GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
After the referee authorizes an indoor-volleyball serve, how many tosses and how much time does the server have?
Under the FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025–2028, the first referee authorizes service after checking that both teams are ready and the server has the ball. The server then has eight seconds from the referee’s whistle to hit the ball, using one hand or any part of the arm, after one toss or release. Dribbling or moving the ball in the hands is permitted. On a jump serve, the service-zone position is judged at take-off, not at the later landing.
For Readers interpreting an early serve, a second toss or a jump-service foot fault. · Updated
One toss does not ban every movement of the ball
The server may dribble or move the ball while holding it. The serving action still allows only one toss or release before the hit, which must be made with one hand or part of an arm. A second toss is not an extra service attempt granted by the rules.
Check the feet at contact or jump take-off
The service zone is the area behind the end line. At the service hit, or at take-off for a jump serve, the server cannot touch the court, including the end line, or the floor outside that zone. After the service hit, the player may step or land inside the court or outside the service zone.
Use the edition named for the competition
This guide follows the FIVB indoor 2025–2028 edition, whose cover says it applies to competitions beginning after January 1, 2025; the official FIVB index lists that English edition as current. FIVB’s February 2026 announcement describes selected tests for named 2026 competition groups, subject to review. It does not establish universal adoption or a specific event’s additional instructions.
Three fictional service attempts
In one fictional branch, a server hits the ball before the first referee whistles; the service is cancelled and repeated. In a second, the server dribbles, tosses once after authorization, then tries to toss again; the one-toss limit still applies, even though the earlier dribble was permitted. In a third, a jump server takes off behind the end line within the service zone, hits within eight seconds, then lands inside the court. The position check was at take-off, so the later landing is permitted.
Related questions
When do the eight seconds begin?
At the first referee’s whistle authorizing service, not when the server starts dribbling or takes the jump.
Does the one-toss rule prohibit dribbling?
No. The FIVB rule expressly permits dribbling or moving the ball in the hands; it allows one toss or release before the service hit.
Is landing inside the court a jump-service foot fault?
Not by itself. The service-zone position is checked at the hit or jump take-off; the rule allows a later step or landing inside the court.
Sources and further reading
- FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025–2028, Rules 12.3–12.4.5 and 1.4.2; printed pp. 13, 22 and 32; implementation note on printed p. 1.
- FIVB Official Volleyball Rules index, current 2025–2028 English edition; checked October 15, 2026.
- FIVB Board of Administration approves rule tests for 2026 competitions, published February 27, 2026; test scope.