Badminton Service Fault Rules: 6 Faults Called at Club Level

Last checked: August 2026 · Written by the player-led team at Badminton House.

The current badminton service fault rules require six practical checks: start inside the correct diagonal court without touching a line, keep some part of both feet in contact with the court and stationary, release without spin and hit the base first, contact the whole shuttle below 1.15 m, use one continuous forward action without delay, and make contact so the shuttle travels upward toward the receiver’s service court.

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First, forget the old waist and downward-shaft tests

For standard play, service height is now judged against a fixed measurement: every part of the shuttle must be below 1.15 m from the court at the instant the racket hits it. Advice about contacting below the server’s waist or pointing the racket shaft downward is not the current standard BWF test.

That distinction matters when club players repeat rules learned years ago. Law 9.1.6 of the current BWF Laws of Badminton uses the fixed height. Use it as the legal reference, not the location of your ribs, waistline, racket head or wrist. Para badminton has class-specific provisions in the same document.

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Six service faults to check one by one

Questionable serves are easier to diagnose when you stop judging the whole action at once. Check the setup, feet, release, contact height, racket movement and delivery separately.

1. Standing on a service-court boundary

The rule: Server and receiver must stand in diagonally opposite service courts without touching the lines that bound them. A shoe on the centre line, short service line, side line or relevant back boundary fails that setup.

The fix: Set both shoes a small, comfortable distance inside your service court before raising the shuttle. That margin is a practice choice, not an extra distance required by the Laws. Serving from the wrong right-or-left court for the score is handled as a service-court error and corrected when the shuttle is not in play; the existing score stands.

2. Moving or lifting a foot during delivery

The rule: From the start of service until delivery, some part of both the server’s and receiver’s feet must remain in contact with the court, and both feet must stay stationary.

The fix: Choose a balanced stance you can hold without reaching. Practise with quiet feet first; add tactical body position only after the delivery stays stable.

3. Adding spin or contacting the skirt first

The rule: Release the shuttle without adding spin, then make the racket’s first contact with its base. Do not roll, pinch-flick or twist the shuttle before the hit, and do not lead with the feather or synthetic skirt.

The fix: Use a calm release and present the cork cleanly to the strings. For the history behind this provision, see our guide to the banned badminton spin serve.

4. Contacting any part of the shuttle at or above 1.15 m

The rule: At impact, the whole shuttle must be below 1.15 m from the court surface. It is not enough for the cork alone to be below that height; every part of the skirt must also remain below it.

The fix: Build a repeatable setup comfortably under the limit. Trying to sit exactly on the boundary makes the serve harder to reproduce and assess.

5. Delaying or stopping the racket action

The rule: Neither side may cause undue delay once both players are ready. After the server completes the racket head’s backward movement, any delay before the first forward movement is an undue delay. That first forward movement is the start of service, and from then the racket must continue forward until delivery.

The fix: Complete your routine before the backswing. When ready, use one uncomplicated back-and-forward rhythm instead of trying to surprise the receiver with a pause.

6. Missing the shuttle or producing an illegal flight

The rule: An attempted service ends when the racket hits the shuttle or misses it. A legal service travels upward from the racket, passes over the net and, if not intercepted, would land on or inside the receiver’s service court.

The fix: Reduce pace until you can strike the base cleanly and send the shuttle through a generous target area. A complete miss is not a free restart.

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The receiver’s feet and readiness count too

Service legality is not only the server’s responsibility. The receiver must also begin inside the diagonally opposite court without touching its lines, then keep some part of both feet on the floor and both feet stationary from the service start through delivery.

The server must not serve before the receiver is ready. If the receiver attempts a return, however, the Laws treat that receiver as ready. When a service is delivered before a genuinely unready receiver, Law 14 identifies the situation as a let rather than an automatic point.

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A simple phone-and-partner self-check

Use video to find repeatable habits, not to recreate an official decision. A side view can reveal height, release and racket rhythm, while a partner can watch the feet in real time. Borderline match calls still belong to the appointed technical official.

1. Set the phone side-on. Put it securely outside the playing area and square to the contact point.
2. Add a 1.15 m reference. In a safe practice space, place a visible marker in the same plane as expected contact, off the floor and outside movement paths.
3. Record ten normal serves. Do not slow the action merely to pass the check.
4. Give your partner one job. Ask them to watch whether either foot shifts or lifts from the start through contact.
5. Review one checkpoint per replay. Check height, release and base-first contact, then the continuous forward movement.
6. Repeat with a receiver. Confirm both players start off the lines, keep still feet and agree on a readiness signal.

If footage is too angled or blurry to settle a borderline height question, treat it as inconclusive. Reposition and repeat the practice instead of using uncertain video as proof that a match decision was wrong.