The official dartboard height is 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) from the floor to the centre of the bullseye, and the oche sits 2.37 m (7 ft 9¼ in) back from the face of the board for steel tip darts. For soft tip and electronic boards the throwing distance is 2.44 m (8 ft). Always measure from the front face of the board, never from the wall behind it. One check confirms both numbers at once: run a tape from the centre of the bull to the back of the throw line and it should read 2.93m (9 ft 7½ in). Get those three right and every throw you make at home transfers straight to your league board.

Here are the seven steps, in order.

In this article

• The correct height and distance
• Steps 1 to 3: hang the board
• Steps 4 to 5: mark and check the oche
• Steps 6 to 7: surround and lighting
• The 5 most common mistakes
• FAQ

What is the correct dartboard height and distance?

These are the tournament measurements used by the PDC, the WDF and every darts league in Australia. They have not changed in decades, so a board hung to these numbers will still be correct in ten years.

Step 1: Which wall should you hang a dartboard on?

Pick a solid wall with a stud you can screw into and give yourself room to throw and to walk. A garage wall, a rumpus room or the end of a hallway all work well.

• Depth: allow at least 3.4 m from the wall, which is 2.37 m to the oche plus roughly a metre behind it.
• Width: leave 60 cm or more of clear wall each side. Bounce-outs need somewhere to go that is not a picture frame. Keep the board away from windows, glass cabinets and anything breakable.
• Traffic: never put the board where someone can walk between the oche and the wall. A doorway behind the board is fine; a doorway beside it is not.
• Ceiling: with the bull at 1.73 m the top of the board reaches about 1.96 m, or close to 2.2 m with a surround. A standard 2.4 m ceiling is fine, but check sloped roofs and garage door tracks.
• Surface: brick and concrete hold best. Plasterboard is fine with a proper wall plug, but a quality sisal board weighs around 5 kg before you add a surround, and a board that shifts is a board you will re-hang.
• Damp: sisal swells and warps in moisture, so skip the unlined shed, the cellar and any garage wall that sweats through a wet summer.

Step 2: Mark the bullseye at the right height?

Measure straight up from the finished floor to 1.73 m and mark it, then draw a short level line through the mark. Two details catch people out. Measure to where the centre of the bullseye will sit, not the top or bottom of the board. And measure from the floor you will actually stand on: adding a dart mat later raises your feet without raising the board.

Step 3: How do you hang the board straight?

All our dartboards include a centre bolt that screws into the back of the board and a bracket that fixes to the wall and either solid rubber or adjustable spacers. Fit the bolt first, then position the bracket so the bull lands on your pencil line.

1. Screw the bracket into a stud or a proper wall anchor, checking it is level before you tighten it. attach the spacers
2. Hang the board and rotate it so the 20 segment sits straight up, dead centre above the bull.
3. Lay a level across the top of the number ring. A board tilted a few degrees shifts where your darts land in the doubles, and you will spend weeks blaming your throw.
4. Adjust the spacers between the board and the wall. They stop the board rocking, cut the noise and keep moisture off the plaster. If need wedges can be added to further stabilise the board.

 Watch this quick video from Winmau that explains it in detail. 

Start with the right board

Shot Bandit Gen 4 Dartboard

WDF approved, 451 mm Kenyan sisal with sword-edge wiring and a staple-free bull. The number ring rotates, so evening out the wear takes seconds. Mounting hardware and a measuring tape in the box.

Shop the Bandit Gen 4 →

Step 4: How far should you stand from the dartboard?

For steel tip, the throw line sits 2.37 m from the face of the board. This is the most misunderstood measurement in darts, because a bristle board is roughly 38 mm thick. Measure from the wall instead and your oche ends up almost 4 cm too far back.

Run your tape along the floor from directly beneath the front face of the board out to 2.37 m. The oche is a toe line: you throw from behind it, not on it. For soft tip and electronic boards, use 2.44 m.

Mark it with gaffer tape, a floor sticker, a raised timber oche or a printed dart mat. A mat is easiest in a shared space because it lifts in seconds and protects the floor from dropped darts. Shot Darts include a measuring tape with the Bandit for exactly this step.

One last thing while you have the tape out: hang your scoreboard to the left or right of the board, never above or below it, so nobody has to step into the throwing lane to write a score.

Step 5: Check the 2.93 m diagonal

This is the professional's shortcut and it takes ten seconds. Hook your tape at the centre of the bull and run it to the back edge of your throw line. It should read 2.93 m.

Height and distance form the two sides of a right-angled triangle, so if the diagonal is correct, both other measurements must be too. Short means the board is too low or the oche too close. Long means the opposite. It also settles arguments at a mate's place in about ten seconds.

Step 6: Do you need a dartboard surround?

Yes, if you value your walls. Every player throws a stray dart, and bare plaster around a board fills with pinholes inside a month. A surround is a ring of dense polyurethane that sits over the board and catches everything that misses.

It also absorbs the noise of a missed dart, which matters in a townhouse or apartment, and it saves your points from the blunting and bending that happens when steel meets brick.

Protect the wall

Precision Darts 1-Piece PU Dartboard Surround

One piece, so there are no segment joins to pull apart. Slips over a standard 451 mm board and takes the hit instead of your plaster.

Shop surrounds →

Step 7: How should you light a dartboard?

Overhead room lighting is the quiet killer of a good home setup. A ceiling light behind you throws your own shadow across the board and casts shadows off the wires, so the trebles look narrower than they are. You end up aiming at a shape that is not there.

A dedicated dartboard light rings the board and lights it evenly from every angle. If you play at night, or your board lives in a garage under one fluorescent tube, this is the upgrade that improves your average fastest for the least money.

Kill the shadows

Winmau Polaris 120° Dartboard Light

A 120-degree spread that floods the board evenly and leaves no shadow on the wires. Fits with the surround still in place.

 Shop dartboard lights →

What are the most common dartboard setup mistakes?

1. Measuring to the top of the board instead of the bull. The number one error, and it puts the board roughly 22 cm too high.
2. Measuring the oche from the wall. The board is about 38 mm thick, so this pushes the throw line too far back every time.
3. Hanging the board rotated. If 20 is not straight up, the scoring geometry shifts relative to how you aim.
4. Forgetting the floor. Adding a mat or new flooring afterwards raises your stance and lowers the effective board height.
5. Never rotating the board. Almost everyone throws at the 20 and the bull, so those segments wear out first. Lift the number ring and turn the board a segment or two every week or so. Winmau recommend exactly this in their official setup instructions, and it can double the life of a board.

One more that is not strictly a setup error but ruins boards just as fast: throwing blunt or burred points. Damaged tips tear the sisal fibres instead of parting them, so the board stops healing and the holes stay open. Check your points when you rotate the board.

Frequently asked questions

What is the height and distance to hang a dartboard?

Hang the board so the centre of the bullseye is 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) above the floor and place the throw line 2.37 m (7 ft 9¼ in) from the face of the board for steel tip darts. For soft tip, use 2.44m (8 ft). The diagonal from the bull to the back of the oche should measure 2.93m.

What happens if a dartboard is hung too high?

You throw with a higher release and a flatter trajectory than you would on a regulation board, so the muscle memory you build at home will not transfer to a league or pub board. A board hung too high also drops more darts out of the top segments as they lose momentum on the way in.

Does dartboard height change for kids or wheelchair players?

Competition height stays at 1.73 m. For casual family play, some households lower the board so younger players can reach the scoring area. Wheelchair darts is different again: the board is hung at 1.37 m to the centre of the bull, and the 2.37 m distance is measured to the nearest part of the footrest rather than to a toe line.

Can I hang a dartboard without drilling into the wall?

Yes. A freestanding dartboard stand like the Shot Portable Tripod holds the board at regulation height without touching the wall, which suits renters and apartments. If you do want it wall-mounted, fix a plywood backing board to a single stud and mount the bracket to that, so you only make one set of holes.

How big should the oche line be?

A raised tournament oche is 38 mm high and 610 mm wide. At home a strip of tape is fine. What matters is that the 2.37 m is measured to the back edge of whatever you use, because that is the line your toe sits behind.

New to steel tip? Read our guide to the best steel tip darts for beginners, and once you have been throwing a while, learn when to repoint and when to sharpen your darts.