he Rules

Rule 1: "Never let suspects stay together". - revealed in the Season 1 premiere
episode, Yankee White (episode).
Rule 1: "Never screw over your partner". - revealed in the Season 4 episode, Blowback
(episode). McGee also stated this rule to Ned Dorneget in Need to Know (episode). McGee
also mentioned to Abigail Borin in Ships in the Night (episode) that rule number one has
been taken twice, showing that he knows that there are two number one rules.

Rule 2: "Always wear gloves at a crime scene". - revealed in "Yankee White".

Rule 3: "Don't believe what you're told. Double check".- again revealed in "Yankee White".

Rule 3: "Never be unreachable", - revealed in the Season 3 episode, Deception

(episode) although Gibbs has been known to be intentionally unreachable. The rule was
shown in Rule Fifty-One (episode) in the background when Gibbs opens the box.
Rule 4: "The best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other
person - if you must. There is no third best." - revealed in the Season 4 episode, Blowback
(episode)
Rule 5: "You don't waste good." - revealed in the Season 8 episode, Baltimore (episode).
Rule 6: "Never say you're sorry. It's a sign of weakness." - This rule has been mentioned
throughout the series, but it wasn't given a specific number until Flesh and Blood (episode).
The rule is also a direct reference to John Wayne's catch phrase in She Wore A Yellow
Ribbon (John Ford, Director). Wayne said: "Never apologize, mister, it's a sign of
weakness." to subordinates in a military situation. DiNozzo notes the connection in Hiatus
Part 1 (episode). Mark Harmon's career has paralleled John Wayne's. They both were
quarterback of their southern California college football team, both went into acting.
(Harmon's father, Tom Harmon, was a Heisman Trophywinner and actor & announcer as
well.) Note: This is continuously told to Tony, Ziva and Tim through a smack to the back of
their heads.
Rule 7: "Always be specific when you lie." - revealed in the Season 1 finale
episode, Reveille (episode).
Rule 8: "Never take anything for granted." - revealed in the Season 3 episode, Probie
(episode) although Gibbs also quotes it as being "Never assume" during the Season 9
episode, Rekindled (episode).
Rule 9: "Never go anywhere without a knife." - revealed in the Season 1 episode, One
Shot, One Kill (episode)although it's sometimes quoted as "Never leave home without a
knife" or "Always carry a knife."
Rule 10: "Never get personally involved in a case." - revealed in the Season 7
episode, Obsession (episode) and again referenced by the new SECNAV Clayton Jarvis in
the Season 9 premiere episode, Nature of the Beast (episode) as the number one rule in
Washington politics.
Rule 11: "When the job is done, walk away." - revealed in the Season 6 episode, Semper
Fidelis (episode).
Rule 12: "Never date a co-worker." - revealed in the Season 1 episode, Enigma (episode).

Rule 13: "Never, ever involve lawyers." - revealed in "Collateral Damage". Rule 51 is written
on the back of the card containing Rule 13 in "Rule Fifty-One".

Rule 14: "Bend the line, don't break it." - revealed in Anonymous was a Woman (episode).
Rule 15: "Always work as a team." - revealed in Leap of Faith (episode).
Rule 16: "If someone thinks they have the upper hand, break it." - revealed in the Season 8
finale episode, Pyramid (episode).
Rule 17: "Never, ever interrupt Gibbs during an interrogation." - revealed in the Season 14
episode, Privileged Information (episode).
Rule 18: "It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission." - revealed in Silver War
(episode).
Rule 20: "Always look under." - revealed in The Artful Dodger (episode)
Rule 22: "Never ever bother Gibbs in interrogation." - revealed in Smoked (episode).

Rule 23: "Never mess with a Marine's coffee... if you want to live."- revealed during "Forced
Entry".

Rule 27: "There are two ways to follow someone. First way, they never notice you. Second
way, they only notice you." - Jack Knife (episode) and "Rule Fifty-One".
Rule 28: "When you need help, ask." - revealed during Blood Brothers (episode).

Rule 35: "Always watch the watchers." - revealed in "Baltimore".

Rule 36: "If you feel like you are being played, you probably are" - revealed in Nature of the
Beast (episode).
Rule 38: "Your case, your lead." - revealed in Bounce (episode) placing Tony as
temporarily in charge of the team, and also in Phoenix (episode) with Ducky as leader.
Rule 39: "There is no such thing as coincidence." - revealed in Obsession
(episode) although DiNozzo states that Rule 39A is "There is no such thing as a small
world" during Canary (episode).
Rule 40: "If it seems like someone is out to get you, they are." - revealed in Borderland
(episode).
Rule 42: "Never accept an apology from someone who just sucker punched you." -
revealed in Psych Out (episode).
Rule 44: "First things first, hide the women and children." - This rule number was
mentioned in Patriot Down (episode) but was not stated until Rule Fifty-One (episode).
Rule 45: "Clean up the mess that you make." - revealed in "Rule Fifty-One" although it's
also stated as "Never leave behind loose ends" in Hiatus Part 2 (episode).

Rule 51: "Sometimes you're wrong." - Created by Gibbs in Rule Fifty-One" by writing it on
the back of the card containing Rule 13. It is unknown if his coworkers are aware of this
rule.

Rule 62: "Always give people space when they get off an elevator." -- revealed in Double
Back (episode)
Rule 69: "Never trust a woman who doesn't trust her man." - revealed in Devil's Triangle
(episode).
Unnumbered Rules
"Never date a woman that eats more than you do." - as said by Tony in Singled Out
(episode).
In my country, on my team, working my cases, my people don't bypass the chain of
command"- revealed by Gibbs during a talk with Ziva in Switch (episode).
The Unspoken Rule- as revealed by Franks- You do what you have to do for family-
revealed in Spider and the Fly (episode).
Don't work the system when you can work the people- revealed in Hung Out to Dry
(episode).
Don't stop checking and rechecking evidence until you are satisfied.
If you want to find something, you follow it. (Said by Gibbs to Mike Franks
in Deliverance (episode) with Gibbs adding that he learned that one from Mike).
Besides Rule 13, Gibbs has 6 other rules involving lawyers, but, according to
DiNozzo, "You only need to know number 13; it's the umbrella one."
Never second guess yourself in a relationship and life.
Other Rules
Abigail Borin, Gibbs' counterpart at CGIS, also has a set of rules. The only one
currently known is her Rule #1: Never make excuses.
McGee has formed his own set of rules. Only 2 are known:
Rule #1 Never lie to Gibbs.
 Rule #70 Keep digging till you hit bottom. The San Dominick (episode)
When DiNozzo was in charge, he made a set of rules.
Rule #1: Don't sit on the sidelines while your people are in trouble.
Rule #3: Never underestimate your opponent- revealed in Hiatus Part 1 (episode).
Abby also has her own rules.
Rule #1: Do not lie to Abby - revealed during Toxic (episode).
Rule #9: Always keep a spare - revealed during Jeopardy (episode).
Jimmy Palmer once had a rule.
Jimmy's Rule #1: Pipettes can never be too clean. (revealed in Restless (episode))
Exceptions
Although Gibbs has his list of rules to live by, he does not always adhere to them. One
example is Rule #3. When Gibbs does not wish to be reached, he has been known to leave
his cell phone behind. Except that many believe that to be one of Frank's rules since there
are two Rule #3's. The other being 'Don't believe what you're told. Double check,' which
sounds more like Gibbs. Also, on the anniversary of his last marriage, he unplugged his
home phone and dropped his cell phone in paint thinner after his ex-wife began harassing
him with phone calls. Gibbs also admits that rule number 10 is the one that he has had the
most "trouble with" in "Obsession".
Gibbs broke Rule #1 (Never let suspects stay together) in "Ships in the Night" in order to
get a confession. This also occurred in Caught on Tape (episode) but the suspects turned
out to be innocent. Additionally, Gibbs broke the rule in A Man Walks into a Bar
(episode) but the suspects were only guilty of covering up suicide, not murder.
Gibbs broke rule #13 (Never involve a lawyer) in Mother's Day (episode) Gibbs's ex mother
in law becomes a suspect in a murder of a Navy officer. Gibbs contact Allison Hart, a
lawyer, to represent her.
Gibbs also broke Rule #12 with former NCIS Director and partner in Europe, Jenny
Shepard. Jenny was Gibbs' probie in their Europe missions and became romantically
involved, which was ended by Jenny so she could lead her own team in Madrid. Although,
since the relationship ended badly, some people suspect that this rule was created
because of this relationship.

Another exception that Gibbs sometimes makes concerns Rule #6. Though Gibbs
constantly tells people around him to never apologize, that it is a sign of weakness, he
himself has apologized on at least seven occasions:

1. To Caitlin Todd for being late to her funeral in Kill Ari Part 2 (episode).
2. To Donald Mallard following his return from Mexico in Smoked (episode).
3. To Joann Fielding for not being able to protect Shannon Gibbs and Kelly
Gibbs in "Mother's Day".
4. To Abigail Sciuto for frightening her and not being able to tell her what she
wants to hear in "Rule Fifty-One".
5. To the victim's lover for her loss, although he originally believes that she was
being selfish in "A Man Walks Into a Bar".
6. To Timothy McGee for not being with him when he was accused of shooting
a cop in "Probie".
7. To "The General" (Captain Wescott) in Shell Shock Part 2 (episode) for
making him face a former serviceman and teammate, in which the encounter
went poorly. Gibbs said, "That was my bad," for making Westcott agree to
the meeting.
Though not shown, in "Semper Fidelis" ICE Agent Julia Foster-Yates claims that Gibbs and
Fornell apologized to her for accusing her of murdering a coworker. McGee is shocked at
the idea that either of them would apologize.
Gibbs also almost never accepts an apology from someone, preferring to simply offer
correction to whomever made an error in an attempt to teach a lesson. One exception to
this aspect of the rule was when McGee apologized concerning the situation with his
sister, Sarah McGee in Twisted Sister (episode). Gibbs has also accepted some apologies
because they are covered by rule #18: "It's better to seek forgiveness, than ask
permission."

Also an apology isn't a sign of weakness if it's between friends, as Gibbs tells Dr. Mallard in
"Smoked".

Although not strictly an exception, Gibbs did add a sort of corollary to Rule 39 concerning
coincidences. In Head Case (episode) when Tony says, "We don't believe in coincidences
around here," Gibbs added, "However, we do believe in bad luck."
In the same episode that Rule 17 was revealed, it was also made clear that an exception to
the rule against interrupting Gibbs during an interrogation is if the information anyone in
the NCIS Major Case Response Teamuncovered was important and relevant enough to the
case at hand that it was worth an interruption. Similarly, in Pay to Play (episode), it was
revealed that while directly interrupting an interrogation was not allowed unless whatever
information was uncovered was important enough to the case to make it necessary,
sending a text to the person with Gibbs and bring him or her out if they uncovered anything
in the case is tolerated.
Duplications
Throughout the series, there have been two rules referenced as the first and third of Gibbs'
rules. For some time, it was believed that the duplications were either continuity errors or
that the list of rules was meant to be malleable. Eventually, however, Executive Producer
Shane Brennan revealed that the duplication was actually intentional:
"Gibbs lives his life by a set of rules that took root from the first day he met Shannon. Over
time, Gibbs added to the rules. When he joined NCIS, Mike Franks told him he didn't need
dozens of different rules to be an agent... just three 'golden rules.' And this is why we have
double ups on rules #1 and #3. Three of them are Gibbs' rules; three of them are Mike
Franks rules. We are still to reveal the double-up on rule #2. And it's up to the fans to
guess which of the rules were Mike Franks three golden rules and which were
Gibbs'. (Shane Brennan's explanation of the duplication of Rules #1 and #3.) In spite of
this, however, Franks seems to know Gibbs' rules as well as anyone, as evidenced in the
episode "Patriot Down" when Gibbs passed the message "Rule #44" (First things first: hide
the women and children) to him through Camilla.
The 40s
While most of the rules are for everyday use, Gibbs' rules 40-49 are considered emergency
rules, to be invoked only in the most dire of circumstances. ("Rule Fifty-One") When Gibbs
told Abby that rule 40 was in play, and Abby told Tony, he took it to mean that "something
unspeakably bad is going down."