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This page explains what lacrosse's rule books, governing bodies and standards bodies publish. It is not a substitute for coaching from a qualified coach, and it does not replace medical advice.
The edition used
The text used here is version 1.0 of the 2025-2027 men's field rules, dated January 2025 and hosted by BC Lacrosse with World Lacrosse's permission. The changes in it were approved by a postal vote of World Lacrosse's Full Members in June 2024 and took effect on 1 January 2025. World Lacrosse's playing rules page now links version 1.1, uploaded in January 2026, which was not read; whether any rule number below changed in version 1.1 is not known. World Lacrosse has also published men's field rules interpretations dated 1 May 2026, which were not read.
The 2025 edition renamed what were called technical and personal fouls as minor and major fouls, and put metric measurements first.
The field, the goal and the crease
| Feature | Rule | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| Field length | 1.1 | 91.4 to 100 m (100 to 109 yd) |
| Field width | 1.1 | 50 to 60 m (55 to 66 yd) |
| Boundary lines | 1.2 | White |
| Goal opening | 2.1 to 2.3 | Posts 1.83 m (6 ft) apart, crossbar 1.83 m (6 ft) high, inside measurements; painted orange |
| Goal position | 2.1 to 2.3 | 12 m from each end line |
| Crease | 3.1 | Circle of 3 m radius centred on the middle of the goal line |
The players
A full team on the field is ten: one goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three attackers, and a properly equipped goalkeeper must be on the field at all times (Rule 19.1). A team may have up to 12 substitutes, and only 22 squad members may dress in uniform for a game (Rules 20.1 and 20.2).
Sticks come in two legal lengths for field players: a short stick of 101.60 to 106.68 cm or a long stick of 132.08 to 182.88 cm (Rule 15.1). No more than four long sticks may be on the field for a team while the ball is live, not counting the designated goalkeeper's stick or players in the penalty box or bench area (Rule 15.1). The goalkeeper's stick has its own limits (Rule 15.3). The full stick rules are on the men's sticks page.
Only a goalkeeper inside their own crease may touch the ball with a hand; otherwise the ball is carried, thrown or batted with the stick, or rolled or kicked (The Game).
Time
- Four periods of 15 minutes (Rule 29.1).
- Two-minute intervals after the first and third quarters, and ten minutes at half-time (Rule 29.3).
- The clock stops on every dead ball in the last 30 seconds of the first three quarters, and in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and any overtime (Rule 29.2).
- Overtime: after a two-minute break, four-minute periods of sudden-victory overtime, each starting with a face-off, until the first goal (Rules 31.1 and 31.2).
The rule book also requires play to stop and everyone to go indoors when the Head Official, or a tournament's Official-in-Chief, judges that lightning or electrical storms make it unwise to continue (Rules 30.1 and 30.2). Other bodies' weather policies are on the heat and lightning page.
The face-off
Play starts each period, and restarts after each goal, with a face-off at the centre of the field, with some exceptions such as an extra-man situation at the end of a period (Rule 34.1). The women's game uses a draw instead; the two are not the same procedure.
Body-checking
The men's field book allows body-checking only within set limits. A body-check is permitted only on an opponent who has the ball or is within 2.74 m (3 yd) of a loose ball or a ball in flight, and only from the front or the side, above the hip and below the neck (Rule 41.1). A check outside those limits is an illegal body-check, a major foul (Rule 70). This page reports the rule; it does not describe how checks are made, which is for a qualified coach.
Offside
A team is offside if it has more than six players in its attack half or more than seven in its defensive half, with players in the penalty box counted (Rule 65.1).
The shot clock
Rule 43 requires two visible shot clocks counting down from 80 seconds. The rule book says it applies from 1 January 2026 and will be enforced in World Championship play at the 2027 Men's World Championship. The old stalling rule, Rule 62, moved to Appendix F to apply until the end of 2025. The bench staff gain a shot clock operator from 2026 (Rule 43.3).
Fouls and penalties
| Category | Rules | Examples named in the book | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor fouls | Section 9, Rules 50 to 67 | Interference, pushing, illegal pick, holding, withholding the ball, illegal procedure, offside, warding, conduct fouls | Possession to the other team if the offending team had the ball or it was loose; a 30-second suspension if the other team had it (Rule 50.1) |
| Major fouls | Section 10, Rules 70 to 75 | Illegal body-check (70), slashing (71), cross check (72), tripping (73), unnecessary roughness (74), unsportsmanlike conduct (75) | Suspension of 1, 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the officials' judgement of severity and intent, with the ball normally to the fouled team (Rule 68.1) |
| Five major fouls | Rule 76 | A player who reaches five major fouls | Covered by Rule 76; not detailed here |
| Expulsion fouls | Rule 77 | Not listed here | Removal for the rest of the game; the team's in-home serves 3 minutes plus any other penalty time the expelled player had (Rules 77.1 and 77.2) |
What players must wear
Rule 17.1 requires every player to wear a lacrosse helmet with a facemask and a chinstrap fastened on both sides, protective gloves, and a mouthguard covering all upper teeth, and requires the goalkeeper to wear a throat guard, a chest protector and a box or cup as well. The rule names no helmet or chest protector standard. World Lacrosse announced on 12 May 2026 that shoulder pads meeting NOCSAE commotio cordis standards will be required in men's field, among other disciplines, at its owned and sanctioned events; for men's field the phase-in starts at the 2029 Men's U20 Championship, or at an earlier continental qualifier for the 2031 men's championship, after sixes in 2027 and box in 2028. World Lacrosse says it strongly encourages its members to adopt the standards for domestic play, so they do not automatically bind national competitions. Lacrosse Canada's Technical Bulletin 21-3 (2021) added shoulder pads and a protective cup for Canadian men's field players because World Lacrosse did not require them. None of these rules says any product is safe: the standard and the body's rule decide what is legal, and certification marks are checked by the officials and the governing body. The helmets, chest protectors and gloves and pads pages have the detail.
The officials
Three on-field officials control the game, one of them the Head Official, whose decision settles disputes, with a Chief Bench Official and a bench crew of timekeepers and scorers (Rules 23 to 27). See officials.
A note on the front matter
The version 1.0 men's book lists Sue Redfern as World Lacrosse President. World Lacrosse elected Bob DeMarco President in November 2024, so that front-matter entry is out of date; the playing rules are not affected.
Other men's codes
US college men's lacrosse follows the NCAA's rules and US high school boys' lacrosse the NFHS's; neither rule book was read for this site, and their figures are not assumed to match World Lacrosse's. What their published change summaries say is on the college and high school rules page.
Sources
- World Lacrosse, Men's Field Lacrosse Official Playing Rules 2025-2027, v1.0 (copy hosted by BC Lacrosse with World Lacrosse's permission)
- World Lacrosse, playing rules page (read 23 October 2026)
- World Lacrosse, World Lacrosse adopts landmark athlete safety and equipment standards (12 May 2026)
- Lacrosse Canada, Technical Bulletin 21-3: men's field moves to the World Lacrosse rule book (2021, copy hosted by BC Lacrosse)
- World Lacrosse, 2024 General Assembly concludes (16 November 2024)