source: USA Volleyball

A first-time spectator at a high-level match could be forgiven for thinking the officials are conducting an orchestra. The first referee whistles, then sweeps an arm. A line judge snaps a flag down. Both forearms rotate in a slow circle.

Every gesture has a precise meaning, codified by the FIVB and adopted wholesale by USA Volleyball. Once you know the system, reading a match becomes a different experience entirely.

The Officiating Crew and Why It Matters

Indoor volleyball matches are officiated by two referees and two line judges, each with a distinct role in the signal system.

The first referee, sometimes called the "up ref" because of the elevated platform position, whistles to start each play, calls net touches, double contacts, and lifts, and signs the scorecard at the end of the match.

The second referee, or "down ref," communicates with the scorekeeper, watches for overlap violations, and keeps time. Line judges handle boundary decisions and foot faults using flags rather than hand signals.

Understanding who is making which signal is as important as knowing what the signal means. A rotating arm motion from the down ref means substitution. The same motion from a player's coach means nothing official.

Ball In, Ball Out, and Everything Between

The most common signals in any match are the ones that award or deny the point. They are also the simplest to read.

Ball in is a downward point, arm and fingers extended toward the floor on the side where the ball landed. The rule is precise: a ball is "in" if, at any moment of contact with the floor, some part of the ball touches the court, including the boundary lines.

A sliver of rubber on the line is a point.

Ball out is the opposite motion, both forearms raised vertically with hands open and palms facing the body. Think of it as a gesture that says "away from me", and the ball is away from the court.

Ball touched (the USAV version) is a brush of the fingers across the palm of the opposite vertical hand. It signals that the ball clipped a player before going out, which flips the point to the other team.

For line judges, the flag carries the same information. Flag pointed down is in; flag raised vertically is out.

When the ball clips the antenna, the net post, or any object outside the court, the line judge waves the flag over the head and points to the antenna or the relevant line.

Service Signals

Every rally begins with a service signal sequence, and it carries more information than most spectators notice. The first referee indicates authorization to serve by moving the hand to indicate the direction of service.

A separate signal, the arm extended to one side, tells everyone which team is serving.

Two fault signals are specific to service. If the server fails to toss or release the ball properly before contact, the referee lifts an extended arm with the palm facing upward.

Far more commonly punished is the delay in service fault: the server has eight seconds after the whistle to put the ball in play, and if that window closes, the referee raises eight fingers spread open. Fans recognize it immediately.

Contact Faults

These signals resolve the most contested moments in a match. Each one is unambiguous by design.

Double contact is two fingers spread open. The rule it covers is explained in more detail the double contact rule, but the signal itself is clean and fast.

Four hits is four fingers spread open, called when a team contacts the ball more than three times before returning it over the net.

Catch or lift looks different from the other contact faults. The referee slowly lifts the forearm with the palm facing upward, mimicking the prolonged contact that defines the fault. The deliberate pace is intentional; it distinguishes a catch from a clean pass.

Reaching beyond the net is a hand placed above the net, palm facing downward. Attack hit fault is a downward forearm motion with an open hand, called when a back-row player attacks from beyond the attack line or a libero attacks above net height.

Positional and Net Faults

Positional or rotation fault is a circular motion of the forefinger, indicating a player was out of the correct position at the moment of service contact. It's a quieter signal than it deserves to be, given that rotation errors can be match-deciding.

Net touched by player requires the referee to indicate both the side of the net and the player at fault, so it involves more pointing than most signals.

Blocking fault or screening raises both arms vertically with palms forward, broad enough to be seen from the back rows of a large arena.

Administrative Signals

These signals manage the structure of the match rather than the play itself.

Timeout forms a "T" shape: the palm of one hand placed over the fingers of the other, held vertically, followed by a point toward the requesting team. Each team gets a maximum of two timeouts per set, each lasting 30 seconds.

Coaches occasionally confuse the timeout signal with a substitution request, which is the circular forearm motion, the two look nothing alike once you know them.

Substitution is that circular rotation of the forearms around each other. Up to six substitutions per set are permitted per team.

End of set or match crosses the forearms in front of the chest with hands open, a visual full stop on a set won at 25 points (or 15 in a deciding fifth set, always with a minimum two-point lead).

Change of courts, used between sets, raises the forearms front and back and twists them around the body. It is one of the more theatrical signals in the system.

Double fault and replay is both thumbs raised vertically, used when two simultaneous faults cancel each other out and the rally must be replayed.

Judgment impossible is arms and hands crossed and raised in front of the chest, used when an obstruction or external factor prevented a clear call.

Misconduct Signals

The card system in volleyball mirrors association football in appearance but differs in consequence.

A yellow card is a misconduct warning with no immediate point penalty. A red card is a misconduct penalty, awarding a point and service to the opposing team.

Showing both cards together means expulsion: the player must remain seated in the penalty area for the rest of the set but faces no further consequences.

Showing red and yellow cards separately, rather than jointly, signals disqualification, which removes the team member from the competition control area for the remainder of the match.

Delay warnings and delay penalties use a different mechanic. The referee covers the wrist with a yellow card for a warning, and with a red card for a penalty.

The first delay in the match from any team member earns the warning; the second and any subsequent delays by any member of the same team in the same match become a penalty, giving the opponent a point and service.

FAQs About Volleyball Referee Hand Signals

Why does the first referee use hand signals at all if there's already a whistle?

The whistle stops play; the hand signal explains why. In a loud arena, a whistle alone tells everyone nothing about the call. The signal that follows the whistle is the official communication of the call.

What does the line judge flag signal mean when it's raised and touched at the top?

The line judge raises the flag and touches the top with the free hand to signal that the ball was touched by a player before going out. The point goes to the team that last made contact.

Can a coach request a challenge with a hand signal?

At competitions using a challenge review system, such as CEV events, the referee draws a rectangle with both hands to signal that a challenge has been requested.

The coach typically signals the request verbally or with a hand gesture, and the referee's rectangle signal confirms it has been accepted.

How does the referee signal the serving team at the start of a rally?

The referee extends the arm to the side of the team that will serve, then follows with the authorization-to-serve signal indicating the direction of play. Both signals happen before the whistle to start the rally.

What is the difference between expulsion and disqualification signals?

Expulsion shows both cards jointly (together in one hand or side by side simultaneously). Disqualification shows them separately in sequence.

The consequence gap is significant: expelled players sit out the set; disqualified players leave the competition area for the match.

Why are eight fingers used for the delay in service signal?

Because the rule specifies eight seconds. The server must contact the ball within eight seconds of the first referee's whistle, so the signal directly encodes the rule it is enforcing.

Do beach volleyball referees use the same hand signals?

The core signals overlap substantially, but beach volleyball uses a smaller officiating crew and has some signals specific to its format.

The FIVB publishes separate signal documentation for beach; the indoor signals described here follow the FIVB indoor volleyball hand signals and USA Volleyball's official resource.

Read the Referee, Read the Match

Knowing the signal system changes how you watch volleyball. Instead of waiting for a booth announcement or a scoreboard update, you can read the call in real time from the first referee's arm. Eight fingers raised means the clock ran out before the serve.

Both thumbs up means both teams fouled simultaneously and the rally is replayed.

The signals are not arbitrary. Each one is a precise encoding of the rule it represents. Learn them once and they become second nature, the same way a fluent reader stops thinking about individual letters.