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Handball

Handball court dimensions, the 6-meter and 9-meter lines, and the goal from the IHF Rules of the Game, with every figure labeled as a rule or a guideline.

Governing body

An IHF handball court is 40 m (131 ft) long and 20 m (66 ft) wide. In front of each goal, the goal-area line (6-meter line) is a 3 m flat section plus two 6 m radius arcs struck from the goalposts. The dashed free-throw line (9-meter line) uses the same shape 3 m further out, but its arcs stop at the side line rather than the goal line. That is not a simplification on our part. It is a real consequence of putting a 9 m radius on a court only 20 m wide. The goal is 3 m wide by 2 m high, posts 8 cm square. Every figure here comes from the IHF Rules of the Game, labeled as either a rule or a non-binding guideline.

Perspective diagram of an IHF handball court showing the 40 by 20 meter playing area, the goal-area line (6-meter line), the dashed free-throw line (9-meter line), the 7-meter line, the goalkeeper's restraining line (4-meter line), and the goal at 3 meters wide by 2 meters high.
Handball court drawn to scale from IHF Rule 1. Original diagram by Playfield Atlas.

Dimensions and layouts

IHF Rule 1 fixes the court at a flat 40 m by 20 m, with no permitted range the way a soccer pitch has one. The goal-area and free-throw lines are built the same way (a straight section plus two quarter-circle arcs centered on the goalposts), only at different radii: 6 m and 9 m. Only the free-throw line’s arcs get clipped by the side line before they finish a full quarter circle. The full table, every rule cited by number, and the reason the two lines look different near the corner are in the handball court dimensions, markings and layout guide.

Equipment and markings

The goal stands 3 m wide by 2 m high, posts and crossbar 8 cm square, painted in two contrasting colors. Two short marks sit in front of goal and are easy to confuse: the 7-meter line, a full meter long at 7 m out, and the goalkeeper’s restraining line (the 4-meter line), just 15 cm long at 4 m out. A 4 m diameter circle marks the center throw-off area, and a minimum safety zone of 1 m along the side lines and 2 m behind the goals surrounds the whole court.

Overhead plan

The same surface seen from straight above, drawn to scale. Nothing is foreshortened here, so every figure can be read off the drawing the way a tape measure would take it.

Overhead plan of an IHF handball court drawn to scale, showing the 40 by 20 meter playing area, the goal-area line and the dashed free-throw line arcs stopping short of the side line, the 7-meter and 4-meter lines, the center circle and the substitution lines.
The same court from directly above. Every figure is the one IHF Rule 1 publishes.

Detail sheet

A rule book fixes more than the shape of the surface, and the rest of it is too small to draw at court scale: a mark a few centimeters long, a post standing a meter off the sideline, the clearance around the whole thing. Each one here has its own frame and its own scale.

Detail sheet for a handball court: how the goal-area line's 6-meter arcs and the free-throw line's 9-meter arcs share the same center at the goalpost, the goal net depth printed two different ways in the same IHF rule book, the 7-meter line compared with the much shorter 4-meter line, and the substitution line's tick 4.5 meters from the center line.
Why the free-throw line's arcs stop at the side line instead of the goal line, plus the figures the court drawing is too small to carry. Original diagram by Playfield Atlas.

Official sources

This page cites one governing body: the International Handball Federation, whose Rules of the Game is the sport’s single global standard for indoor play.

These figures were checked against that document on 10 September 2026. How each one is dated and marked as a rule or a guideline is set out on the methodology page. If a number here looks wrong, report it through corrections.

Explore the playing surface

Handball court guides and tools

Use the verified guides below for dimensions, markings, planning details, and the history behind the playing surface.