Can you lateral in flag football?
Yes. But only behind the line of scrimmage.
A backward pass (a lateral or pitch) is legal as long as the ball hasn’t been carried past the line of scrimmage and possession hasn’t changed.
So once a receiver catches the ball downfield and lands, they can’t pitch it back: the classic hook-and-lateral is a foul. The one exception is a receiver who controls the ball in the air and pitches it back before landing, because the pass isn’t complete until they come down.
IFAF Flag Football Rules 2023, R 7-2-1, R 2-10-3
Illegal backward pass: 5 yards from where it was thrown, plus loss of down (signal S35).
NFL FLAG also allows laterals only behind the line of scrimmage, so a hook-and-lateral is a foul there too.
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