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This page explains what lacrosse's rule books, governing bodies and standards bodies publish. It is not a substitute for coaching from a qualified coach, and it does not replace medical advice.
What a helmet can and cannot do
Nothing on this page says a helmet or headgear is certified, safe or legal. The standard on the label and the rule of the body running the game decide that, and certification marks are checked by the officials and the governing body. No helmet is presented here as concussion prevention. NOCSAE's helmet standard says it does not claim to address every safety problem, and it requires every helmet to carry warnings that no helmet protects against all impacts and that severe head or neck injury, paralysis or death may still occur. A search-result summary of USA Lacrosse's June 2023 concussion guidance, whose PDF could not be opened, says no current helmet or headgear can prevent concussion; that wording is unconfirmed. A suspected head injury or concussion needs medical care, and each body's rules are on concussion by body.
Two products, two standards
| Hard-shell helmet with facemask | Women's field headgear | |
|---|---|---|
| Worn in | Men's and boys' field, men's sixes, box, and goalkeepers in every code | Women's and girls' field and women's sixes, by field players only, where the rules allow it |
| Standard | NOCSAE ND041, current edition ND041-15m24 (modified June 2024) | ASTM F3137, active edition F3137-15(2022), last updated 29 December 2022 on ASTM's store |
| What the standard covers | New helmets tested with a faceguard that complies with NOCSAE ND045 on the same model: a stability test, then drop impacts at set velocities and temperatures; no impact may exceed a severity index of 1200 | Headgear for women's field players (not goalkeepers) against incidental stick and ball impacts, in adult and youth classes, with shock-absorption, ball-impact and deformation tests; partial compliance is not allowed |
The two are not interchangeable. World Lacrosse sixes Rule 2.4.1W (2026-2028, v2.0) bars hard-shell helmets like the women's goalkeeper's for women's sixes field players, with no medical exemptions. ND041's own history records that a June 2005 revision removed the lacrosse ball impact test from the helmet standard; the effective date of ND041-15 rests only on a search-result summary (October 2015) and is unconfirmed.
Reading a hard-shell helmet's label
- Identity: ND041 requires the maker's name, the model and size, and the month and year of manufacture.
- The mark: a replica of the NOCSAE mark on the outside of the shell (section 11.8); using it requires a licence agreement with NOCSAE.
- Certification life: a helmet its maker says is not to be recertified must carry a warning saying so and stating its certification life, no longer than 5 years from manufacture (section 11.5). Makers of helmets meant to be recertified must state a recertification interval (section 11.6). NOCSAE has separate documents for recertified helmets (ND043 and ND044) and points to the National Athletic Equipment Reconditioners Association for reconditioning.
- Warnings: not to use a cracked or deformed shell or deteriorated padding, and that common substances can damage the helmet.
- Markings are not proof: in its 2019 consumer alert about falsely marked lacrosse balls, NOCSAE advised checking the maker and model against the Safety Equipment Institute's certified-product list rather than relying on marks alone.
Who requires what, and from when
| Body, rule and date | Helmet rule |
|---|---|
| World Lacrosse men's field, Rule 17.1 (2025-2027, v1.0) | All players wear a helmet designed for lacrosse with a facemask and a chinstrap fastened on both sides. The rule names no standard. |
| World Lacrosse sixes, Rules 2.4.1M and 2.4.3 (2026-2028, v2.0) | Men's players and goalkeepers wear a lacrosse helmet with facemask; from the 2027 Sixes World Championships, helmets at World Lacrosse owned and sanctioned events must bear NOCSAE certification or a comparable standard in the product's country of origin. |
| World Lacrosse box, Rule 2.5 (2026-2028, v2.0) | Helmet and facemask approved by NOCSAE or the CSA, passing a ball and stick test (neither may pass through the mask and touch the face, and the mask covers the whole face including the chin); Rule 2.5.4 requires the chin strap or cup to stay firmly attached; Rule 2.8.2 bars added tape, characters and non-sponsor logos. |
| World Lacrosse women's field, Rule 6.A.20 (2025-2026, v1.0) | Goalkeepers wear a field lacrosse helmet with fastened chin strap, facemask and attached throat protector. Field players may not wear headgear under this book. |
| NFHS boys' high school (change summaries) | 2024, Rule 1-9-1: a lacrosse helmet meeting the NOCSAE standard with a visible warning label, chin pad and strap attached as designed. 2026, Rule 6-5-2y: losing a helmet is an illegal procedure. 2027, Rule 4-24-8: a helmet counts as lost once the chin strap is off the chin. |
| US Lacrosse, NCAA and NFHS (NOCSAE, 24 November 2014) | NOCSAE said their rules required lacrosse helmets to meet the NOCSAE standard. The current NCAA and USA Lacrosse wording was not read. |
| Lacrosse Canada (equipment regulations; 2026 memo of 28 January 2026) | A NOCSAE-approved field lacrosse helmet, or a CSA-approved hockey helmet with a CSA-approved hockey or lacrosse facemask; helmets need at least four points of contact. Its box page calls a CSA hockey helmet with a lacrosse cage the most common box set-up. |
USA Lacrosse (27 January 2026) describes the NFHS 2026 lost-helmet rule as an illegal procedure unless the official judges the helmet came off through direct contact to the head. The full detail is on helmets and NOCSAE.
Women's headgear: the rules by body and date
- USA Lacrosse: made headgear optional, and from 1 January 2017 any headgear worn must meet F3137. USA Lacrosse Magazine (22 September 2021) says ASTM approved F3137 in May 2015, after a task group formed in 2012 at USA Lacrosse's request, and that headgear was then still optional under NCAA, NFHS and USA Lacrosse rules.
- World Lacrosse women's field: the 2025-2026 book (Rule 6.A.2) does not allow field players to wear headgear. On 12 May 2026 World Lacrosse decided to permit soft-shell headgear at its owned and sanctioned events from the 2029 Women's U20 Championship, to be written into the 2027-2030 book. Both are correct for their dates.
- World Lacrosse sixes, Rule 2.4.1W: women may wear headgear meeting applicable ASTM or comparable standards, and a player wearing headgear must also wear certified eyewear; where eyewear is built in, both parts must meet their standards.
- The edition label: World Lacrosse's FAQ and May 2026 release say "ASTM F3137-15A", while ASTM's store lists F3137-15 and F3137-15(2022) with no "A" edition. We use ASTM's designation.
On evidence, the bodies are quoted, not summarised as a verdict. World Lacrosse cites a 2024 study reporting a 50 percent lower concussion rate among women wearing soft-shell headgear, without naming it. USA Lacrosse reported on 8 October 2021 a study it co-funded with NOCSAE finding 59 percent greater concussion incidence among high school girls not wearing headgear than among Florida players required to. Florida's mandate dates are disputed between sources. All of it is set out, with the limits each study states, on the headgear debate.
Recalls and decertification
On 24 November 2014 NOCSAE voided the makers' certifications of two lacrosse helmet models after finding they did not comply with ND041, and on 22 March 2012 the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of one maker's lacrosse helmets because the chin bar could break. Both are on recalls and decertification, with the model names.
Our picks by category
Lacrosse helmets
Hard-shell helmets with a full facemask. In US boys' high school play the NFHS requires the NOCSAE standard with a visible warning label; box requires NOCSAE or CSA approval and the ball and stick test; World Lacrosse sixes events require NOCSAE or comparable certification from 2027. The label should show the month and year of manufacture and, for a helmet not meant to be recertified, a certification life of no more than 5 years. Fitting is not described here; we suggest having it shown in person.
Best for: Men's and boys' field, box players and goalkeepers
Women's lacrosse headgear
Soft headgear for field players, not goalkeepers; ASTM F3137 is ASTM's standard for it, and World Lacrosse sixes also accepts comparable standards. Optional under USA Lacrosse rules, with any headgear worn required to meet F3137 since 1 January 2017 (still optional in September 2021, per USA Lacrosse Magazine); allowed in women's sixes under World Lacrosse sixes Rule 2.4.1W; not allowed under World Lacrosse's 2025-2026 women's field book, with World Lacrosse events permitting it in women's field from 2029. It is not a hard-shell helmet and is not presented here as concussion prevention.
Best for: Women's and girls' field players where the rules allow it
Women's lacrosse eyewear
Under World Lacrosse sixes Rule 2.4.1W a player wearing headgear must also wear certified eyewear, and US girls' and women's lacrosse has required eyewear since 2005 under US Lacrosse's mandate (other sources date some school and college requirements to 2004). ASTM F3077 is ASTM's standard for women's lacrosse eye protectors. See the women's kit guide.
Best for: Women's and girls' field players, with or without headgear
Sources
- NOCSAE, lacrosse standards library
- NOCSAE, ND041 standard page (newly manufactured lacrosse helmets with faceguard)
- NOCSAE, ND041-15m24 (modified June 2024)
- NOCSAE, consumer alert about KSONE lacrosse balls (5 June 2019)
- World Lacrosse, Men's Field Lacrosse Official Playing Rules 2025-2027, v1.0 (copy hosted by BC Lacrosse with World Lacrosse's permission)
- World Lacrosse, Women's Field Lacrosse Official Playing Rules 2025-2026, v1.0 (copy hosted by Lacrosse Victoria)
- World Lacrosse, Sixes Lacrosse Official Playing Rules 2026-2028, v2.0 (May 2026)
- World Lacrosse, Box Lacrosse Official Playing Rules 2026-2028, v2.0 (May 2026)
- World Lacrosse, World Lacrosse adopts landmark athlete safety and equipment standards (12 May 2026)
- World Lacrosse, equipment standards FAQ
- NFHS, boys' lacrosse rules changes for 2024 (21 August 2023)
- NFHS, 2026 boys' lacrosse summary of rules changes with rationale
- NFHS, boys' lacrosse points of emphasis 2026 (19 February 2026)
- NFHS, 2027 boys' lacrosse summary of rules changes with rationale
- USA Lacrosse, boys' rule changes and points of emphasis announced for 2026 (27 January 2026)
- NOCSAE release of 24 November 2014 (copy hosted by the Georgia High School Association)
- Lacrosse Canada, equipment regulations
- Lacrosse Canada, box equipment
- Lacrosse Canada, memo regarding equipment and rules in 2026 (28 January 2026)
- ASTM, F3137-15(2022) store listing
- USA Lacrosse Magazine, the story behind the 10-year evolution of women's lacrosse headgear (22 September 2021)
- USA Lacrosse Magazine, Headgear reduces concussion rates in girls' lacrosse (8 October 2021)
- USA Lacrosse, concussion management plan guidelines, June 2023 (PDF returned 404; search-result summary only)
- US CPSC, lacrosse helmets recalled by Easton Sports due to facial injury hazard (22 March 2012)
- ISHN, protective eyewear mandated for women lacrosse players (30 May 2003)
- DIN Media, ASTM F3077 listing (distributor)
- Sports Litigation Alert, Florida becomes the first state to mandate headgear in girls' lacrosse (11 May 2018)