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Basketball rules & eligibility, by governing body

Tell SixSevenBall which league your team plays under — Ontario Basketball, OFSAA, Canada Basketball, AAU, NFHS, USA Basketball, or any of the 50 US state high school associations — and get cited, research-verified rules plus a real age-eligibility checker for your own roster.

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cited
sources
6
Governing bodies with cited, dated facts — not generic summaries
53
US state & DC high school associations, 27 confirmed by direct page fetch
1 roster
Real eligibility checker — enter your cutoff once, checks every player automatically

Governing bodies covered

Every fact below is cited to an official published source with the date it was last checked — not a paraphrase from memory. Age cutoffs and eligibility numbers reset every season, so we tell you exactly where to go verify the current ones too.

Ontario Basketball

OBA

The provincial sport organization for basketball in Ontario — oversees community and rep-level club basketball, coach certification pathways, and sanctioning for tournaments and leagues across the province.

2025-26 season age divisions are set by birth year with a cutoff of Dec 31, 2025: U10 (born 2016+), U11 (2015+), U12 (2014+), U13 (2013+), U14 (2012+), U15 (2011+), U16 (2010+), U17 (2009+), U19 (2007+).

basketball.on.ca

Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations

OFSAA

The provincial body for Ontario high school sport. Regional school athletic associations run regular-season league play; OFSAA runs the provincial championship structure that qualifying teams compete to reach.

Senior-level age eligibility: a student is eligible if they have not reached their 19th birthday by January 1 prior to the start of the school year in which the competition is held. (Junior category cutoff is a 15th birthday; Novice is a 14th birthday and Grade 9 only, max one year.)

www.ofsaa.on.ca

Canada Basketball

CB

The national governing body for basketball in Canada (a FIBA member) — oversees national team programs and national coach certification, and partners with 13 Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (like Ontario Basketball) rather than running grassroots leagues directly.

The official domain is basketball.ca (not canadabasketball.ca). Canada Basketball is a full FIBA member and Canada's national sport organization for basketball.

www.basketball.ca

Amateur Athletic Union

AAU

The largest US youth club/travel basketball circuit. AAU basketball runs its own age-division club and travel basketball nationwide, publishing annual membership, age/grade eligibility, and tournament rules separate from school associations.

AAU basketball uses a dual age-OR-grade eligibility rule, not a single cutoff. For the 2025–26 season (Sept 1, 2025 – Aug 31, 2026): a player qualifies for a division if they are no older than that division's age limit as of Aug 31, 2026, OR they're in that division's grade as of Oct 1, 2025 and no older than one year above the age limit by Aug 31, 2026.

aausports.org

National Federation of State High School Associations

NFHS

The US umbrella body that writes the model playing rules for high school basketball — most state high school athletic associations adopt these as their base rulebook, then layer on their own eligibility bylaws, classification system, and modifications. NFHS itself does not set individual-state eligibility rules.

NFHS "is responsible for making and maintaining the rules for high school sports in the United States," serving 51 member state associations covering roughly 19,983 high schools and 15.2 million students.

www.nfhs.org

USA Basketball

USAB

The US National Governing Body (NGB) for basketball, recognized by FIBA and the USOPC. Its core role is selecting and training USA national teams — it does not directly operate local/grassroots youth leagues, but its Youth Development Division sets coach education, licensing, and safety standards.

USA Basketball does not directly operate grassroots/local youth leagues (that's the domain of orgs like AAU and travel leagues). Its youth-facing arm, the Youth Development Division (established 2013), sets coach education, licensing, and safety standards rather than running leagues itself.

www.usab.com
In the app

How the eligibility checker works

  1. 01Pick your league or state — we surface the cited rules and a link to the official source instantly.
  2. 02Enter your league's cutoff date and age range once, straight from the official numbers.
  3. 03Add each player's birthdate — the app computes their age as of your cutoff date automatically.
  4. 04Anyone outside your age range gets flagged instantly, before it becomes a forfeit or a disqualification.
Try it free no card. no catch.

Questions

Q1What is the AAU basketball age eligibility rule?
AAU basketball uses a dual age-OR-grade rule, not a single cutoff. For the 2025–26 season, a player qualifies for a division if they're no older than that division's age limit as of August 31, 2026, OR they're in that division's grade as of October 1, 2025 and no older than one year above the age limit by August 31, 2026. AAU republishes this chart — and its exact dates — every season, so always check the current boys'/girls' basketball eligibility page at aausports.org before rostering a team.
Q2What is the OFSAA basketball eligibility age limit?
Under OFSAA's Senior-level rules, a student is eligible if they have not reached their 19th birthday by January 1 prior to the start of the school year in which the competition is held (Junior category cutoff is a 15th birthday; Novice is a 14th birthday, Grade 9 only, one year max). Students also get a maximum of 5 consecutive years of eligibility from the date they enter Grade 9. Source: OFSAA R1 Regulations, effective September 2025.
Q3What is the OFSAA transfer rule for basketball players?
A school cannot play a student who transferred from another school within the previous 12 months, unless an approved exception applies — such as a residence change, school closure, documented bullying/abuse, or a mental-health-professional-recommended transfer — adjudicated by the OFSAA Transfers Committee. A player who completes one full term with, or tries out/practises with, a post-secondary team becomes ineligible for OFSAA competition in all sports for the rest of their high school career. Source: OFSAA R1 Regulations, effective September 2025.
Q4How does Ontario Basketball (OBA) set age divisions?
Ontario Basketball sets age divisions by birth year with a cutoff of December 31 each year. For the 2025-26 season: U10 (born 2016+), U11 (2015+), U12 (2014+), U13 (2013+), U14 (2012+), U15 (2011+), U16 (2010+), U17 (2009+), U19 (2007+). A player can be "called up" to play one age group above their own for a maximum of one sanctioned tournament OR four sanctioned games in a season — not both. Source: 2025-26 OBA Rules & Regulations Manual.
Q5Does NFHS set high school basketball eligibility rules directly?
No. NFHS (the National Federation of State High School Associations) writes the model playing rules that most state associations adopt as their base rulebook, but it explicitly defers eligibility and transfer rule-making to each of its 51 member state associations individually. A widely-adopted convention NFHS itself describes as existing "in all states" is that students who turn 19 before September 1 are typically ineligible, with an "eight-semester rule" common across grades 9-12 — but exact numbers vary by state, so always check your own state association.
Q6Where do I find my US state's high school basketball eligibility rules?
Every US state (plus DC) has its own athletic or activities association that sets eligibility, transfer, and residency rules independently — there's no single national rulebook. SixSevenBall's Rules & Eligibility tool includes a research-verified directory of all 51 official state association websites (e.g. UIL for Texas, CIF for California, OHSAA for Ohio) so you can jump straight to your state's current, authoritative rules.
Q7What coach certification does Ontario Basketball require?
All OBA coaches must hold NCCP "Trained" certification (minimum) in the correct LTAD category before coaching — Learn to Train (U9–U12), Train to Train (U13–U14), or Train to Compete (U15–U19) — and must reach full "Certified" status within one year or pay a $100 late-evaluation fee. Source: 2025-26 OBA Rules & Regulations Manual.
Q8What is the USA Basketball Coach License and is it required?
The USA Basketball Coach License is a national coach-education program requiring account creation, the USA Basketball Youth Development Course, an NCAA eligibility course, SafeSport certification, and a criminal background check, renewed each season. USA Basketball itself doesn't run grassroots youth leagues — its role is national team pathways and coach education — so whether the license is required for your specific program depends on that program, not USA Basketball directly.
Q9How is basketball age determined for Canada Basketball national team programs?
Canada Basketball's national team age categories are U15, U16, U17, U18, U19, and U23, plus senior teams. Grassroots-level age divisions (like U11-U13) are set provincially — by bodies like Ontario Basketball — not by Canada Basketball nationally, so check your provincial association for club-level age cutoffs.
Q10Can SixSevenBall tell me my exact eligibility numbers automatically?
No, and this is intentional — age cutoffs, semester limits, and transfer rules are set by your specific governing body and change season to season. Rather than guess at those numbers (which could get a player wrongly rostered), SixSevenBall shows you the cited, dated facts we've verified for major governing bodies and links directly to your state or league's official source. You then enter your own cutoff date and age range once, and the app does the math against your roster automatically from there.

This is research-backed reference, not an official rulebook. Rules and eligibility windows change season to season — always confirm current requirements directly with your governing body before making a roster decision.Last research pass: July 2026

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