How women's field lacrosse works, rule by rule.

The edition used

The text used here is version 1.0 of the 2025-2026 women's field rules, dated January 2025 and hosted by Lacrosse Victoria. Its changes were approved by a postal vote of World Lacrosse's Full Members in December 2024 and took effect on 1 January 2025. World Lacrosse's playing rules page now links version 1.1, uploaded in March 2025, which was not read. World Lacrosse has also said that a 2027-2030 women's field rule book is being revised.

The field and its markings

The women's field is marked differently from the men's, with its own names for each area.

The players

Up to ten players per team may be on the field, one of whom may be a goalkeeper, and a team may choose to play without a goalkeeper (Rule 5.A.3). At World Lacrosse events a team roster is at most 22 players (Rule 5.A.2). The women's book calls the stick a crosse (Rule 3). Its Appendix H sets a field crosse at 90 to 110 cm overall, and says the main purpose of the specification is that the ball moves freely in the head and pocket so it can be dislodged without an excessively forceful check. The full stick rules are on the women's sticks page.

US college women's lacrosse is played 12 a side, which the NCAA's 12 August 2026 release implies when it describes a fall 2026 experiment with 10 a side. The World Lacrosse and NCAA games therefore differ in team size.

Time

• Four 15-minute quarters, with breaks of up to two minutes after the first and third quarters and up to ten minutes at half-time; domestic games may agree other quarter lengths (Rules 12.A.1 and 12.A.2).
• The clock stops on officials' whistles in the last 30 seconds of the first three quarters, the last two minutes of the fourth, and in overtime (Rule 12.A.6).
• A game counts as complete once 80 percent of the playing time has passed, which is 48 minutes of a four-by-15 game (Rule 12.A.9).
• Each team may call two 90-second time-outs in regulation play and none in overtime (Rule 12.B.1).
• Overtime: after a two-minute break, stop-clock periods of four minutes of sudden victory, each starting with a centre draw, until the first goal (Rule 12.C.1).

The quarter format has a recorded history. A proposal dated 10 May 2018 from the FIL Women's Rules Committee proposed four 15-minute quarters for FIL women's games, with two-minute breaks and ten minutes at half-time, to bring the men's and women's field rules closer. When it was adopted is not confirmed; the 2025-2026 book uses four quarters.

The draw

The women's game starts with a draw in the Center-Circle at the start of each quarter and overtime period and after each goal (Rule 13.A.1). During the centre draw, no more than three players per team may be in the Midfield Area; all others, goalkeepers included, stay behind the restraining-lines until possession is called or the ball crosses the line (Rules 13.A.3 and 13.A.4). The Goal-Circle rules are in Rule 17 and the restraining-line rules in Rule 18.

Fouls

The book divides fouls into minor fouls (Rule 19) and major fouls (Rule 20), with the advantage flag (Rule 21), misconduct (Rule 22) and warning cards (Rule 23).

• 2025 changes to minor fouls. The fouls "goalkeeper goal score" and "body ball" were deleted, and "covering" was replaced by "withholding the ball" (Rule 19 notes).
• Major fouls. Rule 20 names "across the body" (20.A.1) and "block" (20.A.2) among others. In January 2025 illegal pick was merged into block, and pushing into illegal contact (Rule 20 notes).
• Fouls that always bring a card. A check to the head, a swipe, a dangerous follow-through and a dangerous propel are major fouls that require a mandatory warning card (Rule 23.A.2).

Cards

The off-field game official, called the 4th official, may card team staff for misconduct; the scorer and timekeeper are not included in that role (Rule 23.A.4).

The shot clock

Rule 24 is new in this edition. It requires two visible shot clocks counting down from 80 seconds, and when the clock runs out the ball goes to the other team without a foul being called (Rules 24.A.1 and 24.A.2). World Lacrosse says it takes effect in its women's field events from 1 January 2027, to give time to source the equipment.

Equipment rules, with dates

• Mouthguard. Every player, goalkeeper included, must wear a professionally manufactured mouthguard covering all upper teeth; it may be any colour, white and clear included (Rule 6.A.5).
• Headgear. Under the 2025-2026 book, field players may not wear headgear or face masks (Rule 6.A.2). World Lacrosse announced on 12 May 2026 that soft-shell headgear will be permitted for women's field players at its owned and sanctioned events from the 2029 Women's U20 Championship, and that the change goes into the 2027-2030 rule book. Both are correct for their dates.
• Eyewear. Under the 2025-2026 book, eye guards are optional (Rules 6.A.2 to 6.A.4). World Lacrosse's 12 May 2026 decision makes protective eyewear mandatory for women's field players at its events from the 2029 Women's U20 Championship, or an earlier continental qualifier for the 2030 Women's Championship.
• Goalkeeper. The goalkeeper must wear a chest or body pad, a field lacrosse helmet with a fastened chin strap, a facemask and an attached throat protector (Rule 6.A.20).

World Lacrosse's May 2026 announcement cites figures for how much headgear and eyewear reduce injuries without naming the studies behind them; those claims are reported, attributed to World Lacrosse, on the headgear debate and eye injuries and the eyewear rule pages. The women's headgear and protective eyewear pages cover the standards.

Appendices

The book appends World Championship policies on blood, game interruption, and heat and hydration (Appendices E to G).

Other women's codes

US college women's lacrosse follows the NCAA's rules and US high school girls' lacrosse the NFHS's, and USA Lacrosse says it writes the girls' youth rules for 14U and below and works with the NFHS on the high school girls' rules. Those rule books were not read for this site; what their published change summaries and releases say is on the college and high school rules page.