Delayed off-side lets the attackers clear; intentional off-side moves the face-off back.

The rulebook used on this page

This explanation applies the International Ice Hockey Federation Official Rule Book 2026/27, version 1.0 dated June 2026, principally Rules 83.2–83.7. The IIHF says the latest rulebook published on its rules page is the version used for its events and championships.

This is an international IIHF baseline, not a universal rule for the NHL, NCAA, USA Hockey or every domestic league. The competition named on the scoresheet and its current regulations control a real game. The USA Hockey age-level difference is identified separately below.

When the whistle can be delayed

The starting fact is an off-side entry: one or more attacking players preceded the puck across the attacking blue line. IIHF Rule 83.3 permits a delayed signal when either the defenders can bring the puck back out without delay or contact from an attacker, or the attackers are already clearing the zone.

The Linesperson raises the non-whistle arm. That signal does not make the attackers on-side and does not reserve the puck for them; it marks a temporary opportunity to clear while the defending team may continue playing.

Every attacker must be clear at the same instant

The Linesperson drops the arm and nullifies the delayed off-side when either:

1. all players of the offending team clear the attacking zone at the same instant; or
2. the defending team carries or passes the puck into the neutral zone.

For the first route, IIHF Rule 83.3 requires skate contact with the blue line; the three-dimensional plane used to judge a player at the original zone entry is not used for this tag-up decision. Once the arm is down, the attackers may re-enter and pursue the puck. One player re-entering before the last teammate clears keeps the violation alive.

Four attacking actions end the delay

Before the zone has been cleared, the Linesperson stops play if an attacker:

• touches the puck;
• attempts to gain possession of a loose puck;
• forces the defending puck carrier farther back into the defending zone; or
• is about to make physical contact with the defending puck carrier.

A completed body check is not required. Pressure that removes the defender's clean chance to exit can be enough. Conversely, an attacker who is plainly skating out and does not affect the puck or defender can complete the tag-up while play continues.

The bench door does not erase an attacker early

If the players' bench extends into the attacking zone, an off-side player going for a change is treated as clear only when both skates are off the ice and the Linesperson judges that player to have left the playing surface. An airborne player merely jumping toward the bench has not necessarily cleared.

A replacement who comes onto the ice in the attacking zone while the delayed off-side remains in effect must also clear. The relevant question is still whether every attacker is clear at the same instant, including the players involved in the change.

Intentional off-side is about seeking the stoppage

IIHF Rule 83.7 defines intentional off-side as an off-side made for the purpose of securing a stoppage of play, regardless of the reason and regardless of whether either team is short-handed. A direct rulebook example is an attacker deliberately touching the puck during a delayed off-side to create the whistle.

The label is a Linesperson's judgment, not an automatic upgrade for a poor dump-in or an attacker being slow to leave. Rule 83.7 expressly says the play is not intentional when, in the Linesperson's judgment, the attackers are making an effort to exit and are close to the blue line when the puck is shot into the zone.

The puck does not always return just outside the blue line

• Carried in off-side: face-off in the neutral zone outside the attacking blue line.
• Shot or passed in: face-off at the nearest spot in the zone from which the shot or pass originated that gives the offending team the least territorial advantage.
• Defender pressured or about to be checked during the delay: use that same point-of-origin and least-territorial-advantage rule.
• Intentional off-side: face-off at a spot in the offending team's end zone.

This is why two off-side whistles that look similar on television can restart far apart. Officials must identify how the puck entered, what happened during the delay and whether the act was intentional.

Tagging up does not legalize the original off-side shot

If a shot enters the attacking zone and creates a delayed off-side, a goal from that shot is disallowed even if every attacker clears and the Linesperson lowers the arm before the puck crosses the goal line. The same ruling applies if the shot reaches the net directly or after contact with the goalkeeper, another player, the boards, glass, equipment or an on-ice official.

The narrow IIHF exception is when the defending team itself shoots or puts the puck into its own net without action or contact by the offending team. The face-off after a disallowed off-side shot is selected from the zone where the shot originated under Rule 83.6, giving the offending team the least territorial advantage.

A defender's touch does not always reset the play

If a defender legally carries, passes or plays the puck back into that defender's own zone while an opponent is already there, Rule 83.1 says off-side is ignored. That deliberate play-back is different from a rebound or deflection caused by the attacking team.

Under Rule 83.2, a puck propelled by the attacking team and deflected off any player into the attacking zone remains subject to off-side or delayed off-side. A return off an official in the neutral zone is also judged that way. If a defender propels the puck out and it clearly rebounds from another defender in the neutral zone back in, however, the attackers are eligible to play it; attacking contact that causes the return can instead produce delayed off-side.

Review concerns a missed entry leading to a goal

In an IIHF competition with the required video setup, a coach may challenge a goal on the claim that the attacking team entered off-side. Rule 38.8 requires the goal to be disallowed if replay establishes that an attacker preceded the puck and play should have stopped. The entry remains reviewable only if the puck did not leave the attacking zone between the disputed entry and the goal.

This does not turn every delayed or intentional off-side judgment into a replay event. It is a narrow good-goal/no-goal process, and the applicable IIHF technology setup matters. An unsuccessful first challenge brings a two-minute bench minor for delaying the game; a later unsuccessful challenge brings a four-minute double-bench minor under Rule 38.7.

The last attacker tags, then everyone re-enters

Situation: Red dumps the puck in while Red 18 is still deep in the attacking zone. Red 18 skates out without pursuing the puck; at one instant every Red attacker has a skate touching the blue line or is in the neutral zone. Only after the Linesperson lowers the arm do Red's players re-enter.

IIHF 2026/27 ruling: play continues. Rule 83.3's simultaneous-clear requirement was met before anyone re-engaged.

An attacker touches the puck to obtain a whistle

Situation: during a signaled delayed off-side, Red 11 knows the team has not cleared and deliberately taps the puck so play will stop.

IIHF 2026/27 ruling: intentional off-side. Rule 83.7 identifies deliberate contact made to create the stoppage; Rule 83.6 places the face-off in Red's defending end.

The arm drops before the original shot enters

Situation: Red's shot creates delayed off-side. All Red attackers clear while the puck rolls toward goal, so the Linesperson lowers the arm. The puck then deflects from the goalkeeper into the net.

IIHF 2026/27 ruling: no goal. Rule 83.4 attaches the no-goal result to the original off-side shot; later clearance and the goalkeeper's deflection do not cure it.

A replacement steps directly into the zone

Situation: Red 7 leaves through the part of the bench in the attacking zone during delayed off-side. As Red 7 gets off the ice, Red 20 steps onto the ice on the attacking-zone side of the blue line.

IIHF 2026/27 ruling: the delayed off-side remains. Under Rule 83.3, Red 20 is now an attacker who must clear before the Linesperson can nullify the violation.

How to analyse a delayed off-side

1. Name the ruleset. Confirm IIHF, NHL, USA Hockey or the appointed competition rules.
2. Freeze the entry. Did an attacker precede the puck across the attacking blue line?
3. Check whether delay is available. Under IIHF, can the defenders exit without attacking delay or contact, or are the attackers clearing?
4. Track every attacker. Include players changing at a bench door inside the zone.
5. Watch for involvement. A puck touch, attempted recovery, backward pressure or imminent contact produces the whistle.
6. Find the clearing event. All attackers clear simultaneously, or the defenders carry or pass the puck into the neutral zone.
7. Test intent. Was the action made to secure a stoppage, or were the attackers genuinely exiting near the line?
8. Choose the outcome. Apply the correct face-off spot, the special delayed-shot goal rule and any available goal-review procedure.

Tag-up is classification-specific in the United States

The USA Hockey Official Rules of Ice Hockey 2025–29, effective 1 August 2025, do not use delayed offside for every classification. Rule 630(d) limits it to Youth 15-Only levels and above, Girls 16U levels and above, High School and Adult classifications. Rule 630(c)'s immediate-stoppage procedure therefore controls the other classifications.

USA Hockey also defines intentional offside to include deliberately seeking an immediate stoppage or creating offside where there is no effort or possibility of completing a legal play. Its territorial consequence is likewise a defending-zone face-off for the offending team, but those words should not be substituted for the IIHF Rule 83.7 test in an IIHF game.

Four shortcuts that give the wrong ruling

• “The arm is up, so attackers may forecheck until the whistle.” No: pursuit, backward pressure and imminent contact can stop play.
• “One defender touched it, so everyone is on-side.” No: a legal play back into the defender's zone and an attack-caused deflection are treated differently.
• “Once the attackers tag up, the original shot can score.” No under IIHF Rule 83.4.
• “Any deliberate dump-in is intentional off-side.” No: the purpose must be to obtain a stoppage, and a genuine effort to exit near the line is expressly protected.

Governing-body sources and effective versions

• International Ice Hockey Federation — Official Rule Book 2026/27, version 1.0 (June 2026), Rules 38 and 83
• International Ice Hockey Federation — current Rules, Regulations & Guidelines index
• USA Hockey — Official Rules of Ice Hockey 2025–29, Rule 630 (effective 1 August 2025)

Checked on 27 August 2026 against the IIHF 2026/27 rulebook and the IIHF page identifying it as the latest international version, plus USA Hockey's current 2025–29 Rule 630 for the stated age-classification variation. Competition event codes, technology regulations and domestic playing rules may supplement or replace this baseline.