Official Flag Designs - Uses and
other proper
Flag; stripes and stars on
The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes,
alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be fifty stars,
white in a blue field.
Same; additional stars
On the admission of a new State into the Union one star shall be
added to the union of the flag; and such addition shall take effect on
the fourth day of July then next succeeding such admission.
Flag
Etiquette personal
Use of flag for advertising purposes; mutilation of flag
Any person who, within the District of Columbia, in any manner, for
exhibition or display, shall place or cause to be placed any word,
figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, or any advertisement of any
nature upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States
of America; or shall expose or cause to be exposed to public view any
such flag, standard, colors, or ensign upon which shall have been
printed, painted, or otherwise placed, or to which shall be attached,
appended, affixed, or annexed any word, figure, mark, picture, design,
or drawing, or any advertisement of any nature; or who, within the
District of Columbia, shall manufacture, sell, expose for sale, or to
public view, or give away or have in possession for sale, or to be given
away or for use for any purpose, any article or substance being an
article of merchandise, or a receptacle for merchandise or article or
thing for carrying or transporting merchandise, upon which shall have
been printed, painted, attached, or otherwise placed a representation of
any such flag, standard, colors, or ensign, to advertise, call attention
to, decorate, mark, or distinguish the article or substance on which so
placed shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by
a fine not exceeding $100 or by imprisonment for not more than thirty
days, or both, in the discretion of the court. The words ''flag,
standard, colors, or ensign'', as used herein, shall include any flag,
standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or
of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on
any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said
flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America or a
picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the
colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or
of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the
same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag,
colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America.
Display and use of flag by civilians; codification of rules and
customs; definition
The following codification of existing rules and customs pertaining
to the display and use of the flag of the United States of America is
established for the use of such civilians or civilian groups or
organizations as may not be required to conform with regulations
promulgated by one or more executive departments of the Government of
the United States. The flag of the United States for the purpose of this
chapter shall be defined according to sections 1 and 2 of this title and
Executive Order 10834 issued pursuant thereto
Time and occasions for display
(a) It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise
to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open.
However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed
24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.
(b) The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.
(c) The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is
inclement, except when an all weather flag is displayed.
(d) The flag should be displayed on all days, especially on New
Year's Day, January 1; Inauguration Day, January 20; Martin Luther King
Jr.'s birthday, third Monday in January; Lincoln's Birthday, February
12; Washington's Birthday, third Monday in February; Easter Sunday
(variable); Mother's Day, second Sunday in May; Armed Forces Day, third
Saturday in May; Memorial Day (half-staff until noon), the last Monday
in May; Flag Day, June 14; Independence Day, July 4; Labor Day, first
Monday in September; Constitution Day, September 17; Columbus Day,
second Monday in October; Navy Day, October 27; Veterans Day, November
11; Thanksgiving Day, fourth Thursday in November; Christmas Day,
December 25; and such other days as may be proclaimed by the President
of the United States; the birthdays of States (date of admission); and
on State holidays.
(e) The flag should be displayed daily on or near the main
administration building of every public institution.
(f) The flag should be displayed in or near every polling place on
election days.
(g) The flag should be displayed during school days in or near every
schoolhouse.
DATES THE FLAG SHOULD BE DISPLAYED
The flag should be displayed on all
days, especially on
- New Year's Day, January 1
- Inauguration Day, January 20
- Lincoln's Birthday, February 12
- Washington's Birthday, third Monday
in February
- Easter Sunday (variable)
- Mother's Day, second Sunday in May
- Armed Forces Day, third Saturday in
May
- Memorial Day (half-staff until
noon), the last Monday in May
- Flag Day, June 14
- Independence Day, July 4
- Labor Day, first Monday in
September
- Constitution Day, September 17
- Columbus Day, second Monday in
October
- Navy Day, October 27
- Veterans Day, November 11
- Thanksgiving Day, fourth Thursday
in November
- Christmas Day, December 25
- and such other days as may be
proclaimed by the President of the United States
- the birthdays of States (date of
admission)
- and on State holidays.
On
deaths of current presidents and state officials
Position and manner of display
The flag, when carried in a procession with another flag or flags,
should be either on the marching right; that is, the flag's own right,
or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the center of that
line.
(a) The flag should not be displayed on a float in a parade except
from a staff, or as provided in subsection (i) of this section.
(b) The flag should not be draped over the hood, top, sides, or back
of a vehicle or of a railroad train or a boat. When the flag is
displayed on a motorcar, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the chassis
or clamped to the right fender.
(c) No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the
same level, to the right of the flag of the United States of America,
except during church services conducted by naval chaplains at sea, when
the church pennant may be flown above the flag during church services
for the personnel of the Navy. No person shall display the flag of the
United Nations or any other national or international flag equal, above,
or in a position of superior prominence or honor to, or in place of, the
flag of the United States at any place within the United States or any
Territory or possession thereof: Provided, That nothing in this section
shall make unlawful the continuance of the practice heretofore followed
of displaying the flag of the United Nations in a position of superior
prominence or honor, and other national flags in positions of equal
prominence or honor, with that of the flag of the United States at the
headquarters of the United Nations.
(d) The flag of the United States of America, when it is displayed
with another flag against a wall from crossed staffs, should be on the
right, the flag's own right, and its staff should be in front of the
staff of the other flag.
(e) The flag of the United States of America should be at the center
and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States
or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from
staffs.
(f) When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of
societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United
States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags are
flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be
hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed
above the flag of the United States or to the United States flag's
right.
(g) When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be
flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of
approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the
flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace.
(h) When the flag of the United States is displayed from a staff
projecting horizontally or at an angle from the window sill, balcony, or
front of a building, the union of the flag should be placed at the peak
of the staff unless the flag is at half-staff. When the flag is
suspended over a sidewalk from a rope extending from a house to a pole
at the edge of the sidewalk, the flag should be hoisted out, union
first, from the building.
(i) When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall,
the union should be uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to
the observer's left. When displayed in a window, the flag should be
displayed in the same way, with the union or blue field to the left of
the observer in the street.
(j) When the flag is displayed over the middle of the street, it
should be suspended vertically with the union to the north in an east
and west street or to the east in a north and south street.
(k) When used on a speaker's platform, the flag, if displayed flat,
should be displayed above and behind the speaker. When displayed from a
staff in a church or public auditorium, the flag of the United States of
America should hold the position of superior prominence, in advance of
the audience, and in the position of honor at the clergyman's or
speaker's right as he faces the audience. Any other flag so displayed
should be placed on the left of the clergyman or speaker or to the right
of the audience.
(l) The flag should form a distinctive feature of the ceremony of
unveiling a statue or monument, but it should never be used as the
covering for the statue or monument.
(m) The flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to
the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The
flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the
day. On Memorial Day the flag should be displayed at half-staff until
noon only, then raised to the top of the staff. By order of the
President, the flag shall be flown at half-staff upon the death of
principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a
State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory.
In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the
flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential
instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or
practices not inconsistent with law. In the event of the death of a
present or former official of the government of any State, territory, or
possession of the United States, the Governor of that State, territory,
or possession may proclaim that the National flag shall be flown at
half-staff. The flag shall be flown at half-staff 30 days from the death
of the President or a former President; 10 days from the day of death of
the Vice President, the Chief Justice or a retired Chief Justice of the
United States, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives; from the
day of death until interment of an Associate Justice of the Supreme
Court, a Secretary of an executive or military department, a former Vice
President, or the Governor of a State, territory, or possession; and on
the day of death and the following day for a Member of Congress. The
flag shall be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless
that day is also Armed Forces Day. As used in this subsection -
(1) The term ''half-staff'' means the position of the flag when it is
one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff;
(2) The term ''executive or military department'' means any agency
listed under sections 101 and 102 of title 5, United States Code; and
(3) The term ''Member of Congress'' means a Senator, a
Representative, a Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner from Puerto
Rico.
(n) When the flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so placed
that the union is at the head and over the left shoulder. The flag
should not be lowered into the grave or allowed to touch the ground.
(o) When the flag is suspended across a corridor or lobby in a
building with only one main entrance, it should be suspended vertically
with the union of the flag to the observer's left upon entering. If the
building has more than one main entrance, the flag should be suspended
vertically near the center of the corridor or lobby with the union to
the north, when entrances are to the east and west or to the east when
entrances are to the north and south. If there are entrances in more
than two directions, the union should be to the east.
Respect for flag
No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of
America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing.
Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags
are to be dipped as a mark of honor.
(a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as
a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or
property.
(b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the
ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.
(c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always
aloft and free.
(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or
drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but
always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always
arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red
below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front
of the platform, and for decoration in general.
(e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in
such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in
any way.
(f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling.
(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it,
nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design,
picture, or drawing of any nature.
(h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving,
holding, carrying, or delivering anything.
(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any
manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as
cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed
on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use
and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or
halyard from which the flag is flown.
(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic
uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military
personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations.
The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living
thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on
the left lapel near the heart.
(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a
fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way,
preferably by burning.
Conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of flag
During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag or when the flag
is passing in a parade or in review, all persons present except those in
uniform should face the flag and stand at attention with the right hand
over the heart. Those present in uniform should render the military
salute. When not in uniform, men should remove their headdress with
their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over
the heart. Aliens should stand at attention. The salute to the flag in a
moving column should be rendered at the moment the flag passes.
Modification of rules and customs by President
Any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag of the
United States of America, set forth herein, may be altered, modified, or
repealed, or additional rules with respect thereto may be prescribed, by
the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States,
whenever he deems it to be appropriate or desirable; and any such
alteration or additional rule shall be set forth in a proclamation.
A.
When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union
should be uppermost and to flag's own right, that is, to the observer's
left. When displayed in a window, the flag should be displayed in the same
way, with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the
street.
B. When
flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown
on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should
always be at the peak.
C. When
the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States
should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be
placed above the flag of the United States flag's right.
D. When
the flag of the United States of America is displayed with another flag
against a wall from crossed staffs it should be on the right, the flag's
own right, and its staff should be in front of the staff of the other
flag.
E. When grouping a number of flags of States or localities or pennants for
societies are grouped and displayed from staffs, the flag of the United
States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the
group.
F. When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown
from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of
approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the
flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace.
G.
When used on a speaker's
platform, the flag, if displayed flat, should be displayed above and
behind the speaker. When displayed from a staff in a church or auditorium,
the flag of the United State of America should hold the position of
superior prominence, in advance of the audience, and in the position of
honor at the clergyman's or speaker's right as he faces the audience. Any
other flag so displayed should be placed on the left of the clergyman or
speaker or the right of the audience.
Half-staff for death of principals members of the Government.
