What Is Not Allowed in Pickleball? Every Fault in the 2026 Rules, Plus 7 Myths

A fault ends the rally. If the serving side commits it, they lose the serve. If the receiving side commits it, the server's side wins the point.

What is not allowed, area by area

Each row below is a fault in the 2026 rules. The rule number is there so you can check it yourself.

Area	Not allowed	Rule
Serve	Both feet off the ground, a foot on the court, or a foot outside the serving area when you hit	7.A.1 to 7.A.3
Serve	Volley serve that is not an upward arc, with the paddle head above the wrist, or contact above the waist	7.C.1 to 7.C.5
Serve	Drop serve thrown, pushed or dropped from an aided height	7.D.1, 7.D.2, 7.D.6
Serve	Serve landing in the kitchen, out, or hitting a permanent object	7.E.1 to 7.E.3
Serve	Taking more than 10 seconds to serve after the score is called	6.D.1
Bounces	Volleying the serve, or volleying the return of serve	10.A.1, 10.A.2
Bounces	Letting the ball bounce twice	10.B.1
Rally	Hitting out, failing to get it over the net, or hitting a permanent object	10.C.1, 10.C.2, 10.C.4
Rally	Ball hitting your body or clothing (paddle hand below the wrist excepted)	10.C.3
Rally	Double hit that is not one continuous stroke, or both partners hitting it	10.D.1, 10.D.2
Kitchen	Volleying while you, or anything touching you, is in the zone	11.A.1
Kitchen	Momentum carrying you into the zone after a volley, even after the ball is dead	11.A.2
Kitchen	Volleying before both feet are back outside the zone	11.A.3
Paddle	Using or carrying two paddles, hitting without holding the paddle, catching or carrying the ball	12.A.1, 12.B.1, 12.C.1
Net	Touching the net or its support system while the ball is live	13.G.1
Net	Hitting between the net and the post, or under the net	13.D.1, 13.E.1
Net	Hitting the ball before it fully crosses to your side	13.F.1
Net	Crossing the net plane before you hit, or touching your opponent or their court	13.I.1.a, 13.H.1
Conduct	Distracting an opponent who is about to hit	10.F
Conduct	Stopping a rally without a valid reason	9.A.1

The kitchen rule people get wrong

The non-volley zone is the area that runs 7 feet from the net on each side. The rule is about volleys, not about standing. Rule 11.A says all volleys must start outside the zone, and that a player "may contact the non-volley zone at any time except during the act of volleying a ball."

So you can walk in, stand in it and hit a ball that has bounced. Three things get called:

1. Touching the zone, or the line, while you volley. Your partner counts too if they are touching you.
2. Stepping or falling in after the volley because of your momentum. This is a fault even if the ball is already dead (11.A.2).
3. Volleying with one foot still in the zone. Both feet must be back outside first (11.A.3).

If you are unsure where the zone starts, see whether the pickleball kitchen line is in or out.

Serving faults

Section 7 lists 10 faults, tied with Sections 10 and 13 for the most. Five are about where the serve lands or what it hits. Three are about your feet, and two are about your service motion.

The volley serve has three motion tests: the paddle moves in an upward arc, the paddle head is not above your wrist, and the ball is no higher than your waist at contact (7.C.1 to 7.C.3). The drop serve skips all three. You only need to drop the ball from a natural height without throwing it (7.D.1, 7.D.2).

Adding spin to the ball with your hand before the serve is not allowed either, but the penalty is a replay rather than a fault (7.B.2.a). For the full checklist, read how to check if your pickleball serve is legal.

Net faults

The net produces 10 listed faults. Touching it with your body, clothes or paddle while the ball is live is the common one (13.G.1). Reaching over to hit a ball that has not crossed to your side is another (13.F.1).

Portable nets have feet and crossbars on the court. A served ball that touches any part of that support system is a fault (13.B.1). We cover the post, the plane and the follow-through in detail in our guide to pickleball net rules.

Seven things that are allowed

Players often call these faults by mistake. The rulebook says otherwise.

Often called a fault	What the rule says	Rule
Standing in the kitchen	Allowed any time you are not volleying	11.A
Serve clips the net and lands in	Legal serve, play on	7.E
Return goes around the net post	Legal; it does not have to go over the net	13.C
Paddle crosses the net after you hit	Allowed during that strike and its follow-through	13.I.1
Two hands on the paddle, or switching hands	Allowed at any time	12.B
Ball hits your paddle hand below the wrist	Treated like the paddle, no fault	10.C.3
Swinging and missing completely	The ball stays live	10.E

On the drop serve, the ball may bounce any number of times and anywhere before you hit it (7.D.3, 7.D.4). And a serve that touches the net is not replayed; see whether a pickleball serve can hit the net.

Who is allowed to call a fault?

In games without a referee, you call faults on yourself and your partner as soon as they happen (9.B.2). You may only call two kinds of faults on an opponent: non-volley zone faults and service foot faults (9.B.3).

For anything else you think your opponent did, such as a double hit or a net touch, you can mention it after the rally. You have no authority to enforce it. The decision belongs to the player who allegedly committed it (9.B.4). If the two teams disagree about a fault call, the rally is replayed (9.B.3.b).

Spectators do not count. The rules say they must not be consulted on any call (8.J).

Court rules are a separate list

Many park and club courts post their own rules at the gate. These are facility rules, not rules of the game.

The sign above is typical: no food or gum, non-marking shoes only, no tobacco or alcohol, no bikes or skates, no leaning on the nets, no pets, and no teaching without permission. Breaking one of these can get you asked to leave. It is not a fault, and it does not cost a point.

Equipment is the other off-court list. Paddles used in sanctioned play must be on the USA Pickleball Approved Paddle List (3.D, 3.D.1); to check yours, see how to check if your pickleball paddle is legal.

Which rules this covers

All rule numbers are from the 2026 USA Pickleball Official Rulebook. Tournament play adds more faults in Part III (for example time-out and line-call rules), and wheelchair and adaptive play adds its own in Section 25. The short official version is the USA Pickleball rules summary.