Pickleball Faults: Every Fault and Who Loses (2026)
Pickleball faults are rule violations that end a rally, and the side that commits one loses the rally (2026 USA Pickleball rulebook, Definitions). In standard scoring, a fault by the serving side passes the serve on and nobody scores. A fault by the receiving side gives the server a point. Under the optional rally scoring format the other side scores on every fault, and how rally scoring differs from side-out scoring shows the same rallies scored both ways. The table lists every fault with its rule number.
There are 43 fault rules in standard play, from Sections 5 to 13 of the rulebook. Tournament-only, wheelchair and adaptive faults are left out. The rules page walks through the rest. If a word in the table is new to you, the pickleball terms list explains 40 of them.
| Fault | Rule | Who loses |
|---|---|---|
| Serve | ||
| Serving while the score is called, or after 10 seconds (see the serving rules) | 6.C.1, 6.D.1 | Server |
| Both feet off the ground, a foot on the baseline or in the court, or a foot outside the serving area (opponents may call it) | 7.A.1.a, 7.A.2.a, 7.A.3.a | Server |
| Illegal volley serve: not an upward arc, paddle head above the wrist, ball above the waist | 7.C.5 | Server |
| Illegal drop serve: the ball was pushed or thrown down | 7.D.6 | Server |
| Serve lands out or in the wrong box | 7.E.1 | Server |
| Serve lands in the kitchen or on its line | 7.E.2 | Server |
| Serve touches a permanent object or net post before landing (a serve that clips the net and lands in is fine, see net cases) | 7.E.3, 13.B.1 | Server |
| Serve touches the server, partner or anything they wear or carry | 7.E.4 | Server |
| Serve touches the receiver or partner before it lands | 7.E.5 | Receiver's side (server wins the rally) |
| Return and rally | ||
| Wrong player returns the serve, when positions were correct | 5.C.1.c | Receiver's side |
| Receiver volleys the serve (see the two-bounce rule) | 10.A.1 | Receiver's side |
| Server or partner volleys the return | 10.A.2 | Serving side |
| Ball bounces twice on your side before you hit it | 10.B.1 | Player's side |
| Shot lands out | 10.C.1 | Hitter |
| Shot fails to cross the net and lands on your side | 10.C.2 | Hitter |
| Ball hits you or anything you wear or carry, but not the paddle or the hand below the wrist | 10.C.3 | The player it touches (either side) |
| Shot hits a permanent object before it bounces | 10.C.4 | Hitter |
| Ball bounced in your court, then hits a permanent object, a net post included (changed for 2026) | 10.C.5 | The defender (hitter wins) |
| Double hit, or both partners hit the ball | 10.D.1, 10.D.2 | Hitter's side |
| Kitchen | ||
| Volleying while you or anything you touch is in the kitchen or on its line (see the kitchen rules; opponents may call it) | 11.A.1 | Volleyer |
| Momentum from a volley carries you in, even after the ball is dead (opponents may call it) | 11.A.2 | Volleyer |
| Volleying before both feet are fully outside after touching the kitchen (opponents may call it) | 11.A.3 | Volleyer |
| Paddle | ||
| Using two paddles, hitting without the paddle in hand, or catching or carrying the ball on it | 12.A.1, 12.B.1, 12.C.1 | Hitter |
| Net | ||
| Return touches a net post or support before crossing | 13.B.1 | Hitter |
| Hitting the ball between the net and the post, or under the net | 13.D.1, 13.E.1 | Hitter |
| Hitting the ball before it has fully crossed the net plane | 13.F.1 | Hitter |
| Touching the net, a post or its support while the ball is live | 13.G.1 | Player's side |
| Touching an opponent or their end of the court while the ball is live | 13.H.1 | Player's side |
| Crossing the net plane before you hit the ball, or without hitting it | 13.I.1.a, 13.I.1.b | Player's side |
| Ball bounces on your side and spins back over: reaching over before it crosses back, or leaving it unhit on the far side | 13.I.2.a, 13.I.2.b | Player's side |
| Stopping the rally | ||
| Stopping a rally for no valid reason, wrongly claiming a server or position error, challenging a correct score, or challenging a score after the return | 9.A.1, 5.C.1.b, 6.F.2, 6.F.3 | The player who stopped it |
Here's a fault nobody expects. The server says "zero, zero, two" and swings before the last word is out. The ball can land perfectly in the box. It's still a fault on the server (Rule 6.C.1), with no point and the serve passes on.
Who can call a fault?
You call faults on yourself and your partner (Rule 9.B.2). Only kitchen faults and serve foot faults can be called on an opponent, and only before the next serve (Rules 9.B.3, 9.B.3.a). If the teams disagree about one, replay the rally. If partners disagree, it goes against their own team. For any other fault, you can only mention it after the rally, and the player who allegedly did it decides (Rule 9.B.4).
What is not a fault?
Some stoppages replay the rally instead. A hinder, such as a stray ball from another court, replays it (Rule 9.C.2), and so does a ball caught in the net after crossing it (Rule 13.A.1). A serve that clips the net and lands in the right box is not a fault, and neither is a complete miss. The ball stays live (Rule 10.E). The net rules in one table cover touching the net and reaching over it.
How many faults do you get on a serve?
One. A serve fault loses the rally, and there's no second serve. The rulebook has no "double fault."
Pick the fault you gave away last time, find its row, and check your feet or your hit at that moment in your next game. The referee in Pickleball Game calls these faults as they happen, so you can see a few in a free game against the computer.