Badminton rules explained: scoring, serving, faults and the court
The badminton rules that come up in real matches, from the BWF Laws: 21-point scoring, the 1.15 m serve, singles and doubles lines, faults, lets and intervals.
Most arguments at club night come down to four things: who serves from where, whether the serve was too high, whether a net cord counts, and what happens at 20-all. The badminton rules below settle all of them, taken straight from the BWF Laws of Badminton (Statutes Section 4.1) with law numbers so you can check. One warning: the scoring is about to change, and we cover that too.
Rules first, gear second, but if you are buying your first racket for league play the beginner racket guide and the racket finder will save you money.
Scoring: 21 points, rally point, 30 cap
Every rally scores a point for whoever wins it, serving or not (Law 7). You don’t need to be serving to score, which is why it’s called rally-point scoring.
- A game is won by the first side to 21 points (Law 7.2).
- At 20-all, you need a two-point lead: 22-20, 23-21 and so on (Law 7.4).
- At 29-all, the side that scores the 30th point wins. There is no two-point rule past that (Law 7.5).
- A match is the best of three games (Law 7.1).
- The side that wins a game serves first in the next one (Law 7.6).
Call the server’s score first, always. “11-9” means the server has 11.
The 15-point system arriving in 2027
At its AGM on 25 April 2026, the BWF voted to make 3x15 the standard scoring system from 4 January 2027. Games go to 15, you need a two-point lead at 14-all, and the game is capped at 21 (at 20-all, the next point wins). The mid-game interval and the change of ends in the third game move from 11 points to 8. Everything else, including rally-point scoring and the winner serving first in the next game, stays the same. 3x15 becomes the standard, but BWF keeps 3x21 as an approved alternate system that Member Associations, clubs and leagues “may choose” for domestic competitions (BWF: key changes under the 3x15 scoring system), so check what your league has decided before your first match of 2027. The full rule set, the trial history and a club FAQ are in the 3x15 scoring system explained.
Intervals and changing ends
You get a break of up to 60 seconds in each game when the leading score reaches 11 (Law 16.2.1), and up to 120 seconds between games (Law 16.2.2). Under 3x15 the mid-game interval moves to 8.
You change ends at the end of the first game, at the end of the second if there’s a third, and in the third game when a side first reaches 11 (Law 8.1), or 8 under the 2027 system. If you forget, swap as soon as someone notices and the shuttle is dead; the score stands (Law 8.2).
Serving: the 1.15 m rule and everything else
The serve is the most legislated moment in the sport. Law 9.1 is the list a service judge works from, and it applies to you too.
Height. At the moment the racket hits it, the whole shuttle must be below 1.15 metres from the court surface (Law 9.1.6). This replaced the old “below the waist” rule, trialled from 2018, and the racket head no longer has to point downwards. For most adults 1.15 m is about hip height. The Laws keep an alternative for events played without the fixed-height measuring device, which is most club and league badminton: the whole shuttle must be below the server’s waist at contact, where the waist is taken as a line level with the lowest part of the bottom rib, and the racket shaft must point downwards (the alternative to Law 9.1.6 in the BWF Laws). Which version applies is decided by the organiser, so check before a league match.
Feet. Server and receiver stand in diagonally opposite service courts without touching the lines (Law 9.1.3). Part of both feet must stay on the floor, stationary, from the start of the serve until the shuttle is hit (Law 9.1.4). Dragging the back foot forward as you serve is a fault.
The hit. The racket must strike the base (cork) of the shuttle first, not the feathers (Law 9.1.5). The racket must move forward continuously from the start of the swing to contact (Law 9.1.7). Stopping at the top of the backswing to wait for the receiver to twitch is an undue delay and a fault (Law 9.1.1 and 9.1.2). Swinging and missing the shuttle entirely is also a fault (Law 9.1.8); it isn’t a free second attempt.
Which side. The server serves from the right service court when their own score is 0 or even, and from the left when it’s odd (Law 10.1 for singles, Law 11.1 for doubles). The shuttle must land in the diagonally opposite service court. The receiver must be ready, but if they attempt a return they are considered ready (Law 9.4).
Doubles rotation. In doubles only the server’s side changes courts, and only when they win a point while serving (Law 11.1.5). The receiving side stays put. When the serve passes to the other pair, whoever is standing in the correct court for their score serves. Remember “serving side swaps on a point won, receiving side never moves” and you’ll never be in the wrong box. Positioning after the serve is covered in doubles rotation explained, and hitting the serve itself in how to serve in badminton.
Court dimensions: singles vs doubles
The court is 13.40 m long and 6.10 m wide, marked with 40 mm lines (Law 1.1), and the lines count as in. The net is 1.524 m high at the centre and 1.55 m at the posts (Law 1.10).
| Shot | Singles | Doubles |
|---|---|---|
| Side line during a rally | Inner line (5.18 m wide) | Outer line (6.10 m wide) |
| Back line during a rally | Back boundary | Back boundary |
| Serve, side limit | Inner side line | Outer side line |
| Serve, back limit | Back boundary (long and narrow) | Doubles long service line, 0.76 m in from the back (short and wide) |
| Serve, front limit | Short service line, 1.98 m from net | Short service line, 1.98 m from net |
So singles is played long and narrow, doubles is played wide, and the only time the back “tramline” matters is a doubles serve: a doubles serve that lands in that 0.76 m strip is out, but the same shuttle during a rally is in.
Faults you’ll actually see
Law 13 is the full list. These are the ones that come up every session.
- The shuttle lands outside the lines, goes through or under the net, or fails to pass the net (Law 13.3).
- The shuttle hits the ceiling, a wall, a player, or clothing (Law 13.3). Most halls have a local rule for the ceiling; without one, it’s a fault, not a let.
- A player touches the net or posts with racket, body or clothing while the shuttle is in play (Law 13.4).
- A player reaches over the net to hit the shuttle (Law 13.4). You may follow through over the net after making contact on your own side, and you may hit a shuttle that is sitting exactly on the tape.
- A player hits the shuttle twice in succession, or partners hit it one after the other (Law 13.3). Frame then strings in one single movement is not a double hit; two distinct movements is.
- Carrying or slinging the shuttle on the strings (Law 13.3).
- Any of the service faults above (Law 13.1).
Lets
A let means replay the point from the same server (Law 14). The common ones are: the server serves before the receiver is ready; the shuttle sits on top of the net or hangs in it after going over, but only after the serve has been returned (on the serve itself that’s a fault, Law 13.2); the shuttle disintegrates; a line judge is unsighted and nobody can decide; or something unforeseen happens, like a shuttle from the next court rolling under your feet.
One that catches people: a serve that clips the tape and lands in the correct service court is good. Play on.
Before your next club night
Print a copy of the BWF Laws (free on bwfbadminton.com under Statutes, Section 4.1) and keep it in your kit bag. Before January 2027, find out whether your league is switching to 15-point games. And if your serve height is the thing people grumble about, measure 1.15 m on a wall and practise serving next to it for a week.
