PLL Rules Explained: The 2024 Full-Field Rulebook

Scope: This guide explains the PLL’s published 2024 full-field rulebook. It is not a guide to later season amendments or the separate Championship Series Sixes format.

Win a PLL faceoff and the shot clock starts at 32 seconds. Recover the ball after a defensive stop and it starts at 52 seconds. That difference is one of the first things to watch when moving from box lacrosse to the Premier Lacrosse League’s full-field game.

Players, field and substitutions

PLL full-field teams can have 10 players on the field, including the goalkeeper. They play on a 100-by-60-yard field with 6-by-6-foot goals. Up to four players per team may use long sticks during live play.

Players substitute during live action through a designated 20-yard substitution area beside the benches. Offside rules still apply: a team is offside with more than six players on its offensive half or more than seven on its defensive half, including players serving penalties. PLL rulebook, Sections I–IV, XI–XII

For the indoor game instead, start with our beginner’s guide to box lacrosse.

Why the shot clock shows 52 or 32

The PLL does not use one reset length for every situation. These are the main possession and shot resets:

Situation	Shot clock
Possession gained or awarded after a faceoff	32 seconds
Change of possession	52 seconds
Valid shot retained by the offense in its offensive half, with 32 seconds or less remaining at the shot	Reset to 32 seconds
Same situation, with more than 32 seconds remaining	Reset to 52 seconds
Valid shot returning to the defensive half and possessed by either team	Reset to 52 seconds

A valid shot contacts the defending goalkeeper, the goalkeeper’s equipment, the goal posts, crossbar or goal netting, or scores. Simply shooting wide does not meet that definition. PLL rulebook, Sections X.A and XIII

The clearing team also has 20 seconds to advance the ball across midfield when beginning a new offensive sequence. That count runs alongside the shot clock; it is not extra time added to the possession. PLL rulebook, Section XIX.C.d

There is another field-game distinction worth watching: on a shot that goes out of bounds, possession goes to the team whose inbounds player is closest to the ball when it crosses the boundary. That is why an attacker runs behind the goal to “back up” a shot. Winning that restart does not, by itself, make a wide shot eligible for a shot-clock reset. PLL rulebook, Sections X.D and XIII

Faceoffs normally start each period and follow goals. Under the 2024 rules, the player taking the draw must use a short stick; long-stick players may still occupy the wings. PLL’s 2024 rule update

One-point and two-point goals

A goal from inside or on the two-point boundary is worth one point; a qualifying shot from outside it is worth two.

The boundary is not a uniform 13-yard arc. Its curved section has a 15-yard radius from the center of the goal line. At goal-line extended—the imaginary line continuing sideways from the goal line—the boundary sits 13 yards from the center of the goal line, with straight sections joining the curve and extending toward the end line.

Watch the shooter’s feet, not just the stick head. The shooter must have last contacted the ground entirely outside the boundary when releasing the shot. Touching the line makes it a one-point attempt. A two-point shot redirected by an offensive teammate who is not fully outside the arc becomes a one-point attempt; a defensive deflection does not change its value. PLL rulebook, Sections II.G and XIV

Contact and the crease

Do not assume either “field means no cross-checking” or “box contact carries over unchanged.” The PLL permits a cross-check with both hands on the stick to the arms below the shoulders and above the waist, against a ball carrier or an opponent within five yards of a loose ball. Excessive force can draw a penalty.

A controlled torso hold against the ball carrier using the shaft between the hands is separately permitted. The hands must be no more than shoulder-width apart, with no thrusting motion and no more than equal pressure.

Legal body checks come from the front or side, lead with the shoulder, and contact above the waist and below the neck, against a ball carrier or an opponent within five yards of a loose ball. Defenseless-player protections and special faceoff restrictions also apply. The 2024 update specifically protects a receiver who has not yet established possession and limits contact immediately after a shot. These are PLL rules, not permission to use the same contact in another competition. PLL rulebook, Section XVI; 2024 safety update

A crease dive can produce a legal goal, but releasing the ball before landing is not enough: the entire ball must cross the goal plane before the shooter’s body touches the crease, cage or goalkeeper’s body or equipment. Deliberate, avoidable goalkeeper contact disallows the goal regardless of that timing. PLL rulebook, Section XVII

Game time, penalties and overtime

Regulation is four 12-minute quarters. The clock generally runs between ordinary stoppages, with specified stops for goals, timeouts and penalty reporting. The final minute of each quarter generally uses stop-time, though the clock continues during a stoppage for a non-time-serving foul if the ball does not go out of bounds. Each team has two 60-second timeouts and one 30-second timeout, with no more than two usable in the second half. PLL rulebook, Sections VI and X.C

Technical fouls generally cost possession or 30 seconds, depending on who has the ball. Personal fouls normally carry one to three minutes. A nonreleasable penalty must be served in full. PLL rulebook, Sections XVIII and XXII

Overtime is sudden victory: the first goal wins. The 2024 code allows one 12-minute overtime in regular-season games, ending in a tie if nobody scores; playoff games continue through additional periods until a winner emerges. Team timeouts are not allowed in overtime. PLL rulebook, Section VI.C

For a first viewing, track three cues: how possession began, which reset the clock receives, and where the shooter’s feet are relative to the two-point line.