Football·International Regulations·FIFA
FIFA Legal Handbook 2026
FIFA Legal Handbook, September 2026 edition: a single consolidated collection of FIFA regulations which, for the first time, brings together the 2026 and 2027 texts of the Disciplinary Code, the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players and the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal.
| Approval | The handbook is not itself an enactment; its edition is identified by month and year of publication: September 2026. Each document within it has its own date of approval. |
| In force from | Separately for each document; the "2027 edition" texts take effect from 1 January 2027 pursuant to Circular 1970 |
| Structure | 20 regulatory documents (17 sets of regulations, three of them in two editions), 9 circulars and 18 explanatory notes and guides |
| Status | The most recent edition of the handbook in this collection |
What is the FIFA Legal Handbook?
The FIFA Legal Handbook is a compiled collection: the FIFA Statutes and regulations, significant circulars, and explanatory notes and guides appear in one volume with a common table of contents. This edition runs to more than 1,600 pages. The text of each set of regulations is reproduced with its own designated edition; for precise citation, therefore, it is the edition label of each document that matters, not the year of the handbook.
The first part comprises the Statutes (2024 edition), the Governance Regulations, the Disciplinary Code, the Code of Ethics (2023), the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal, the Clearing House Regulations, the Football Agent Regulations (2025), the Anti-Doping Regulations (2021), the Regulations Governing International Matches (2014), the Match Agents Regulations (2003), club licensing (2008), stadium safety and security (2013), the Equipment Regulations (2025), the Forward 3.0 development programme (2022), data protection (2019) and the admission of members (2013).
About the September 2026 editionChanges from the 2025 edition
The cover of this handbook is marked "September 2026 edition", and Circular 1970 of 1 September 2026 is reproduced in it. The Statutes (2024), the Code of Ethics (2023), the Anti-Doping Regulations (2021) and the Football Agent Regulations (2025) appear in the same editions as in the 2025 handbook.
Key changes from the previous edition
- Two editions of three key instrumentsThe Disciplinary Code is included in both its 2026 and its 2027 edition. The Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players are reproduced both in the 2025 edition (together with the interim regulatory framework) and in the 2027 edition, and the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal likewise appear in the 2026 and 2027 editions. Pursuant to Circular 1970, the new editions of these three documents enter into force on 1 January 2027.
- The Governance Regulations and the Clearing House Regulations were updatedThe Governance Regulations moved from the 2024 edition to the 2026 edition, and the Clearing House Regulations from the August 2025 edition to the 2026 edition. Circular 1955 (16 January 2026) introduces, among other things, the €100 threshold in article 12 paragraph 4 of the Clearing House Regulations.
- Four new circularsCirculars 1973 (key compliance obligations under the Clearing House Regulations and the transfer regulations), 1970, 1964 (the 2026 Disciplinary Code, dated 6 May 2026) and 1955 were added. In their place, ten circulars from the previous edition — including 1942, 1937, 1936, 1934, 1919, 1918, 1905, 1889, 1887 and 1867 — no longer appear in the list. The nine remaining circulars are 1973, 1970, 1964, 1955, 1917, 1876, 1862, 1843 and 1842.
- Three new guides and two updated guides"Commentary on the rules governing eligibility to play for representative teams", "Guidelines on the regulations for armed conflicts" and "Educating parents about football agents" (all 2026) have been added. The guide to applications for eligibility or a change of association has been upgraded from the 2021 edition, and the guide to minor applications from the 2020 edition, to the 2026 edition.
Who this document matters to
Sports lawyers and the legal departments of associations and clubs need this collection in order to identify the authoritative edition of any given set of regulations at any given time. Because the 2027 texts are also reproduced in it, the handbook serves as a guide to the rules that will apply from 1 January 2027. In any case, the governing edition is the one in force at the time the matter arose; Circular 1970 states expressly that the new transfer regulations apply only to cases in which the events giving rise to the dispute occurred after they took effect.