Statistical Scoring Rules

SECTION 1 — FIRST DOWNS

A first down shall be recorded whenever:
- The yardsticks are ordered forward by the officials on a sequence of downs,
- A touchdown is scored on an offensive play from scrimmage,
- A gain from scrimmage is made on the last play in a half that would have resulted in a first down being awarded had time not run out.
A first down shall NOT be awarded whenever:
- A team first gains possession as a result of a kick or turnover.
- A team gains sufficient yards but loses the ball via a turnover.
First downs gained are subdivided to show the type of play responsible for the gain, as follows:
1. By Rushing — means that the play that resulted in a new first down being awarded was an initial rushing attempt.
2. By Passing — means that the play that resulted in a new first down being awarded was a passing play.
3. By Penalty — means that the yardsticks were ordered forward as a result of the application of a penalty.

THE OFFICIAL PLAYING RULES FOR THE CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2023

In searchable permalink form

Tips on Linking to the Rulebook
Table of Contents

CFLdb is in need of a copy of the CFL 2012 and 2014 Rulebook. If you can loan/provide an electronic copy/help, please reach out.

You are reading the 2023 version of the rulebook. Other available versions of this page are:

Please report any issues with the converted rulebook.

Credits

Converted to the web by CFLdb. An Adobe Acrobat PDF of the current version is available.

Publication Credits

Content compiled and written by Jeff Harbin and Andre Proulx

The CFL Official Rule Book is published annually by the Canadian Football League. Any inquiries regarding the CFL Official Playing Rules may be directed to Darren Hackwood, Associate Vice-President of Officiating at dhackwood@cfl.ca. Any inquiries regarding CFL Statistical Scoring Rules may be directed to Jeff Krever, Head, CFL Player and Game Statistics at jkrever@cfl.ca.