Badminton Rules: Scoring, Serving, Faults and Doubles

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Club night, court three, 19-all in a doubles game. Your partner wins the rally and looks at you: “Which side do I serve from?” Somebody on the next court shouts that the serve was too high, and an argument starts about whether a shuttle that clipped the net cord counts. Every recreational player has been there. The badminton rules are short and precise; the serve and the doubles rotation are what confuse people. This page explains the BWF Laws of Badminton in plain English: the court, badminton scoring (and the switch to 15-point games in 2027), the serve, faults and lets, doubles, and how junior and recreational play use them.

For the big picture, start at our badminton hub. Who writes and enforces the rules is on the leagues and associations page.

The court, net, shuttle and racket

• Court: 13.4 m (44 ft) long. The doubles court is 6.1 m (20 ft) wide; the singles sidelines sit 0.46 m inside, for a width of 5.18 m (17 ft). The short service line is 1.98 m (6.5 ft) from the net. The doubles long service line is 0.76 m (2.5 ft) inside the back line; in singles, the back line is the long service line. Lines are 40 mm wide and count as in.
• Net: 1.524 m (5 ft) high at the center and 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) at the posts, which stand on the doubles sidelines for both singles and doubles.
• Shuttle: a feather shuttle has 16 feathers fixed in a cork base 25–28 mm across and weighs 4.74–5.50 g. Nylon (synthetic) shuttles are allowed if they fly like a feathered one. To test the speed, a player hits a full underhand stroke from the back line; a correct shuttle lands 530–990 mm short of the opposite back line. Where altitude or climate make the standard shuttle unsuitable, the national association can approve changes.
• Racket: no more than 680 mm long and 230 mm wide, with a flat, crossed string pattern no bigger than 280 × 220 mm. Nothing may be attached except items to limit wear, vibration or distribute weight, and nothing that lets the player change the racket’s shape.

Badminton scoring: 21 now, 15 from 2027

Badminton uses rally scoring: the side that wins a rally scores a point, whether or not it served, and serves next. A match is best of three games. A coin toss decides who serves first or picks an end; the winner of a game serves first in the next. Players change ends after each game and in the middle of the deciding game.

	Current laws (through 2026)	3×15 laws (from January 4, 2027)
Points to win a game	21	15
Win by two from	20-all	14-all
Cap (next point wins)	29-all: first to 30	20-all: first to 21
Interval during a game (max 60 seconds)	When the leader reaches 11	When the leader reaches 8
Change ends in the third game	When a side reaches 11	When a side reaches 8
Break between games	Up to 120 seconds	Up to 120 seconds

BWF members approved the change at their April 2026 annual general meeting, 198 votes to 43. It applies to BWF badminton and para badminton from January 4, 2027. Leagues and local tournaments that follow the BWF laws will switch too; check each event’s prospectus during the changeover.

The serve: where most faults happen

A correct serve travels upward off the racket, crosses the net and would land in the receiver’s service court (lines are in). The BWF laws then add these conditions:

• Positions: server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts without touching the lines.
• Feet: part of both feet of both players stays on the floor, not moving, from the start of the serve until it’s struck.
• Height: the whole shuttle must be below 1.15 m (about 3 ft 9 in) from the floor when the racket hits it.
• Contact: release the shuttle without spin and hit the base (the cork) first. Missing the shuttle on a serve is a fault.
• Motion: once the racket head starts forward, it keeps moving forward until the hit. Stopping after the backswing counts as undue delay, and so does any stalling once both players are ready.
• Readiness: don’t serve before the receiver is ready; if the receiver tries to return it, they were ready.

In singles, you serve from the right service court when your score is zero or even and from the left when it’s odd. Win the rally and you score and serve again from the other court; lose it and your opponent scores and serves. There’s no second serve, and unlike tennis there’s no let for a serve that clips the net and lands in: it’s in play. A serve that gets caught on top of the net, or caught in the net after crossing, is a fault.

Faults and lets

A fault loses the rally. Besides a faulty serve, it’s a fault if the shuttle:

• lands outside the court, fails to cross the net, or touches the ceiling or side walls;
• touches a player’s body or clothing, or anything outside the court;
• is caught and slung on the racket, or hit twice in a row by the same player (a hit off the frame and strings in one stroke is fine), or by a player and then their partner.

It’s also a fault if a player touches the net or posts with racket, body or clothing; reaches over the net to hit (you may follow through over the net only if you contacted the shuttle on your side); reaches under the net in a way that obstructs or distracts the opponent; blocks a legal stroke at the net; or deliberately distracts an opponent by shouting or gesturing.

A let stops play and the last server serves again. Lets include serving before the receiver is ready, both server and receiver faulting on the same serve, a returned shuttle caught on or in the net, a shuttle whose base comes completely off, a coach disturbing play, and any unforeseen or accidental situation. In casual play without an umpire, players call lets themselves, and a shuttle from the next court landing on yours is the classic example.

Doubles: who serves and who receives

• Which court: the serving side serves from the right court when its score is even and the left when it’s odd.
• Keep serving when you win: if the serving side wins the rally, it scores and the same server serves again from the other court.
• Stay put when receiving: players change service courts only when they win a point on their own serve. The player diagonally opposite the server receives.
• Service order: the right to serve passes from the initial server, to the partner of the initial receiver, to the partner of the initial server, to the initial receiver, and around again.
• Partners: during the serve, partners may stand anywhere on their side as long as they don’t block the opposing server’s or receiver’s view. After the return, anyone can hit, alternating sides.

Served or received out of turn, or from the wrong court? That’s a service court error: fix it when the shuttle is out of play, and the score stands. The doubles service court is short and wide (it ends at the doubles long service line), which is why most doubles serves are short.

Conduct, coaching and officials

Play is continuous: no extra breaks to catch your breath or get advice. Players may receive coaching only when the shuttle is out of play, and can’t leave the court without the umpire’s permission except at intervals. The umpire can warn, fault or report a player to the referee, who can disqualify. At bigger events a service judge calls serve faults and line judges call in or out, with Instant Review for line-call challenges where it’s in use. Para badminton has adapted laws: wheelchair classes use their own court layouts, and a wheelchair player’s serve must be struck below the armpit.

How the rules change by level

• Junior tournaments: USA Badminton junior events follow the Laws of Badminton; the 2026 Junior Nationals were best of three games to 21. In August 2026 USA Badminton proposed switching its junior events to 3×15 for the whole 2026-27 season, ahead of the BWF date; check each prospectus.
• High school and college clubs: formats (how many singles and doubles matches make up a team match) are set by each state association or league.
• Club nights and backyard: the same laws, called by the players. Agree before you start on scoring and whether the serve height is being checked; outdoors, wind makes any shuttle wander.

What you need to play by the rules

A legal racket and the right shuttle are all you need. The Yonex Mavis 350 is the classic nylon practice shuttle (about $23 for a tube of six on Amazon in October 2026); Yonex sells it in three speeds by temperature: green cap slow for 22–33°C, blue medium for 12–23°C, red fast for 0–13°C. For tournament feel, the Yonex Aerosensa 30 is a feather shuttle sold by the dozen (about $65). A pre-strung racket like the Yonex NanoFlare 700 Play (about $69) is well within the size rules. More on our badminton gear page.

Keep exploring: youth badminton, badminton injuries and tournament day. Play tennis too? Compare with our tennis rules page.

Badminton rules questions

How many points is a badminton game?

Under the current laws, 21 points, win by two, capped at 30, best of three games. From January 4, 2027, the BWF’s 3×15 system applies: 15 points, win by two from 14-all, capped at 21.

How high can you serve in badminton?

The whole shuttle must be below 1.15 meters from the floor at the moment the racket hits it, and the shuttle must travel upward off the racket. Both feet stay on the floor and still until the serve is struck.

Is it a fault if the shuttle hits the net?

Not if it goes over and lands in, on the serve or in a rally. It’s a fault if it doesn’t cross, or if a serve gets caught on top of or in the net. If a returned shuttle gets caught on or in the net during a rally, it’s a let.

Which side do you serve from in doubles?

From the right when your team’s score is even, the left when it’s odd. The same player keeps serving, switching courts, while your side keeps winning rallies; the receiving pair only changes courts after winning a point on its own serve.

Can your racket cross the net?

Only on the follow-through, and only if you hit the shuttle on your side of the net first. Reaching over to hit it, or touching the net with your racket or body while the shuttle is in play, is a fault.