimes one OT then sudden death, and some let regular-season ties stand.NCAA/NFHS major rules differences 2025-26
  • The clock stops on every whistle (fouls, violations, time-outs, injuries) and otherwise runs until an official signals; under NFHS it does not stop after a made field goal (the last-minute stop is an NCAA men's rule). The timer starts the clock on the first legal touch after a jump ball, on a missed final free throw touched in-bounds, or when the ball is touched in-bounds on a throw-in.Youth/rec: 'running clock' rec rules keep the clock moving through fouls and violations, stopping only for time-outs, free throws and the last minute of the game.NFHS Rule 5-9 / 5-10
  • The shot clock is a state-adoption option in NFHS (35 seconds where adopted); without it there is no shot clock.Youth/rec: virtually no youth league uses a shot clock.NCAA/NFHS major rules differences 2025-26
  • The game is decided by the score when time expires; a try in flight when the horn sounds counts if it was released before the period ended.NFHS Rule 5-6
  • Five players per team on the court; a team must have at least five to start.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • A substitute reports to the scorer, then enters only when beckoned by an official during a dead ball with the clock stopped; a player who is withdrawn may not re-enter until the clock has properly run.Youth/rec: many rec leagues only substitute at quarter breaks for the youngest divisions (e.g. 10U and under) to enforce equal playing time.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • Half-time substitutions must be reported before the 15-second warning horn; a disqualified or injured player is replaced within the 15-second replacement interval.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • Rosters: NFHS allows 15 players in uniform; rec rosters typically carry 8–12 so everyone plays.Youth/rec: OtterHoops' roster guard is 15; leagues set tighter caps per division.City of Las Vegas youth basketball rules (roster & playing-time)
  • A field goal is two points, or three when the shooter's feet are behind the three-point line at release; a free throw is one point.NFHS Rule 5-2
  • Points scored in the wrong basket count for the opponents and are recorded as a team footnote — never credited to a player. Goaltending / basket-interference points are credited to the shooter.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • The scorer records every field goal made and every free throw attempted and made, per player, and keeps a running summary of the score; after each goal, foul and time-out the two books are compared.NFHS Rule 2-11
  • Book notation (NFHS sheet): write '2' or '3' for a made goal; a free throw is an open circle, filled or slashed when made; linked circles for a multiple-shot set.Youth/rec: youth books simplify — 1/2/3 per score, slashes for fouls, 'T1/T2' for technicals, 'X' per time-out.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • Mercy rules are local: a common town rule freezes the scoreboard (the book keeps scoring) or switches to a running clock once a lead reaches a set margin.Youth/rec: record the mercy threshold in your league rules; the book always keeps the true score.City of Las Vegas youth basketball rules
  • A player is disqualified on the fifth foul — personal and technical fouls combined. The scorer signals the official when a player reaches five and when a team reaches the bonus.Youth/rec: some youth leagues disqualify at 6 or do not disqualify the youngest players — check the league rules.NCAA/NFHS major rules differences 2025-26
  • NFHS (2023-24 onward): there is NO one-and-one. Two free throws are awarded on the FIFTH team foul of each quarter; team fouls reset after the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters; overtime continues the 4th-quarter count.Youth/rec: many rec leagues and AAU events still run the legacy half model — one-and-one from the 7th team foul of each half, two shots from the 10th — or two shots from the 10th only. Pick the model in the Rules sheet.NFHS 2023-24 rules changes (KHSAA release)
  • Personal, technical and intentional fouls all count toward the team-foul total and a player's five; a flagrant foul counts toward team fouls and ejects the player.NCAA/NFHS major rules differences 2025-26
  • Shooting fouls: two free throws (three if the try was a three-pointer); if the try is good, one free throw (the 'and-one'). A player-control (offensive) foul awards no free throws even in the bonus.NCAA/NFHS major rules differences 2025-26
  • Foul vocabulary under NFHS is personal / technical / intentional / flagrant (double, multiple and simultaneous variants). 'Flagrant 1 / Flagrant 2' is NCAA terminology.NCAA/NFHS major rules differences 2025-26
  • Technical fouls are charged to a player, to bench personnel, or to the head coach (directly, or indirectly for bench conduct). A second technical on any team member ejects them; a third technical charged to the head coach ejects the coach. The head coach loses the coaching box on any technical.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • Technical fouls award two free throws plus a throw-in at the division line; free throws may be attempted by any player (including a substitute).NCAA/NFHS major rules differences 2025-26
  • Officials may issue WARNINGS (delay, coach conduct, faking fouls) that the scorer records in the book before a technical is charged.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • 2025-26 NFHS changes: offensive goaltending was removed; a ball touching the backboard is on its downward flight; throw-in spots are keyed to the three-point line; a delayed return inbounds is a violation rather than a technical.NFHS 2025-26 basketball rules changes
  • Each team has three 60-second and two 30-second time-outs per game, plus one 60-second time-out per overtime; unused time-outs accumulate.Youth/rec: rec leagues commonly allow 2 per half or 3 per game (often all 30 seconds); AAU events often give 3 × 30 s with one added per OT and no carry-over.NFHS Rule 5-11
  • The scorer records each time-out (team, period and time) and signals when a team has used its allotment; an excess time-out is a technical foul.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • A time-out may be requested by a player on the court or the head coach while their team has control or the ball is dead.NFHS Rule 5-8
  • The game starts with a jump ball at centre; every later held ball, double foul in a loose ball, or simultaneous out-of-bounds is resolved by the alternating-possession arrow.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • The arrow is set toward the team that did NOT gain control from the opening jump and reverses each time it is used; the scorer keeps the arrow and it points toward the team entitled to the next throw-in. Overtime begins with a jump ball, not the arrow.NFHS Rule 2-11 / 6-4
  • Before the game the scorer records the names and numbers of every player and marks the five starters; a team that changes a starter or adds a name late is charged a technical.NFHS Rule 2-11
  • During the game: field goals made, free throws attempted and made, a running summary of points, personal and technical fouls per player, charged time-outs, and the possession arrow. The scorer signals the officials on a player's fifth foul and at the team-foul bonus thresholds.NFHS Rule 2-11
  • The standard book page per player: jersey number, starter mark, quarters played, five personal-foul boxes plus a technical box, summary columns for 2-pt FG, 3-pt FG, FT attempted/made and total points; a running-score grid crossed off as points are scored; score-by-quarter boxes; team-fouls-per-period and time-out boxes.How to keep a basketball scorebook (Basketball Trainer)
  • Reconcile at every dead ball you can: the sum of player points must equal the running score, and the running score must match the scoreboard; the home book is the official book when they disagree.McLean Youth Basketball scorekeeping guidelines
  • Youth playing-time audits: many rec books mark a slash in a player's quarter box when they start the quarter (circled if subbed out) so the league can verify minimum-play rules.Youth/rec: the OtterHoops Scorebook tracks this automatically from substitutions.McLean Youth Basketball scorekeeping guidelines
  • USA Basketball / NBA youth guidelines by age segment: ages 7–8 play on 8-foot rims with a size-5 (27.5") ball; 9–11 on 9-foot rims with a size-6 (28.5") ball; 12+ on 10-foot rims with the size-7 (29.5") ball (girls generally stay with 28.5"); the free-throw line is 14 feet under 12 and 15 feet from 12.USA Basketball / NBA Youth Guidelines
  • The same guidelines recommend game lengths of 20–28 minutes (7–8), 24–32 (9–11) and 28–32 (12–14), equal playing time for the youngest segments, and no zone defence or full-court press for ages 7–11.USA Basketball & NBA youth rules standards (press release)
  • Town-league examples: 6-minute quarters for 4th grade rising to 8 minutes for high-school age, every player plays at least two unbroken quarters, no press or zone through 5th grade, 12-foot free throws for the youngest (McLean, VA); running clock with a last-minute stop when the margin is nine or fewer, two 30-second time-outs per half, 2-minute OT then sudden death, and a 10-point lead that freezes the scoreboard (Las Vegas).Youth/rec: the Las Vegas rules are at the City of Las Vegas link under Sources.McLean house-league rules
  • AAU (regional) play often uses two halves (13–16 minutes), three 30-second time-outs plus one per overtime with no carry-over, two-shot bonus from the 10th foul of a half, and a 2-minute overtime then sudden death.AAU Southern boys basketball playing rules
  • Before the game: both rosters entered with numbers, starters marked, the period length and bonus model confirmed with the officials, possession arrow ready, time-outs zeroed.NFHS Rule 2-11
  • On every score: tap the scorer and the shot value; on a made basket note the assist if your league tracks it. On every foul: the player, the type, and whether free throws follow — then record each attempt made or missed.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet
  • At the bonus threshold and on a player's fifth foul: tell the officials immediately (the Scorebook flags both on screen).NFHS Rule 2-11
  • Every period break: compare books, confirm the score by quarter, reset team fouls if your bonus model resets by period, and note time-outs remaining.McLean Youth Basketball scorekeeping guidelines
  • After the game: confirm the final with the officials, close the book, and send the box score — the official score is what the Scorebook posts as Final.NFHS scorer & timer instruction sheet

Checked against the NFHS rules as published in the NFHS scorer/timer sheets, the 2025-26 NCAA–NFHS rules comparison and the NFHS 2025-26 rules changes, plus the USA Basketball / NBA Youth Guidelines, reviewed 22 Aug 2026. Sources: NFHS basketball scorer & timer instruction sheets (PDF) · NCAA/NFHS major rules differences 2025-26 (PDF) · NFHS basketball rules changes 2025-26 · NFHS 2023-24 rules changes — bonus / team fouls (KHSAA) · NFHS Rule 2 (officials and their duties) — summary · NFHS Rule 5 (scoring and timing) — summary · USA Basketball / NBA Youth Basketball Guidelines · USA Basketball & NBA age-appropriate rules standards · McLean Youth Basketball — scorekeeping guidelines · McLean Youth Basketball — house-league rules · City of Las Vegas youth basketball rules (PDF) · AAU Southern District boys basketball playing rules · How to keep a basketball scorebook (Basketball Trainer). Your league's own rules and age-group modifications take precedence.

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Why the rim is lower, what the bonus is, what “the book” is, and what you’ll see from the bleachers.

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The scorer’s table gets it inside the Scorebook, next to the clock, the foul counts and the bonus.