American flag hanging etiquette comes from the United States Flag Code (Title 4, sections 1 through 10), and the single rule that governs almost every situation is this: the blue field of stars, called the union, belongs in the upper-left corner from the viewer’s perspective.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display The Code is a set of customs, not a criminal statute for private citizens. The Supreme Court held in Texas v. Johnson (1989) that even burning the flag in protest is protected speech, so nothing here can be enforced against you at home.2Legal Information Institute. Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 People follow these rules because they want to get it right.
Where the Union Goes
Hang the flag horizontally against a wall and the union sits in the upper left as you look at it. Hang it vertically and the union still sits in the upper left, which means the stars are on the viewer’s left and the stripes fall to the right. The rule does not change with orientation. It changes with the viewer.
In a window, position the flag so the union is on the left from the perspective of someone outside looking in, not from your side of the glass.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 U.S. Code 7 – Position and Manner of Display
When the flag hangs from a staff angled out from a windowsill, balcony, or the front of a building, the union goes at the peak of the staff, meaning the end farthest from the wall. If a rope runs from your house out to a pole at the sidewalk, hoist the flag out union-first from the building.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
For two flags on crossed staffs mounted against a wall, the U.S. flag goes on its own right, which is the viewer’s left, and its staff sits in front of the other staff.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
When to Fly It
The customary hours are sunrise to sunset. You can leave the flag up around the clock, but only if a light shines on it after dark so it stays clearly visible.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 6 – Time and Occasions for Display A porch light, spotlight, or floodlight aimed at the flag works. The point is even illumination with no part of the flag falling into shadow.
The Flag Code encourages display every day and singles out federal holidays and observances (New Year’s Day, Inauguration Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day on June 14, Independence Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a longer list of others) as recommended display days. The President can proclaim additional days, and each state’s admission date is a recommended display day for that state’s residents.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 6 – Time and Occasions for Display
Weather
Take the flag down in inclement weather unless it is made of all-weather material.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 U.S. Code 6 – Time and Occasions for Display The statute does not define a threshold, so heavy rain, snow, and strong winds are the working test. Nylon and polyester flags are the common all-weather options and can stay up in storms. Cotton absorbs water, gets heavy, and deteriorates fast, so bring cotton flags in.
Hanging the Flag with Other Flags
State, city, and organizational flags follow one rule. When they share the same halyard as the U.S. flag on a single pole, the American flag goes on top. On separate adjacent poles, the U.S. flag is hoisted first and lowered last. No state or local flag may sit above the U.S. flag or to its right, which is the observer’s left.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
Flags of other nations follow a different rule that reflects international courtesy. National flags fly from separate staffs at equal height and roughly equal size. International protocol forbids flying one nation’s flag above another’s in peacetime.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
Half-Staff
Half-staff means the flag hangs exactly halfway between the top and bottom of the pole, and getting there has a procedure. Raise the flag briskly to the very top first, pause, then lower it to the halfway point. At the end of the day, raise it back to the peak before bringing it down.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
How long you keep it there depends on who has died:
- President or former President: 30 days
- Vice President, Chief Justice (sitting or retired), or Speaker of the House: 10 days from the day of death
- Associate Justice, Cabinet secretary, former Vice President, or Governor: from the day of death until interment
- Member of Congress: the day of death and the day after
The President can order half-staff for other officials, foreign dignitaries, and national tragedies. Governors can do the same within their state for state officials, active-duty service members from the state, and first responders killed in the line of duty.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 U.S. Code 7 – Position and Manner of Display
Memorial Day is its own rule. The flag flies at half-staff from sunrise until noon, then returns to the top of the staff for the rest of the day.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
What Not to Do With It
The Flag Code separates displaying the flag from using it as a material. A flag should hang free and never be bunched, pinned back, or gathered into decorative folds. It should not be used as clothing, bedding, or curtain drapery, and it should never be worn as a costume or as part of an athletic uniform.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 8 – Respect for Flag Flag patches are the recognized exception and can appear on the uniforms of military personnel, firefighters, police officers, and members of patriotic organizations. A flag-patterned shirt made as clothing was never a flag; cutting up an actual flag to make one violates the code.
The flag should not be used in advertising, embroidered onto cushions or handkerchiefs, or printed on anything disposable like napkins or boxes. Advertising signs should not be attached to the same staff or rope from which the flag flies.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 8 – Respect for Flag
Do not let the flag touch the ground, floor, water, or merchandise beneath it. Contrary to a widespread myth, a flag that accidentally touches the ground does not need to be destroyed. Just keep it elevated when you raise, lower, or carry it.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 8 – Respect for Flag
Folding, Storing, and Retiring
The traditional storage method is the triangular fold, which leaves only the blue union visible. This fold is a military and ceremonial custom rather than a Flag Code requirement, but it is the recognized standard. Two people hold the flag waist-high and parallel to the ground, fold the striped section lengthwise over the stars twice, then make repeated triangular folds from the striped end until only the blue field shows. Store the folded flag somewhere dry where it will not be crushed, wrinkled, or exposed to moisture.
When a flag becomes faded, torn, or otherwise unfit for display, retire it. The Flag Code’s preferred method is burning it in a dignified manner.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 8 – Respect for Flag For most people the practical option is dropping the flag off with a local veterans’ organization, VFW post, or Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop. These groups hold retirement ceremonies where worn flags are burned with appropriate solemnity.