Centre Pass Rules in Netball

The centre pass is how every phase of open play in netball begins, and it brings several other rules together at once.

The rule in plain English

Play restarts with a centre pass at the start of every quarter and after every goal. The Centre takes the pass from inside the centre circle, and possession of the centre pass alternates between teams regardless of who scored. Every other player must be standing in a third of the court their position permits before the pass is thrown, and the pass itself must land in, or be caught in, the centre third.

A simple example

After a goal, the scoring team's Centre does not automatically take the next centre pass — possession alternates, so if the team that just scored took the previous centre pass, the other team's Centre takes this one. Every player lines up in their permitted third — GS and GK, for instance, stay out of the centre third entirely — and the Centre has three seconds from the umpire's signal to release the pass.

Legal vs illegal

What the umpire is looking for

Before signalling for the pass, the umpire checks that every player is in a permitted starting position. After signalling, they're timing the Centre's release and watching where the ball is first caught or lands.

Restart

If a centre pass infringement occurs before the pass is thrown — for example a player offside at the start — it's corrected before the pass is retaken. If the pass itself is thrown illegally or received outside the centre third, it typically results in a free pass to the non-offending team at the relevant point.

Querying who takes the centre pass

Under the 2024 rules, a team captain can formally query with the umpire which team should be taking the centre pass — but only before it's actually thrown. Once the pass has been taken, that window closes, which is why it's worth checking early if there's any doubt after a goal.

Common misunderstandings

• "The scoring team gets the next centre pass." Possession alternates regardless of who scored — this is one of netball's most commonly misunderstood points by newcomers, and exactly the kind of situation the query allowance above exists for.
• Confusing this with offside generally. Centre pass positioning is a specific application of the broader offside rule at the moment play restarts.

Player tips

• Know your position's permitted thirds cold (see the 7 netball positions explained) so you're never scrambling to get onside as the umpire signals.
• As Centre, decide your first pass option before you catch the ball where possible — the three-second limit applies to you too.

Umpire tips

• Check every player's position before signalling, not just the two Centres — a single offside player elsewhere on court still counts.
• Keep the three-second count consistent with how you'd time a held ball elsewhere on court.

Related rules

The centre pass draws together offside positioning and the same three-second logic as held ball. For how teams use the centre pass to build an attack, see centre pass tactics.