Line judges report what they see; the referees make the ruling.

The governing rule and effective version

This page uses the FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028, approved by the 39th FIVB World Congress in 2024 and implemented in competitions beginning after 1 January 2025. The principal provisions are Rules 22-30 and official Diagrams 10-12.

This is the international indoor-volleyball baseline. Beach volleyball, sitting volleyball, NCAA, NFHS, national federations, youth leagues and local tournaments can appoint different crews or use different mechanics. Their current rulebook and event regulations control those matches.

How an observation becomes a ruling

1. Identify the applicable rules. Check whether the match uses the FIVB baseline, a named 2026 trial, video challenge or another federation's code.
2. Find the first fault. Under FIVB Rule 6.1.2, the first of successive faults is counted; simultaneous faults by opponents produce a double fault and replay.
3. Use the assigned view. A line judge flags an event within Rule 29 duties. The 1st or 2nd referee whistles only when sure a fault occurred and able to identify it, subject to the 2026 no-whistle trial described below.
4. Apply jurisdiction. The 2nd referee can signal outside that official's jurisdiction without whistling but may not insist; the 1st referee may overrule an official believed to be mistaken.
5. Communicate the decision. The referees follow Rule 22.2's signal order, then the scorer records the point, interruption or sanction.
6. Use review only if appointed. A Challenge referee advises the 1st referee under the competition's current challenge regulation; challenge availability is not implied merely because a match has line judges.

Who is on the FIVB crew

Rule 22.1 lists the 1st referee, 2nd referee, Challenge referee, reserve referee, scorer and four or two line judges. It also makes an assistant scorer compulsory for FIVB, World and Official Competitions. A Challenge referee is compulsory at those competitions only when the Video Challenge System (VCS) is used, and a reserve referee is compulsory.

This does not mean every local match must reproduce the same crew. A competition without VCS has no need for a Challenge referee, and a domestic rulebook may prescribe fewer table or line officials.

Final authority sits on the referee stand

The 1st referee works from the stand opposite the scorer, with the view approximately 50 cm above the net (Rule 23.1). Rule 23.2 gives this official authority over the refereeing team and both teams from start to finish. Decisions are final during the match, and the 1st referee may overrule another official whose decision is noticed to be mistaken.

Rule 23.3 assigns the 1st referee the toss, warm-up and playing-condition checks; warnings and sanctions; serving-team positional faults and screening; ball-handling faults; faults above the net; specified back-row and Libero attack or block faults; lower-space crossings; and antenna or crossing-space faults on the 1st referee's side. “Final authority” does not mean acting alone: it means the 1st referee evaluates the crew's information and owns the match decision.

The 2nd referee has a real but bounded jurisdiction

The 2nd referee stands near the post opposite and facing the 1st referee. Under Rule 24, this official controls the scorer's work, benches and regular interruptions; counts time-outs and substitutions; handles specified injury procedures; checks line-ups and floor conditions; and can replace the 1st referee if necessary.

During play, Rule 24.3.2 directs the 2nd referee to decide, whistle and signal under-net penetration, receiving-team positional faults, net and antenna faults primarily on the blocker's side, specified back-row and Libero faults, outside-object contacts, unseen floor contacts and crossing-space or antenna faults on that official's side. Outside that jurisdiction, Rule 24.2.2 permits a non-whistle signal to help the 1st referee, but not insistence on the call.

Scorers notify; they do not use a referee whistle

Rules 27 and 28 give the scorer and assistant scorer a buzzer or other sound device for their own notifications. That sound is not a rally whistle. The scorer records points, controls service order, announces substitutions, notifies out-of-order interruption requests, records sanctions and other instructed events, and completes the result. A service-order error is reported immediately after the service hit.

The assistant scorer records Libero replacements and re-designations, buzzes a faulty Libero replacement, checks scoreboards and maintains the reserve record. Under Rule 25, the Challenge referee supervises the review process and advises the 1st referee of the nature of the fault shown by review. The appointed challenge regulation supplies the review menu and procedure.

Two line judges cover two lines each; four cover one each

With two line judges, Rule 29.1 places them at the two diagonal corners nearest the right-hand side of each referee, 1-2 m from the corner. Each controls the end line and sideline on that side.

If four line judges are used in an FIVB, World or Official Competition, each stands in the free zone 1-3 m from a corner, on the imaginary extension of the line controlled. Their flags are 40 × 40 cm. The geometry matters: a line judge should give the assigned view, not chase every event on the court.

Rule 29 defines exactly what the flags report

• Ball in or out: when the ball lands near the assigned line. Any part of the ball touching a boundary line is “in” under Rule 8.3.
• Touch before out: an out ball touched by the team receiving the ball.
• Antenna and crossing space: antenna contacts, a served ball crossing outside the crossing space, and a team's second or third hit crossing outside it.
• Position at service: a non-server stepping outside the court at the service hit and a server's foot fault.
• Player contact with the antenna: contact with the top 80 cm of the antenna on the line judge's side during the action of playing the ball or while interfering with play.
• Repeat on request: Rule 29.2.2 requires a line judge to repeat the signal if the 1st referee asks.

A flag is immediate evidence for the referee team, not an independent point award or a coach's appeal mechanism.

How to read Diagram 12

• 1 — Ball “in”: point the flag down.
• 2 — Ball “out”: raise the flag vertically.
• 3 — Ball touched: raise the flag and touch its top with the palm of the free hand.
• 4 — Crossing-space, outside-object or service-position fault: wave the flag overhead, then point to the antenna or relevant line.
• 5 — Judgement impossible: raise and cross both arms and hands in front of the chest.

“Judgement impossible” means the line judge cannot provide a reliable observation. It does not itself order a replay. The referees still use their own views and any available competition review procedure.

The most useful hand signals to distinguish

Rule 30.1 requires the referee to show the reason for the whistle or authorized interruption and hold the signal momentarily. When a one-hand signal is used, that hand is on the side of the team that committed the fault or made the request. Diagram 11 contains 25 numbered signals; these commonly confused groups are especially useful:

• Direction and administration: authorization to serve (1), team to serve (2), change of courts (3), time-out (4), substitution (5), cards (6-8) and end of set or match (9).
• Ball result: ball “in” (14) points the arm and fingers to the floor; ball “out” (15) raises both forearms; ball touched (24) brushes one palm across the upright fingers of the other hand.
• Playing faults: blocking or screening (12), catch (16), double contact (17), four hits (18), net fault (19), reaching beyond the net (20) and attack-hit fault (21).
• Line-related faults: signal 22 points to the centre or relevant line for penetration, a lower-space crossing, a server touching the court/end line, or a player outside the court at the service hit.
• Replay: signal 23 raises both thumbs for a double fault or replay. It is different from either team's “in” or “out” claim.

Who whistled changes the order

• 1st referee's fault: under Rule 22.2.3.1, show the team to serve, then the nature of the fault, then the player at fault if necessary.
• 2nd referee's fault: the 2nd referee shows the fault and player if necessary, then follows the 1st referee's team-to-serve signal. The 1st referee shows only the team to serve.
• Back-row or Libero attack/block fault: both referees use their prescribed parts of the sequence.
• Double fault: both show the nature of the fault and the players if necessary; the 1st referee then identifies the team that will serve the replay.

The hand signal communicates the completed decision. It is not a second ruling that can contradict the whistle.

Most faults produce a point and the next service

Under FIVB Rule 6.1.3, if the serving team wins the rally it scores and serves again; if the receiving team wins, it scores and serves next. That is why the “team to serve” signal also communicates the practical result of most rally faults. Successive faults are decided by the first one. Simultaneous faults by opponents are a double fault, so no point is awarded and the rally is replayed.

Not every whistle or signal awards a point. A whistle while the ball is dead may authorize or reject a request. A yellow card is a misconduct warning without a point penalty; a red card is a penalty giving the opponent a point and service. Expulsion and disqualification use different combinations of the two cards. See the detailed volleyball sanctions guide.

A first hit outside the antenna can still be recoverable

A ball sent to the opponent's court must normally cross inside the crossing space, and a serve outside the antenna is out. Rule 10.1.2 creates a narrow exception for a team's first hit that crosses wholly or partly through the external space into the opponent's free zone. A teammate may recover it within the team's hits if the player does not illegally touch the opponent's court and sends the ball back through the external space on the same side.

The same route is not available after the second or third hit: the ball is out as soon as it crosses the net plane. This is why Rule 29 expressly tells line judges to flag the served ball and second or third hit outside the crossing space; a first-hit shank needs the Rule 10.1.2 test before it is treated as out.

The ball compresses onto the sideline

Situation: an attack lands near the sideline. Most of the ball appears outside, but part of its floor contact touches the painted line.

FIVB 2025-2028 ruling: ball “in” under Rule 8.3. The line judge points the flag down. The attacking team wins the rally unless an earlier fault occurred; the 1st referee identifies the next serving team.

A blocker touches the ball before it lands out

Situation: an attack brushes Blue's block and then lands completely outside Blue's sideline.

FIVB 2025-2028 ruling: the line judge gives the “ball touched” flag signal, not merely “out.” Blue made the last contact, so the rally goes to the attacking team unless an earlier fault controls. The referee, not the flag alone, awards the result.

The jump server lands inside the court

Situation: the server takes off from behind the end line, contacts the ball in the air, then lands inside the court.

FIVB 2025-2028 ruling: legal under Rule 12.4.3. The position at take-off for a jump service controls, and the rule expressly permits landing inside afterward. If the server touched the end line or court at take-off, the line judge would wave the flag and point to the relevant line; the receiving team would gain a point and service.

The pass travels outside the antenna

Situation: Blue's first team hit shanks through the external space into Red's free zone. A Blue teammate runs around the post and returns it through the same external space without illegal court contact.

FIVB 2025-2028 ruling: play continues under Rule 10.1.2. The path outside the antenna is not by itself an out call on this first-hit recovery. If it had been Blue's second or third hit, or the return path failed the rule's conditions, the ball would be out.

The line judge was screened

Situation: players block the line judge's view of a close landing, and the line judge crosses both arms.

FIVB 2025-2028 ruling: “judgement impossible” supplies no in/out opinion and does not automatically create a replay. The referees decide from their available observations, subject to VCS if the competition uses it. Rule 22.2.1.2 requires a referee ending a rally for a fault to be sure of the fault and its nature.

Some current FIVB events deliberately use different mechanics

FIVB announced procedure tests for the 2026 Volleyball Nations League, 2026 FIVB U17 World Championships and 2026 continental championships. In those events, no referee whistle is used for a ball landing clearly in or out, a serve clearly failing to pass the net, or a clear block touch going directly out of the field of play. The absence of a whistle in those obvious situations is therefore an event mechanic, not evidence that the rally remains live.

The same 2026 test notice permits the head coach to approach the 1st referee to clarify a challenge request or seek clarification of a call; complaints and protests remain prohibited. That differs from the rulebook baseline, where the coach's contacting official is the 2nd referee and the game captain may request the 1st referee's explanation. FIVB says these are tests and that any rulebook update remains subject to review.

Review can change the ruling, not the chain of authority

Rule 25 makes a Challenge referee compulsory at FIVB, World and Official Competitions when VCS is used. The Challenge referee supervises the process under the regulation in force and advises the 1st referee of the fault revealed by review. Eligibility, timing and available camera evidence are competition questions, so they should not be inferred from the standard rulebook alone.

For VNL 2026, FIVB and Volleyball World introduced a pilot remote VCS hub: selected Challenge-referee and technical functions operate centrally rather than with the whole challenge team on site. This is a VNL pilot, not a universal change to every volleyball crew. See challenge and replay rules for the separate review procedure.

A question about the rule is not an open debate

Under Rule 23.2.4, the 1st referee does not permit discussion of decisions, but must explain the application or interpretation of the rules when the game captain requests it. If the captain still disagrees and the rules allow a protest, the captain must immediately reserve the right to record it at the end of the match.

This route concerns application or interpretation, not a demand that a line judge re-argue a factual observation. A competition's protest regulation and the 2026 coach-clarification trial can supplement the baseline.

Claims that collapse different decisions

• “The line judge awarded the point.” The line judge supplied a flag signal; the referee team applied the rule and the scorer recorded the result.
• “A vertical flag always means touched.” A vertical flag is “out.” “Touched” adds the free hand to the top of the raised flag.
• “Every ball outside the antenna is immediately out.” Rule 10.1.2 can preserve a qualifying first-hit recovery through the external space.
• “The 2nd referee can whistle anything seen.” Outside the 2nd referee's jurisdiction, the help signal is made without a whistle and cannot be insisted upon.
• “Judgement impossible means replay.” It means only that the line judge cannot provide reliable help.
• “No whistle means no decision.” That is unsafe in the named 2026 trial events, where obvious outcomes can use a no-whistle procedure.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• FIVB — Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028, Rules 6, 8, 10, 12 and 22-30; Diagrams 10-12 (implemented in competitions beginning after 1 January 2025)
• FIVB — 2026 rule, regulation and procedure tests: whistle use, coach clarification and challenge procedures (27 February 2026)
• FIVB — Volleyball Nations League 2026 remote Video Challenge System hub pilot (14 May 2026)

Checked against the FIVB 2025-2028 international indoor rulebook and official 2026 notices on 28 August 2026. The rulebook is the baseline; the named 2026 procedures remain competition tests. Appointed event regulations and national-federation rules may supplement or replace these staffing, whistle, challenge and protest mechanics.