A touchdown is 6 points; the NFL try is normally from the 15 or the 2.

The ruleset used on this page

The controlling scope is the 2026 NFL season. The NFL's 2026 rulebook says that edition contains the rules in effect for that season; the relevant provisions are Rules 3, 4, 8, 11, 14, 15 and 16. The NFL's published 2026 change list does not amend Rule 11.

A short NCAA comparison is separately labelled and checked against the May 2025 NCAA rulebook plus the NCAA changes effective for the 2026 season. NFHS, CFL, youth and flag competitions are outside the page's ruling scope and may use different spots, dead-ball rules and overtime procedures.

Four ordinary routes to 6 points

NFL Rule 11-1-2 values a touchdown at 6 points. Rule 11-2-1 makes the ball dead and awards the score when one of these tests is met:

1. A runner advancing from the field of play possesses the ball on, above or behind the opponent's goal-line plane.
2. For an airborne runner, the ball is on, above or behind the plane and some part of it passed over or inside the pylon.
3. A ball in player possession touches the pylon, provided that after contact by an opponent no part of the player's body other than the hands or feet struck the ground before the ball touched it.
4. A player legally inbounds secures a loose ball that is on, above or behind the opponent's goal line.

Rule 11-2-1 also lets the Referee award a touchdown when a palpably unfair act denied one. That is an exceptional remedy, not a substitute for the ordinary possession tests.

The ball—not the runner's body—must satisfy the test

The goal line is a vertical plane. For a runner coming from the field of play, any part of the possessed ball reaching that plane before the runner is down, out of bounds or dispossessed is enough; the whole ball need not cross. A helmet, shoulder, knee or foot in the end zone does not score if the ball remains short.

The pylon is not merely decoration. NFL Rule 11-2-1 has specific tests for an airborne runner and for a possessed ball touching it. If a diving runner sends the ball outside the pylon while going out of bounds, do not assume an infinitely extended line automatically produces a touchdown—apply the airborne-runner and pylon wording.

Crossing the plane does not complete a pass

A pass flying over the goal line is still a loose ball. The receiver must first gain player possession under NFL Rules 3-2-7 and 8-1-3: control with the hands or arms, both feet or another body part other than the hands completely inbounds, and an act common to the game—or control long enough to perform one.

If those elements are completed in the opponent's end zone, Rule 11-2-1(d) makes it a touchdown and the ball becomes dead. If control is lost before possession is completed and the ball hits the ground, it is incomplete. The fuller possession sequence is explained on the NFL catch rules page.

The Try is one special scrimmage down

Under NFL Rule 11-3-1, the Try begins when the Referee sounds the whistle for play to start, and the game clock does not run. The offense may place the ball anywhere on or between the inbounds lines. Its normal choices are:

• Try kick: snap 15 yards from the defensive goal line.
• Try by pass or run: snap 2 yards from the defensive goal line.

After the ball is ready for play, the offense may switch between those choices only following a penalty or a charged timeout by either team. The Try ends when either team scores or the ball becomes dead. A touchback makes it unsuccessful with no replay (Rules 11-3-1 and 11-3-2).

A legal field goal by the offense scores 1

Rule 11-3-2 awards 1 point when the offense's Try kick results in a field goal. The kick must meet Rule 11-4-1: it is a permitted place kick or drop kick, it does not touch the ground or an offensive player after being kicked and before reaching the goal, and the entire ball passes above the crossbar and between the uprights (or between their outside edges above their tops). An artificial or manufactured tee is prohibited.

A miss, block or kick that fails those conditions scores nothing unless a foul produces a re-Try. Rule 11 fixes the snap at the defensive 15-yard line for this option.

A Try touchdown by either team scores 2

Rule 11-3-2 awards 2 points whenever the Try results in a touchdown by either team. The offense can run or pass from the 2. The defense may return an interception, an opponent's fumble, or a blocked kick that remains live to the opposite end zone.

The scoring result—not merely the original formation—sets the value. A fake or broken kick play snapped at the 15 that ends in an offensive touchdown is worth 2 points. Conversely, the ball does not become dead solely because the defense gains possession; the NFL allows the return until a score or another dead-ball event ends the Try.

A teammate cannot advance the fumbler's ball

NFL Rule 8-7-6 applies a special restriction throughout a Try. Any opponent may recover and advance a fumble, but only the player who fumbled may recover and advance it for that player's own team. If a teammate catches or recovers it, the ball is dead at the fumble spot or, if the recovery is behind that spot, at the recovery spot.

That means an offensive player cannot fumble short of the goal line and have a teammate recover in the end zone for 2 points. The defense is subject to the same-team restriction after it gains possession and then fumbles.

A safety-type result on the Try is worth 1

Rule 11-3-2(c) says that if the Try produces what would ordinarily be a safety against either team, the opponent receives 1 point. This is different from the normal 2-point safety outside a Try.

Impetus and the momentum exception still matter. For example, if a defender intercepts in the field of play, voluntarily retreats into that defender's own end zone and is downed there, the offense receives 1 point. If the interception's original momentum carried the player into the end zone and the momentum exception applies, it is not automatically a safety.

A flag and a touchdown signal can both be correct

An accepted live-ball foul by the scoring team can erase the touchdown and enforce the penalty under the ordinary play rules. But a foul by the opponent does not automatically erase a valid score. NFL Rule 14-2-3 says that when a touchdown is scored, a personal foul, unsportsmanlike-conduct foul or palpably unfair act by the opponent—whether live-ball, dead-ball or between downs—is enforced on the Try.

The offended team also retains the rulebook option to reject the points and accept customary enforcement with a new series or replay. The exact choice depends on the foul and timing, so “the touchdown counts” and “the penalty is enforced” are not contradictory announcements.

Replay, no replay, or kickoff enforcement depends on who fouled

NFL Rule 11-3-3 provides a dedicated Try enforcement system. Important branches include:

• An accepted Team A foul that negates a successful Try generally produces a re-Try; an accepted loss-of-down penalty instead makes the Try unsuccessful with no replay.
• If Team B fouls during an unsuccessful Try, Team A may decline the distance portion and repeat the down.
• Defensive pass interference in the end zone can place the ball at the 1-yard line or half the distance from the other Try spot, whichever applicable option is more advantageous.
• Personal or unsportsmanlike-conduct fouls and fouls after a change of possession can carry to the ensuing kickoff when the Rule 11 conditions are met.
• A foul after the Try is enforced on the succeeding free kick.

If a foul creates a re-Try, Team A may choose enforcement from the previous Try spot or from the other Try option's yard line, as adjusted by earlier enforcement. That is why a penalty or charged timeout can reopen the kick-versus-run/pass choice.

Every Try is review-controlled by the Replay Official

Under NFL Rule 15-1-2, only the Replay Official or the designated League officiating authority may initiate review when points are scored and on every Try attempt, successful or unsuccessful. Coaches do not initiate a challenge in those categories.

Possession, catch completion, touching, boundary status, the goal-line plane and a Try fumble are among the reviewable questions in Rule 15-3. The on-field ruling changes only when the League officiating authority finds clear and obvious video evidence (Rule 15-2-1). Review can correct an objective fact; it does not turn every disputed judgment into a reversible ruling.

The Try is omitted only when the rules say the game is over

NFL Rule 4-8-2(c) normally requires a Try after a touchdown on the last play of a period. It gives two relevant exceptions: a touchdown during sudden-death overtime, and a fourth-quarter touchdown after time expires when a successful Try could not affect the outcome.

Under the 2026 NFL overtime system, both teams normally receive one possession. A touchdown on the opening possession therefore does not itself end the game, so its Try is played. Once both teams have had their opportunity—or another Rule 16 ending condition applies—a winning touchdown can end sudden-death play without a Try. If the points after a touchdown are still needed to tie or decide the game, officials administer the Try.

College football does not use the NFL's 15-and-2 spots

NCAA Rule 8-3-2 uses one Try scrimmage down snapped midway between the hash marks on the opponent's 3-yard line, or from another point on or between the hash marks on or behind that line if Team A makes a timely selection. A field-goal Try is 1 point and a Try touchdown by either team is 2 points. The NCAA's 2026 amendment sheet, effective for the 2026 season, does not change Rule 8-3.

NCAA overtime also differs. Rule 3-1-3 requires a team scoring a touchdown in the second extra period to attempt a 2-point Try; beginning with the third extra period, each possession series is one 2-point play from the 3. Those provisions must not be imported into an NFL ruling.

How to rule the scoring sequence

1. Name the code and season. This page's answer is NFL 2026.
2. Confirm live possession. For a catch or recovery, complete the Rule 3-2-7/8-1-3 possession test.
3. Apply the correct touchdown branch. Runner, airborne runner, pylon contact or loose-ball possession each has precise wording in Rule 11-2-1.
4. Freeze the decisive moment. Compare the ball with the goal line before down, out of bounds or loss of possession.
5. Check fouls. Decide whether the score stands, the Try moves, the down repeats or the Try fails.
6. For the Try, identify the selected spot and actual result. Offensive field goal is 1; touchdown by either team is 2; a safety-type result is 1 to the opponent.
7. Apply replay and game-ending rules. Use Rule 15 for reviewable facts and Rules 4 and 16 to decide whether a Try must be played.

The ball reaches the plane before the knee

Situation: a runner controls the ball over the inside of the goal line, then a knee touches at the half-yard line.

NFL 2026 ruling: touchdown, 6 points under Rule 11-2-1(a). The decisive fact is that the possessed ball reached the plane before the runner was down; the ball became dead as a touchdown at that moment.

The body lands in, but the ball stays short

Situation: a runner's torso lands in the end zone, but the possessed ball remains short of the plane until after the runner is down.

NFL 2026 ruling: no touchdown. The body entering the end zone is not the test; the ball was short at the decisive dead-ball moment.

A fake kick reaches the end zone

Situation: Team A sets up for a Try kick from the 15. The holder keeps the snap and completes a legal pass in the end zone.

NFL 2026 ruling: 2 points under Rule 11-3-2(b). The decisive fact is that the Try resulted in a touchdown; the snap from the kick spot does not cap the play at 1 point.

The defense returns an interception

Situation: on a run/pass Try from the 2, Team B intercepts and returns the ball to Team A's end zone.

NFL 2026 ruling: 2 points to Team B. The Try remains live after the change of possession and a touchdown by either team is worth 2.

A teammate recovers the fumble over the line

Situation: the Team A runner fumbles at the half-yard line. A teammate recovers the ball in Team B's end zone during the Try.

NFL 2026 ruling: no 2-point score. Rule 8-7-6 makes the ball dead because a same-team player other than the fumbler recovered it; the recovery cannot advance the fumble into a score.

Claims that do not survive the NFL rulebook

• “The NFL two-point play starts at the 5.” It starts at the defensive 2 in the 2026 NFL rules.
• “The player's body broke the plane.” The touchdown test is concerned with the possessed ball.
• “Possession in the air is enough for an end-zone catch.” The receiver must complete the NFL possession elements inbounds.
• “Choosing the kick spot means the play can score only 1.” A Try touchdown by either team is worth 2, including on a fake.
• “The defense gaining possession ends the Try.” In the NFL, a legal defensive return can score 2.
• “Any teammate may recover a Try fumble for points.” Only the fumbler may recover and advance for the same team.
• “Every touchdown must be followed by a snap.” Rule 4 omits a Try after specified game-ending touchdowns.

Governing-body sources and effective versions

• National Football League — 2026 Official Playing Rules, effective for the 2026 NFL season: Rules 3, 4-8-2(c), 8-7-6, 11, 14-2-3, 15 and 16
• NFL Football Operations — 2026 NFL Rulebook index and published 2026 rule-change list
• NCAA — 2025 NCAA Football Rules Book (May 2025): Rules 3-1-3 and 8-3, the base text used for the 2026 comparison
• NCAA — 2026 Football Rules Changes, approved March/April 2026 and effective with the 2026 season

Checked on 25 August 2026 against the NFL rulebook in force for the 2026 season and the NFL's published change list. The NFL controls the main answer. The NCAA comparison uses the May 2025 base book plus the official 2026 effective changes; conferences and other competitions may issue supplementary mechanics, and high-school, Canadian, youth and flag codes require their own current rules.