The adult jiu-jitsu belt order runs white, blue, purple, brown then black. Below you will find the full BJJ belt sequence, the separate children's belts, the honorary coral and red ranks, and how the IBJJF graduation system ties it all together.
For adults, the jiu-jitsu belt order is white, blue, purple, brown then black. Those five colours make up the entire adult progression, with black belt sitting at the top of the path almost every practitioner will ever travel. Children and teenagers follow a separate set of belts that includes grey, yellow, orange and green, and they convert into the adult system once they turn 16.
If you are brand new to the mats, white belt is where everyone begins. To understand what the rank system means as a whole and how it sits within the wider sport, start with our BJJ belts hub, then come back here for the precise sequence and the rarer grades that sit above black belt.
Each adult belt represents a distinct phase of your development. The colours are not arbitrary; they map to growing competence, deeper understanding and a shift from learning techniques to genuinely applying them under pressure. Here is what each rank in the order represents.
White belt is the starting point and, for most people, the longest single stretch of the journey. It is the survival phase, where you learn to defend, escape bad positions and build a basic vocabulary of techniques. Nobody is expected to be effective here; the goal is simply to keep turning up, absorb the fundamentals and develop the habit of training. Our white belt guide covers exactly what to focus on during this stage.
Blue belt marks the point where the fundamentals start to click. You now have a reliable set of techniques, you can hold your own in sparring, and you begin to string movements together into a game. Blue belt is often the rank with the highest dropout rate, partly because the early novelty has worn off and the road ahead is long. Sticking it out here is one of the most important things you can do.
Purple belt is widely seen as the gateway to advanced jiu-jitsu. By this stage you have a refined game, you understand timing and transitions, and you can teach lower belts with real authority. The IBJJF treats purple as a serious milestone, and many schools consider purple belts capable of leading classes. Your technique becomes noticeably smoother and more deliberate here.
Brown belt is the final stage before black. It is a refinement phase, where you sharpen your strongest positions, close the gaps in your game and develop the calm, efficient style associated with senior grapplers. Brown belts are typically only a year or two from black belt, and the difference between the two often comes down to consistency and time rather than a dramatic leap in ability.
Black belt represents technical mastery of the fundamentals and a deep understanding of the art. Reaching it usually takes ten years or more of steady training. Far from being the end, black belt opens a new chapter; black belts continue to refine their game for decades and accrue degrees, marked by stripes on the belt, before the honorary ranks above ever come into view.
The table below shows the complete order, from the youngest beginner through to the most senior masters. The children's belts sit at the foundation, the five adult colours form the core path, and the coral and red belts crown the system as honorary degrees of black belt.
| Tier | Belt (in order) | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Children & youth (under 16) | White | The starting belt for young beginners |
| Grey | Early youth progress (three sub-grades) | |
| Yellow | Developing youth grapplers (three sub-grades) | |
| Orange | Advancing teenagers (three sub-grades) | |
| Green | The most senior youth rank before adult belts (three sub-grades) | |
| Adults (16 and over) | White | Every adult beginner |
| Blue | Solid fundamentals and a developing game | |
| Purple | Advanced grappler, often able to teach | |
| Brown | Refinement stage just below black | |
| Black | Technical mastery; the goal for most practitioners | |
| Honorary degrees (above black) | Coral (red & black) | 7th degree black belt |
| Coral (red & white) | 8th degree black belt | |
| Red | 9th and 10th degrees; the most senior masters |
Students under 16 follow their own sequence: white, grey, yellow, orange and green. Each of these colours, apart from white, is broken into three sub-grades (for example, solid, with a white stripe, and solid coloured) to give young grapplers more frequent, achievable milestones. The youth system exists because asking a child to spend several years at one belt would be discouraging. When a teenager reaches 16, their youth rank is converted to an appropriate adult belt rather than starting again from white.
The grades above black belt are honorary and extraordinarily rare. After a black belt accumulates degrees over many years, the 7th degree is marked by a red and black coral belt, and the 8th degree by a red and white coral belt. The term coral comes from the colouring of the coral snake. Beyond that, the 9th and 10th degrees are signified by a solid red belt, reserved for those who reached black belt decades earlier and devoted their lives to the art. The 10th degree red belt has historically been held only by the founders of the sport.
Stripes are not belts in their own right; they are progress markers within a single belt. Each belt from white through brown can carry up to four stripes, awarded by your instructor as you improve between colour promotions. A fourth stripe usually signals you are close to the next belt. At black belt, the markings become degrees rather than the simple stripes used at lower ranks. Because stripes sit inside each colour rather than between colours, they do not alter the belt order itself. For the full breakdown of how stripes are awarded, see our dedicated guide to BJJ stripes.
Progressing through the entire adult order is a long-term commitment. Most students spend the better part of a year or more at each early belt and longer still at the higher grades. The IBJJF sets minimum time-in-grade requirements, including at least one year at blue belt, 18 months at purple and one year at brown, which together help explain why black belt typically takes a decade or more. Your own pace depends on how frequently you train, your performance in sparring and your instructor's assessment. We break the timeline down belt by belt in our guide on how long it takes to reach black belt.
The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) publishes the most widely recognised graduation system in the sport, and it is the framework most schools loosely follow. It defines the adult belt order, the separate children's belts, the minimum ages for each adult rank (16 for blue belt, 18 for purple, brown and black) and the minimum time you must spend at each grade before promotion. It also formalises the degrees and honorary coral and red belts above black. While individual academies retain the freedom to promote within these guidelines, the IBJJF system is the closest thing jiu-jitsu has to a universal standard, which is why the belt order is so consistent worldwide.
If you are still deciding whether to step on the mats, the belt order is best understood as a map rather than a checklist. You do not need to think about purple or black belt on day one; you simply need to begin. If you are new to the sport entirely, our explainer on what BJJ is sets the scene, and the BJJ belts hub connects every part of the ranking system in one place.
