Referee & Setter Hand Signals

Volleyball uses hand signals so play is clear without words. Referees signal the reason for each whistle — which team serves, whether the ball was in or out, and what fault occurred — while setters signal their hitters before the serve to call which set to expect.

Who signals

Referees, line judges & setters

Referee shows

Serve, in/out, the fault

Setter shows

The planned set (number system), behind the back before each serve

Signal order

Team to serve, then the fault, then the player at fault

The five signals you'll see most often are shown below.

Common referee signals

After the whistle, the referee first points to the team that will serve next (the team that won the rally), then shows the signal for the fault and, if needed, points to the player at fault.

Ball in or out

• Ball "in": the arm and fingers point down toward the floor on the side where the ball landed.
• Ball "out": both forearms are raised vertically, hands open, palms toward the body.
• Ball touched: one hand, held vertically, is brushed with the palm of the other — the ball was touched by a player (for example off the block).

Contact faults

• Double contact: one hand is raised with two fingers spread open — one player contacted the ball twice in a row. (US note: some US rules now allow a double contact on the set; see the double-contact rule.)
• Four hits: one hand is raised with four fingers spread open — the team contacted the ball more than three times.
• Catch / lifted ball: the forearm is raised slowly, palm up — the ball was held or thrown rather than cleanly hit.

Net and center line faults

• Net touch: the referee indicates the side of the net of the team at fault.
• Reaching beyond the net: a hand is placed above the net, palm facing down.
• Line fault (center line or end line): the referee points to the center line (or to the relevant line) — for example when a player's foot crosses completely into the opponent's court, or the server steps on the end line.

Attack and block faults

• Attack-hit fault: a downward motion of the forearm, hand open — for example an illegal back-row attack or an attack by the libero.
• Blocking fault or screening: both arms are raised vertically, palms forward — for example a back-row player or the libero blocking, or serving-team players screening (hiding the server or the ball's flight from the receivers).

Serve & rotation

• Team to serve: the referee extends an arm toward the team that will serve next. To authorize the serve, the first referee then moves the hand in the direction the server will serve.
• Delay in service: eight fingers are raised, spread open — the server did not serve within 8 seconds of the whistle.
• Positional or rotation fault: the forefinger makes a circular motion. It is used for an overlap (players out of rotational order at the serve) or for a player serving out of turn.

Timeouts, substitutions and replays

• Timeout: the palm of one hand is placed over the fingers of the other, held vertically (a T), then the referee indicates the team that asked for it.
• Substitution: the forearms make a circular motion around each other.
• Double fault and replay: both thumbs are raised vertically — the rally is replayed.
• End of set or match: the forearms are crossed in front of the chest, hands open.

Yellow and red cards

• Yellow card: a warning for misconduct. No point is lost.
• Red card: a penalty. The other team gets a point and the serve.
• Yellow and red held together: expulsion for the rest of the set. Shown separately (one in each hand): disqualification for the rest of the match.
• Card held against the wrist: a delay warning (yellow) or a delay penalty (red).

These are the FIVB card rules.

Line judges' flag signals

When line judges are used, they help the referees with a flag. With two line judges, each stands at the court corner closest to the right hand of each referee and watches the end line and sideline on that side; in FIVB and world competitions, four line judges stand in the free zone near each corner, on the extension of the line they control. The official FIVB flag signals:

• Ball "in": the flag points down.
• Ball "out": the flag is raised vertically.
• Ball touched: the flag is raised and the palm of the free hand touches its top — the receiving team touched the ball before it went out.
• Crossing-space fault, ball touching an outside object, or foot fault at the serve: the flag is waved over the head, then points to the antenna or the line concerned.
• Judgement impossible: both arms and hands are raised and crossed in front of the chest — the line judge could not see the play.

Setter hand signals

Before each serve, the setter tells the hitters which set to expect using hand signals held behind their back, so the other team can't see them. Most teams use a number system (see setting) — different numbers stand for the tempo or location of each set (for example a fast ball in front of the setter, a higher ball to the outside, a back-row set, and so on). The exact numbers are a team convention, so there is no single universal code; a new player learns their own team's system. In beach volleyball, the blocker uses similar behind-the-back signals to call the block.

Frequently asked questions