Rink Buddy › Hockey rules › Hockey penalties list

Hockey penalties list

Most hockey penalties are minors: two minutes in the penalty box while the team plays shorthanded. A minor is 2 minutes¹; a double minor is 4 minutes¹; a major is 5 minutes¹; a misconduct is 10 minutes¹. The table below lists 33 penalties with their minutes and NHL rule numbers.

Every penalty

Penalty	Type	Minutes	What it is	NHL rule
Minor penalty	minor	2 min	Player off for two minutes with no substitute; ends early if the other team scores.¹	Rule 16
Bench minor	minor	2 min	Two minutes against the team; the coach picks any skater to serve it.¹	Rule 17
Double minor	double minor	4 min	Player off for four minutes with no substitute.¹	Rule 18
Major penalty	major	5 min	Player off for five minutes with no substitute; does not end on a goal. A third major in one game brings an automatic game misconduct.¹	Rule 20
Misconduct	misconduct	10 min	Player off for ten minutes, but a teammate can replace him right away, so his team is not shorthanded.¹	Rule 22
Game misconduct	game misconduct	rest of game (10 in records)	Player is out for the rest of the game; a substitute may replace him. Ten minutes go into the records.¹	Rule 23
Match penalty	match	rest of game (5 served; 15 in records)	For trying to injure or injuring an opponent on purpose. Player is ejected and suspended until the Commissioner rules; a teammate serves five minutes.¹	Rule 21
Penalty shot	penalty shot	n/a	A free attempt from center ice against the goalie alone, given to restore a scoring chance lost to a foul, such as being fouled from behind on a breakaway.¹	Rule 24
Tripping	minor	2 min	Using the stick or any body part to make an opponent trip or fall. A penalty shot can be awarded if it takes away a breakaway.¹	Rule 57
Hooking	minor (major if it injures)	2 (5 + game misconduct if injury)	Using the stick to hold back or impede an opponent.¹	Rule 55
Slashing	minor or major	2 (5 + game misconduct for a major)	Swinging the stick at an opponent, contact or not; a major is required if it injures.¹	Rule 61
Holding	minor	2 min	Grabbing or holding an opponent with hands, arms or legs.¹	Rule 54
Holding the stick	minor	2 min	Holding onto an opponent's stick; called as part of the holding rule.¹	Rule 54
Interference	minor (major possible)	2 (5 for a major)	Impeding an opponent who does not have the puck; the 2025-26 rule says a minor can be called, leaving it to the referee's judgment.¹	Rule 56
Roughing	minor	2 min	A punch or shove, usually at the head, in a scuffle not serious enough for a major, or pulling off an opponent's helmet during play.¹	Rule 51
High-sticking	minor or double minor	2 (4 if it causes injury, such as drawing blood)	Stick contact with an opponent above the shoulders. Injury, with or without blood, makes it a double minor; a deliberate attempt to injure is a match penalty.¹	Rule 60
Cross-checking	minor or major	2 (5 + game misconduct for a major)	Checking an opponent with the stick shaft held between both hands.¹	Rule 59
Boarding	minor or major	2 or 5	Checking or pushing a defenseless opponent so that he hits the boards violently. A major that injures the head or face adds a game misconduct.¹	Rule 41
Charging	minor or major	2 or 5	Skating or jumping a long distance into an opponent to deliver a violent hit, including on a goalie in his crease.¹	Rule 42
Elbowing	minor or major	2 or 5	Hitting an opponent with an extended elbow. Injury to the head or face requires a major plus a game misconduct.¹	Rule 45
Kneeing	minor or major	2 or 5 (major adds game misconduct)	Leading with the knee, sometimes sticking the leg out, to hit an opponent.¹	Rule 50
Delay of game (puck over glass)	minor	2 min	Shooting or batting the puck straight out of play from your own defending zone, where there is glass. Pucks into the bench or out directly off a faceoff do not count.¹	Rule 63
Too many men on the ice	bench minor	2 min	Having an extra player on the ice during a change, such as a new player stepping on before the player leaving is within five feet of the bench.¹	Rule 74
Unsportsmanlike conduct	minor	2 min	Abusive language or gestures, hair-pulling, biting, grabbing a face mask, or similar behavior.¹	Rule 75
Fighting	major	5 min	Repeated punches, or wrestling that the linespersons cannot easily break up. Instigating or continuing a fight can add more penalties.¹	Rule 46
Diving / embellishment	minor	2 min	Faking or exaggerating a fall, reaction or injury to try to draw a penalty.¹	Rule 64
Goaltender interference	minor or major	2 or 5	An attacking player making intentional or deliberate contact with the goalie, in or out of the crease. A goal can also be taken away if the goalie was impaired.¹	Rule 69
Butt-ending	double minor or major	4 for an attempt; 5 + game misconduct for contact	Jabbing or checking an opponent with the top end of the stick shaft, above the upper hand.¹	Rule 58
Spearing	double minor or major	4 if no contact; 5 + game misconduct if contact	Stabbing at an opponent with the point of the stick blade.¹	Rule 62
Head-butting	double minor or major	4 for an attempt; 5 + game misconduct for contact	Leading with the head or helmet to hit an opponent.¹	Rule 47
Illegal check to the head	minor (match possible)	2 min	A hit where the head is the main point of contact and the contact could have been avoided. There is no major for this rule.¹	Rule 48
Clipping	minor (major if it injures)	2 (5 + game misconduct if injury)	Throwing the body across or below an opponent's knees, or lowering the body to check at the knees.¹	Rule 44
Checking from behind	major	5 + game misconduct	Hitting an opponent from behind on the back when he cannot see it coming to protect himself. There is no minor for this rule.¹	Rule 43

The details

Referees review on video every major (except fighting) and every match penalty, and may keep it, reduce it or cancel it. (Rule 20)¹

In USA Hockey, every major penalty also carries a game misconduct; NFHS and NCAA allow a major on its own.²

USA Hockey has no diving or embellishment penalty; NFHS and NCAA call it a minor.²

A USA Hockey match penalty is treated as the same thing as an NFHS or NCAA disqualification: five minutes, immediate ejection and a further suspension.²

More hockey rules

What is a power play in hockey? · What is icing in hockey? · What is offside in hockey? · All hockey rules

Sources

NHL Official Rules 2025-26 (league) · accessed 2026-10-23
USA Hockey / NFHS Playing Rules Committees: USAH-NFHS-NCAA Rules Comparison 2026-27 (updated 9/30/2026) · accessed 2026-10-23

Rules are paraphrased, not quoted; the rulebook wins wherever wording matters. NHL rules unless a league is named.