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Pacific Flag Football League Rule Book

Overview

Pacific Flag Football LLC (“PFF” or the “League”) is an LGBTQ+ & Ally recreational 7-on-7 adult flag football league built to create a space where everyone feels safe, welcomed, respected, and free to show up as themselves. We’re committed to making recreational sports more inclusive and ensuring that LGBTQ+ individuals and others who have historically felt underrepresented in sports know they have a place here. PFF is more than just flag football. It’s a community where people can compete, have fun, socialize, build friendships, and feel a genuine sense of belonging both on and off the field.

This rulebook establishes the procedures and rules for both the league and gameplay. Where situations are not explicitly addressed, league administration retains authority to interpret rules consistent with recreational integrity and player safety.

Code of Conduct 

Refer to the website for the full Code of Conduct policy. 

Unsportsmanlike, violent, or dangerous behavior, including but not limited to fighting, abusive language, threatening or disrespecting players/officials/league administration, will result in immediate ejection and potential league ban.

Teams are responsible for their supporters. Inappropriate behavior may result in team penalties, including forfeitures, ejections, or bans.

Substance Policy

The league maintains a zero tolerance alcohol & drug policy. Under no circumstance is any alcohol and drug substance permitted before or during league activities. Failure to abide will result in immediate ejection and potential league ban

Roster & Eligibility

  1. Roster Size: minimum of 12 players, maximum of 16
  2. Minimum of 6 players needed per game
  3. A team is able to recruit substitute players during regular play games only if one of their registered players is absent and if roster size falls below 12
    1. Contingent upon 1) substitute player signing all required waivers and agreements before start of game, 2) substitute player paying $10 fee if they are not currently a registered player, and 3) opposing team captain agreement
    2. No substitutes allowed during Playoffs
    3. If a team’s QB is absent/injured, a substitute is allowed to QB even if the team’s roster is above 12 players. Sub can only play QB
  4. If a team cannot meet the minimum player requirement, their team will forfeit
    1. Gameplay may still take place but regardless of score, forfeited team will not win any points towards season standings
 

Uniforms & Equipment

  1. Uniforms
    1. Tops or bottoms, including but not limited to shirts, sweatshirts, pants and shorts with pockets or belt loops are not allowed or must be taped before start of game. 
    2. All players must wear same colored shirts unless otherwise determined by league administration
    3. Shirts must be tucked into pants during game play
    4. No metal cleats, jewelry, hard-brimmed hats, helmets, or casts are allowed. Beanies are allowed
  2. Equipment
    1. Flag belts will be provided to all players and must be worn outside of clothing. Tying belts is prohibited. Non league/custom flags are permissible if length and width is the same as PFF’s provided flags
    2. Each team is to provide their own ball
      1. Junior sized balls are allowed
 

Gameplay Rules

  1. Field dimensions will be determined by the total number of teams registered for the season
    1. 9+ registered teams: Games are played sideline to sideline on a regulation turf football field running ~53 yds by 30 yds + a 6 yd end zone // <8 registered teams: Games will be played 60 yds in length of a regulation turf football field and half of its width (~26 yds)
  2. At the start of each game, team captains meet with game officials for the coin toss to determine who starts with the ball. The visiting team calls the toss
  3. The winner of the coin toss will determine if they want offense or defense first. The loser will determine choice of direction
  4. Possession and direction changes at start of second half 
  5. Ball will start at 10 yard line: 1) at the beginning of each half, 2) after touchdowns, 3) after safeties
    1. No kick-offs
  6. The offense has 4 downs to either reach a first down marker, at which point the down counter resets, or reach the end zone. Officials to mark first down and LOS. The first down will be marked with an orange marker
    1. If a team fails to reach the first down marker or score, the result is a turnover and ball possession changes. Starting point will be at the dead ball spot
    2. On 4th down, team must clarify intent on whether they will play the down or “punt” the ball
      1. Punting results in opposing team getting possession at they 10 yard line
 

Scoring 

  1. No mercy rule 
  2. Touchdown: 6 points 
  3. Conversion: 1 point from 5 yard line or 2 points from 10 yard line
    1. Once the ball is placed at the designated yard line, the team cannot change their decision unless they want to use one of their timeouts. If a team has 0 timeouts, the decision cannot be changed. 
    2. Interceptions on conversions can be returned
    3. QB run eligibility is reset after touchdowns and the QB may use a QB run
  1. Safety: 2 points
    1. A safety occurs when the ball carrier is declared down in their end zone, if they, at any point during the play, had possession of the ball beyond their own goal line then. A ball carrier is considered down if any of the below occurs while having retreated into their end zone:
      1. Their flags are pulled
      2. Their flags fall off and player is touched by opposing team
      3. Ball is fumbled
      4. Player goes out of bounds
    2. If a ball is snapped lands in or beyond their end zone, it is considered a safety
 

Timing, Overtime Play, & Timeouts

  1. Regular Play
    1. 50 minute games: Two 24 minute halves, with a 2 minute halftime
    2. Running clock except for timeouts, injuries, or a challenge
      1. Officials may stop the clock at their discretion
    3. 25 second play clock, starts when ball is spotted
      1. Officials will administer a 10 second countdown
    4. No overtime in regular play
  2. Overtime Play
    1. Playoffs only
    2. Conversion style. Teams have a choice going for 1 point starting at the 5 yard line or 2 points starting at the 10 yard line. Each team gets a turn. The team with the most points wins. 
      1. Teams line up on the same end of the field
      2. If the first round ends in tie, another round will occur with the team that was on offense first is now on defense first. Repeat this until there is a winner.  
    3. All regular play rules and penalties are in effect
    4. No timeouts 
  3. Timeouts
    1. 2 timeouts per half (no carryovers)
      1. 60-second timeouts (35 second game stoppage, 25 second play clock)
        1. Officials will administer a warning for 25 second play clock countdown after 35 seconds
    2. A team is allowed to use a timeout to question an Officials rule interpretation ( a “challenge”). If the officials ruling is correct, the team is charged a timeout. If the rule is interpreted incorrectly, the timeout is not charged and the proper ruling will be enforce
      1. Only team captains are allowed to challenge
      2. A team with no time outs remaining cannot challenge a rule interpretation, though officials can come together independently and reverse a call by unanimous decision
 

Live Ball/Dead Ball

  1. Live Ball
    1. The ball is considered live at the snap and remains live until end of play or an Officials whistle blows the ball dead
    2. Once the ball is deemed live, offense can snap the ball anytime before the play clock ends. Offense does not need to wait for defense to be in position prior to snapping the ball
    3. A player who gains possession of the ball is considered inbounds as long as one foot comes down in the field of play
    4. The Officials will indicate the line of scrimmage by spotting the ball before each play and signal ready for play with a short whistle
    5. Offense is responsible for getting the ball to the Officials after each play
  2. Dead Ball
    1. A play is ruled dead when:
      1. The ball hits the ground
        1. Fumbles are not allowed
        2. If the ball hits the ground as a result of a bad snap, the ball is then placed 5 yards from line of scrimmage, repeat down
      2. The ball carrier’s flag is pulled
        1. If ball carrier flag falls off without being pulled, defense can touch ball carrier with two hands and the ball is dead where the ball carrier was first touched after flag falling
      3. The ball carrier steps out of bounds
      4. The ball carrier’s knee touches the ground
      5. A touchdown, conversion point, safety, timeout, injury, or challenge occurs
      6. Officials inadvertently blows whistle
        1. In the case of an inadvertent whistle, the offense has two options:
          1. Take the ball where it was when the whistle blew, and the down is consumed
          2. Replay the down from the original line of scrimmage
    2. Ball is spotted at the furthest point ball reached, not where flags were pulled.
 

Ball Movement, Running, Handoffs, Passing, & Receiving

  1. Ball Movement
    1. The ball carrier’s feet cannot leave the ground. Diving, jumping, or leaping to advance the ball is not allowed and is considered flag guarding
    2. Spinning is allowed, but player’s feet cannot leave the ground to avoid a flag pull
    3. Ball carriers may leave the ground if there is a clear indication that they have done so to avoid collision with another player without a flag guarding penalty enforced
    4. Unlimited laterals are allowed beyond the line of scrimmage
  2. Running
    1. Quarterback is allowed to run the ball once during each possession 
    2. If quarterback passes the line of scrimmage with ball in hand, it is considered a QB run
    3. If quarterback crosses line of scrimmage when there are no QB runs allowed, it’s considered an illegal QB run, play will result in a 5 yard loss and loss of down penalty 
  3. Handoffs
    1. The quarterback can hand off the ball behind the line of scrimmage only. Handoffs can be made behind, to the side, or in front of quarterback, as long as it is behind the line of scrimmage
      1. Does not count as QB run
    2. Multiple handoffs are allowed behind the line of scrimmage
      1. If QB is the eventual runner, this does count as QB run
    3. Any player who receives a handoff is allowed to throw the ball from behind the line of scrimmage
    4. Once the quarterback has handed the ball off to any offensive player behind the line of scrimmage, all defensive players are eligible to rush
  4. Passing
    1. All forward passes must be thrown from behind the line of scrimmage
    2. A quarterback may throw the ball away to avoid a sack
      1. Throw must reach the LOS to avoid intentional grounding penalty (5 yard loss)
  5. Receiving
    1. All offensive players are eligible to receive the ball
    2. When ball is received: 1) no foot can be down out of bounds, 2) at least one foot needs to be down in bounds and 3) player needs to have full possession to be considered a fair catch
    3. In the case of simultaneous possession by both an offensive and defensive player, possession is awarded to the offense
    4. Interceptions change possession at the point at ensuing dead ball spot
    5. Interceptions are returnable in any regular play, including conversion plays, and overtime
  6. Motion Plays
    1. Only one player can be in motion at the time of the snap, and must be running parallel to the LOS; player cannot be motioning towards the line of scrimmage 
      1. Any motion towards or across the LOS will be deemed a False Start (5 yard loss, repeat down)
    2. “Motion” needs to be called aloud 
 

Rushing

  1. Rushers must start 5 yards from the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped
  2. Officials to mark the rush line. 
  3. The rush line will be marked with a yellow marker. 
  4. Any number of players can rush, as long as they start 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped
  5. Players not rushing can defend on the line of scrimmage
  6. Once a rusher passes the line of scrimmage, any other defensive player, regardless where they were lined up when the ball is snapped, can rush
  7. If the ball is handed off, the rush rule is no longer in effect, and any defender can cross the line of scrimmage
  8. Teams are not required to rush
  9. Teams are not required to identify the rusher beyond legal pre snap alignment 
  10. Players rushing the passer may attempt to block a pass. However, no contact can be made with the passer in any way. Blocking the pass or attempting to block the pass and then making contact with the passer still results in a roughing the passer penalty
  11. No bull rushing. When encountering a blocker from the offense, a pass rusher must (a) stop prior to making contact with the blocker or (b) clearly change direction in an effort to move around the blocker. If a pass rusher makes an effort to move around the blocker and the blocker moves into the path of the pass rusher, there is no charging
  12. A sack occurs if the quarterback’s flag is pulled behind the line of scrimmage. The ball is placed where the flag was pulled
    1. A safety is awarded if the sack takes place in the offensive team’s end zone
 

Blocking

  1. Legal blocking is as follows:
    1. Contact between the opponents front side waist and shoulders only
    2. Blockers must be on their feet before, during and after contact is made
    3. Blockers can only block with open hands and arms
    4. Blockers hands, arms, and legs must be within frame of body
    5. Within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage
  2. Illegal blocking is as follows: 
    1. Any contact to an opponent’s backside. This will automatically result in a Block in the Back penalty
    2. Grabbing or grasping opponents or their uniform.
    3. Closed hands blocking. This will result in an Illegal Blocking penalty
    4. Fully extended arms. This will result in an Illegal Blocking penalty
    5. Hands, arms, or legs outside of the frame of the body. This will result in an Illegal Blocking penalty
    6. Contact with an opponent on the ground. This will result in Unnecessary Roughness penalty
    7. Blocking beyond 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Downfield blocking is not allowed. This will result in an Illegal Blocking penalty 
  3. The offense can only block the rushers in the offensive backfield (behind the LOS)
  4. Offensive players may only set screens beyond 5 yards of the line of scrimmage
    1. A screen is defined as a non contact stationary technique where an offensive player positions their body to obstruct a defender’s path to the ball carrier. Hands, arms, and legs must be within the frame of the body. Any movement or extension of limbs will be considered illegal
 

Flag Pulling

  1. A flag pull takes place when the ball carrier is in full possession of the ball
  2. Defenders can dive to pull flags but cannot tackle, hold or run through the ball carrier when pulling flags
  3. Attempting to strip or pull the ball from the ball carrier’s possession is not allowed
  4. If a player’s flag inadvertently falls off during the play, the defense needs to touch the ball carrier with two hands once they have full possession
  5. A defensive player may not intentionally pull the flags off of a player who is not in possession of the ball
  6. Flag guarding is an attempt by the ball carrier to obstruct the defender’s access to the flags by stiff arming, dropping the head, hand, arm or shoulder or intentionally covering the flags
  7. Flag obstruction: All shirts must be tucked in before play begins. The flags must be on the player’s hips and free from obstruction. Deliberately obstructed flags will be considered flag guarding
 

Penalties

  1. The Officials will call all penalties
    1. Only team captains are allowed to dispute an Officials call by using one of their timeouts. If teams do not have any timeouts left, team captains cannot dispute
    2. Only team captains can ask questions about rule clarification and interpretation during game times. Outside of game time, any player is permitted. 
  2. Officials determine incidental contact that may result from normal run of play
  3. Games and halves may not end on a penalty unless the opposing team declines it
  4. Penalties are assessed live ball, then dead ball. Live ball penalties must be assessed before play is considered complete
 

Defensive Penalties

  1. Pass Interference: +10 yards & automatic first down
  2. Holding: +5 yards
  3. Unnecessary roughness: +10 yards & automatic first down
  4. Unsportsmanlike conduct: +10 yards & automatic first down
  5. Offside: +5 yards, repeat the down
  6. Illegal rush: +5 yards, repeat the down
  7. Roughing the passer: +5 yards & automatic first down
  8. Taunting: +5 yards & automatic first down
  9. Block from the back: +10 yards & automatic first down
 

Offensive Penalties 

  1. Blocking while running with the ball carrier: -10 yards & loss of down
  2. Charging: -10 yards & loss of down
  3. Flag guarding: -5 yards & loss of down
  4. Unnecessary roughness: -10 yards & loss of down
  5. Unsportsmanlike conduct: -10 yards & loss of down
  6. Offside/false start: -5 yards, repeat down
  7. Illegal forward pass: -5 yards & loss of down
  8. Pass Interference: -5 yards & loss of down
  9. Illegal motion: -5 yards
  10. Delay of game: -5 yards
  11. Intentional Grounding: -5 yards
  12. Impeding the rusher: -5 yards & loss of down
  13. Illegal QB run: -5 yards & loss of down

Regular Season Standings & Playoff Seeding

Teams will be ranked within their respective divisions based on standings points earned during regular season play:

Win: 2 points
Loss: 0 points
Tie: 1 point

Teams with the highest number of standings points will receive the highest playoff seeds within their division.

If two or more teams finish the regular season with an equal number of standings points, the following tiebreakers will be applied in order:

  1. Head to head among the tied teams
  2. Regular season point differential
  3. Fewest total points allowed
  4. Most total points scored
  5. Random draw conducted by PFF
 

For ties involving three or more teams, head to head results will be used only when they clearly distinguish the tied teams. If head to head does not resolve the tie, the next applicable tiebreaker will be used. Once a team is separated from a multi team tie, the tiebreaker process will restart for any teams that remain tied.

PFF reserves final authority to calculate standings, apply tiebreakers, and determine playoff seeding.

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