EDITS MADE 8/25/24 AS A RESULT OF CLARIFICATION FROM THE NFL - THESE CHANGES ARE IN RED

Fourth down permitted after crossing midfield
Teams are permitted a 4th down attempt after crossing midfield. The rulebook changes are as follows:

Section I. Game
3. The offensive team takes possession of the ball at its 5-yard line and has four (4) downs to cross midfield or score after crossing midfield. Once a team crosses midfield, it has four (4) downs to score a touchdown. 
3a. If the offensive team fails to cross midfield or score after crossing midfield, on 3 downs, and elect to "punt" on 4th down, possession of the ball changes and the opposition starts its drive from its own 5-yard line. If the offensive team goes for it on 4th down and does not cross field or score after crossing midfield, the opposing team will start its possession from the spot, but not from within its own 5-yard line.
3e. Deleted [covered by 3a]

Section XVIII. 8U, 7U, & 6U & GRADE BASED GUIDELINES
Millis Flag Football WILL use the guidelines outlined on page 17 in "b. 7U & 6U / 1st Grade and Below." for our 5-6 year old division. However, we will NOT be using the guidelines outlined in "a. 8U / 2nd & 3rd Grade" for the next age group up, so please disregard letter "a." guidelines. 

With some exceptions (see below), we follow the rules as outlined by the NFL Flag Football program. You may download a copy by clicking below:

WE'VE UPDATED TO THE 2024 RULEBOOK. THE COVER PAGE SHOULD LOOK LIKE THE IMAGE BELOW. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'RE USING THIS RULEBOOK (CLICK IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD). 

1. Pitches, laterals, and backwards passes are permitted behind the line of scrimmage only. Shovel passes will now be legal with a 2 handed release.
2. Rushers must now identify themselves by raising their hand pre-snap. Maximum of 2 rushers per play
3. Rush MUST be immediate. NO delayed rushing permitted. (Safety)
4. Fumbles/ loss of possession: ground contact must be made for the play to be dead. “A fumble is loss of possession by a player resulting in the ball contacting the ground”
5. Any time prior to making the ball ready for play on 4th down, the referee must ask the coach to declare “PUNT or PLAY”. The coach must answer or risk a delay of game penalty at that time.
6. Verbiage added ball placement by the referee. The ball will be placed in the middle of the field to start every play. The ball may be moved toward either boundary by the referee if asked by the offense before the ‘ready for play’. The ball may not be spotted less than 10-yards from either boundary .
7. Electronic communication of any kind is prohibited and will result in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Will result in automatic disqualification.
8. Jumping and leaping is not permitted. (Safety) Play to be blown dead.
9. Illegal contact penalty added: Spot foul 5-yards and AFD or LOS
10. School/grade based 7U and 6U: The defensive 5-yard alignment cushion will be reduced to 3-yards any time the ball is spotted on or inside the 5-yard line

1. ALL forward passes, including shovel passes, must be received beyond the line of scrimmage.
2. Once the ball is advanced beyond the LOS, the current ball-carrier is the only player allowed to have possession of the ball until the play is dead.

RULE BOOK CHANGES/CLARIFICATIONS

Section IV. Field
Our fields may slightly differ in dimensions from the one outlined in the rule book.

Section VI. Timing and Overtime
1. Millis Flag uses a 40-minute continuous clock with two 20-minute halves. We do not use the 35-point rule.
3. Each time the ball is spotted, a team has 30 seconds to snap the ball.
4. Each team has three 30-second timeouts per game.
7: Millis Flag Football uses the overtime procedures as outlined for all games [optional for 5-6 year olds].
7a: To simplify and speed up the process, the winner of the initial [pre-game] coin toss will choose offense/defense first.
If both teams agree, the use of overtime is optional in the 5/6 year old age group.

Section VII. Scoring
Please disregard #6
#8. Officials will inform coaches of final score at the end of the game. Any issues must be brought up at that time.

Section VIII. Coaches
2. is clarified as follows:
5-6 year old teams may have one offensive and one defensive coach on the field for the entire season.
7-9 year old teams may have one offensive coach on the field for the entire season. Defensive coach must remain on sideline.
10-11 year old teams may have one offensive coach on the field during the first 2 weeks of the season. Defensive coach must remain on sideline.
12-14 year old team coaches must remain on the sideline at all times.

We ask that any coaches on the field move out of the away and not interfere with the play. 

Section XI. Passing
3. b. Should read... If the passer throws the ball.....
This scenario os not limited to just the defined QB and instead applies to any passer of the ball

Section XIII. Rushing the Passer
1. To clarify, rushers must identify themselves to the officials once they (the officials are ready). There is no need to wait for the offense to break a huddle. So it falls upon the offensive team to be paying attention to this process. Rushers MUST rush the passer immediately after the snap. Delayed rush is NOT permitted, by rule. [To clarify, if a player identifies as a rusher they MUST rush. No fake rushers permitted. Can’t change mind mid-rush unless handoff. If a player identifies as a rusher and does not rush, it will be consider an illegal rush].

2. To clarify, a handoff is the complete transfer of possession from one player to another. Therefore, the seven-yard rule is no longer in effect once the initial "handoff" is completed [i.e. the target player gains possession]. Non QB rushers will have to wait for the completion of this initial transfer before crossing the LOS.

Section XIV. Flag Pulling
4. If a player's flag inadvertently falls off during a play while that player has possession, the player is down immediately and the play ends. The ball is placed where the ball was when the flag came out.

Section XVII. Penalties
I. General 6. is clarified as: This means that all live ball penalty yardage must be assessed before the play is considered complete. This is of particular interest to those plays in which the ball carrier crosses mid-field (first down line-to-gain) and then the offense commits a spot enforced penalty. If, after enforcing the penalty, the ball is moved back behind the line-to-gain then no first down will be rewarded. Example, it is 2nd down with 1 yds to mid-field. A receiver catches the ball at mid-field, advances the ball 3 yds and commits a flag guarding penalty. The play ends with the ball carrier stepping out of bounds just short of the end zone. The penalty would be enforced from the spot of the foul and the ball moved back 5 yds. Because the penalty enforcement moved the ball back behind the line-to-gain, no first down is awarded. The end result of this play is 3rd down with the ball being placed 2 yards behind mid-field (the line-to-gain remains mid-field). If during the above play, the player catches the ball, advances it 10 yds and commits flag guarding the ball is moved back 5 yds from the spot of the foul (to 5 yards beyond mid-field). In this case, the penalty yardage did not bring the ball back behind the line-to-gain so a 1st down is achieved.

The NFL has clarified this. Simply stated: If a ball-carrier reaches the line-to-gain and the only foul committed by the offense was a spot foul AFTER reaching the line-to-gain, the next play is a first down and goal-to-go [even if the penalty yardage moves the ball back behind the previous play's line-to-gain.]

Penalty enforcement for 5-6 year olds.
5/6 year old players will only be penalized if the penalty jeopardizes player safety or the official determines the penalty had a direct impact on the outcome of the play. We want the kids to have fun and learn by not over penalizing them at this level.
5/6 year old penalties do not incur a loss of down or automatic first downs. Instead, the yardage will be marked off and the down replayed.

Players and coaches should read and understand the rules of the game. If you have any questions concerning rule interpretations please don't hesitate to contact the director of officials.

Section XVIII. 8U, 7U, & 6U & GRADE BASED GUIDELINES
We ask that any coaches on the field move out of the away and not interfere with the play.