When the ball is in, out or dead
FIVB · 2025–2028How lines, external objects and the referee’s whistle determine whether play continues.
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When a rally starts and stopsA boundary line belongs to the courtOther ways the ball becomes outWhen a rally starts and stops
The ball becomes live when the server hits an authorized service. The whistle giving permission to serve does not itself start the rally. If a referee whistles a fault, the ball is dead from the moment that fault occurred. If there was no fault, it becomes dead at the whistle. This distinction matters when several events happen close together.
A boundary line belongs to the court
The ball is in if any part of it touches the court at any moment of its contact with the floor. The boundary lines are included. A ball is out on landing only when every part that contacts the floor is completely outside those lines. Judge the actual floor contact, not just where the centre of the ball appears to be.
Other ways the ball becomes out
The ball is out if it touches the ceiling, an object outside the court or a person who is not in play. Contact with an antenna, supporting ropes, a post or the net outside the side bands also makes it out. Crossing the net plane outside the permitted crossing space is out unless the limited retrieval exception in Rule 10 applies. A ball travelling below the net becomes out once it completely crosses the net plane.
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