01NBA
Can you use your forearm in basketball: the general rule
Rule 12B, Section I describes the personal foul. A player shall not hold, push, charge into or impede the progress of an opponent by extending a hand, arm, leg or knee, or by bending the body into a position that is not normal. Contact that re-routes an opponent is a foul which must be called immediately.
On the ball handler, the rule is more specific. Contact initiated by the defensive player guarding a player with the ball is not legal, and the rule says this contact includes, but is not limited to, forearm, hands or body check.
02NBA
The exceptions
| Situation | What the defender may do |
|---|---|
| The offensive player has his back to the basket below the free throw line extended, outside the Lower Defensive Box | Apply contact with a forearm |
| The offensive player is in a post-up position with the ball in the Lower Defensive Box | Apply contact with a forearm and/or one hand with a bent elbow |
| The offensive player has the ball at any time in the Lower Defensive Box | Apply contact with a forearm |
| The offensive player is in a post-up position in the Lower Defensive Box | Position a leg between the legs of the opponent to maintain position |
The rule adds that the forearm in these exceptions is solely for the purpose of maintaining a defensive position. If a defender's foot leaves the floor in an attempt to dislodge the opponent, it is a foul immediately.
Incidental contact with the hand against an offensive player is ignored if it does not affect the player's speed, quickness, balance or rhythm.
03NBA
What the exceptions do not allow
A defender who uses the forearm to push, hold or reroute a ball handler outside the exceptions has committed a personal foul. That is a foul on the defender, which counts toward his six personal fouls and toward the team fouls, as described on the page about PF in basketball. The rule on a dribbler is the mirror image: a dribbler may not charge into an opponent who has established a legal guarding position, and the dribbler is responsible for illegal contact when in control of the body.
04NBA
The restricted area and the box
The exceptions refer to areas of the court that the rulebook marks. The restricted area under the basket is a half-circle 4 feet from the center of the basket ring, and the Lower Defensive Box is the area named in the forearm exceptions. A forearm on a player with the ball is allowed there for the purpose of maintaining position.
When a foul is called on a play near the basket, the crew has a procedure. If the two officials differ on a block or charge involving the restricted area or the lower defensive box, they confer and share information to try to make the correct call.
05NBA
How the rules were checked
The wording comes from Rule 12B, Section I, of the official 2025-26 NBA playing rules. The Lower Defensive Box is a marked area of the court defined in the rulebook, and this page does not give its dimensions.
The rules are reviewed each year. This page was checked against the 2025-26 edition. More basketball pages are collected on the NBA hub, and the page on whether basketball is a contact sport covers the wider rule.
06NBA
Common questions about the forearm
Can you use your forearm in basketball?
A defender may not use it to check a ball handler, except in the post-up situations the rule lists.
When may a defender use a forearm?
On a player with his back to the basket below the free throw line extended outside the Lower Defensive Box, or on a player with the ball in the Lower Defensive Box.
Can a defender use a hand?
A forearm and/or one hand with a bent elbow is allowed on a post-up player in the Lower Defensive Box.
What is the purpose of the exception?
Solely to maintain a defensive position.
What if a defender lifts his foot to dislodge the opponent?
It is a foul immediately.
Is incidental hand contact a foul?
Not if it does not affect the player's speed, quickness, balance or rhythm.
Does this apply in college or high school?
This page covers the NBA rulebook only.