U.S. Flag Law: Display, Half-Staff, and HOA Rights

The United States Flag Code, found in Title 4, Chapter 1 of the U.S. Code, is the federal government’s guide to how the American flag should be displayed, handled, and retired. It covers when to fly the flag, where it belongs relative to other flags, how to salute it, what you shouldn’t do with it, and how to dispose of one that’s worn out. What it does not do is punish anyone. The code contains no fines, no jail time, and no enforcement mechanism for civilians, which makes it a national standard of etiquette rather than a criminal statute.

Why the Code Has No Penalties

This is the part most people get wrong. Title 4 prescribes conduct but assigns no punishment for civilians who ignore it. A separate criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 700, still appears in the federal code and threatens up to one year in prison for anyone who “knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon” a flag.¹ The Supreme Court has made that statute unenforceable, which is covered further down. In practice, the Flag Code is a handbook of respected traditions, and the tradition is what gives it force.

When and How to Fly the Flag Outdoors

Under 4 U.S.C. § 6, the custom is to display the flag from sunrise to sunset on buildings and stationary flagpoles in the open. If you want to fly it around the clock, it needs to be properly illuminated during darkness.² The code doesn’t specify a lumen level or a fixture type. A dedicated spotlight or a well-lit porch light that keeps the flag clearly visible at night meets the guideline.

The flag should not be displayed in inclement weather unless it is an all-weather flag designed for rain, snow, and wind.² Most nylon and polyester flags sold today qualify. A ceremonial cotton flag should come inside when conditions turn rough.

The code also lists specific days for special display, including New Year’s Day, Inauguration Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Presidents Day, Memorial Day (half-staff until noon, then full-staff), Flag Day (June 14), Independence Day, Labor Day, Constitution Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, along with state holidays, election days at polling places, and other days the President proclaims.³

Half-Staff Durations

Flying the flag at half-staff is a mark of mourning, and 4 U.S.C. § 7 assigns specific durations. The President can order the flag lowered for the death of any principal government figure, and governors can issue half-staff orders within their own states.⁴

30 days for the death of a current or former President
10 days for the death of a Vice President, the Chief Justice or a retired Chief Justice, or the Speaker of the House
From the day of death until interment for an Associate Justice, a cabinet secretary, a former Vice President, or a governor
The day of death and the following day for a member of Congress

For deaths of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is displayed at half-staff according to presidential instructions or recognized custom.⁴ On Memorial Day, the flag flies at half-staff from sunrise until noon, then rises to full-staff for the rest of the day.

Where the Flag Goes Around Other Flags

Whenever the American flag is displayed with other flags, 4 U.S.C. § 7 requires it to hold the position of prominence. No other flag or pennant may be placed above it or, if on the same level, to its right. The one narrow exception is that a church pennant may fly above the flag during naval chapel services at sea.⁵

In a group of state, local, or organizational flags, the American flag belongs at the center and highest point. When multiple flags share the same halyard, it goes to the peak. On adjacent poles of equal height, it should be hoisted first and lowered last.⁵ When flags of two or more nations are displayed together, international custom calls for separate staffs of the same height and flags of roughly equal size; displaying one nation’s flag above another’s during peacetime violates that protocol.⁶

Indoors, when the flag is on a staff in a church or auditorium, it belongs in the position of honor at the speaker’s right as the speaker faces the audience. Any other flag goes to the speaker’s left.⁴ “Speaker’s right” means the audience’s left, and that reversal trips people up constantly when setting up stages.

On a vehicle, the flag should never be draped over the hood, roof, sides, or back. It must be flown from a staff fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.⁶ On a float, it may only be displayed from a staff, never laid flat.⁴

How to Behave When the Flag Passes

When the flag is being hoisted, lowered, or carried past you in a parade, 4 U.S.C. § 9 spells out the response. Anyone in military uniform should render a military salute. Armed forces members and veterans present but not in uniform may also salute. Everyone else faces the flag, stands at attention, and places their right hand over their heart. If you’re wearing a hat, remove it with your right hand and hold it at your left shoulder with your hand over your heart.⁷ In a moving procession, you hold this posture as the flag passes you.

What You Shouldn’t Do With the Flag

Section 8 lists a long set of restrictions. The flag should never be used as clothing, bedding, or drapery. It should hang freely rather than bunched or gathered into folds. It should never be used for advertising, printed on disposable items like napkins or boxes, or marked with any writing, logo, or image.⁸

It should not touch the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise. It should never be carried flat or horizontally except when being folded. It should not be used as a receptacle for carrying or delivering anything, and it should not be stored where it can be easily torn, soiled, or damaged.⁸

One point of confusion is worth pulling out. The code says no part of the flag should be used as a costume or athletic uniform, but it explicitly allows flag patches on the uniforms of military personnel, firefighters, police officers, and members of patriotic organizations.⁸ A sewn-on patch isn’t “using the flag as apparel.” Wearing an actual flag as a cape would be. Flag-patterned clothing made from ordinary fabric — the kind sold every Fourth of July — falls into a gray area the code discourages but nobody enforces.

Burning the Flag in Protest

Although 18 U.S.C. § 700 remains on the books, the Supreme Court has made it unenforceable. In Texas v. Johnson (1989), the Court ruled 5–4 that burning the American flag as political protest is symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment, and that the government cannot prohibit expression simply because society finds it offensive.⁹

Congress responded with the Flag Protection Act of 1989, which tried to criminalize desecration without tying it to any particular viewpoint. The Supreme Court struck that law down the following year in United States v. Eichman (1990), holding that it still suppressed expression based on concern for its communicative impact.¹⁰ Multiple constitutional amendments to overturn those rulings have been proposed in Congress. None have passed. The Flag Code says how the flag should be treated, and no one can be prosecuted for treating it otherwise.

What an HOA Can and Cannot Do

The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 prevents condominium associations, cooperative associations, and residential management associations from adopting or enforcing any policy that bans residents from displaying the flag on property they own or have exclusive use of.¹¹ This federal protection overrides restrictive covenants a homeowner may have signed.

Associations can still impose reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner of the display when those restrictions protect a substantial interest of the association.¹² That covers rules on flagpole height, placement relative to property lines, and flag size. What it doesn’t cover is a flat prohibition. The display must also be consistent with the Flag Code itself, so the protection doesn’t extend to flying a tattered or soiled flag indefinitely.

Retiring a Worn Flag

When a flag has become too worn, faded, or tattered to serve as a fitting emblem, the code says it should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.⁸ This ceremonial burning is meant to be private and respectful, the opposite of a public protest.

If you would rather not handle it yourself, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion both accept worn flags for dignified retirement, and many local posts keep year-round collection boxes and hold periodic disposal ceremonies. Some fire departments and Boy Scout troops offer the same service. Before burning a flag at home, check your local fire ordinances, since open burning is restricted or banned in many municipalities.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 700 – Desecration of the Flag of the United States; Penalties
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 6 – Time and Occasions for Display
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 US Code 6 – Time and Occasions for Display
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 US Code 7 – Position and Manner of Display
6
Justia Law. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 9 – Conduct During Hoisting, Lowering, or Passing of Flag
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 8 – Respect for Flag
9
Justia. Texas v Johnson, 491 US 397 (1989)
10
Justia. United States v Eichman, 496 US 310 (1990)
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 5 – Display and Use of Flag by Civilians; Codification of Rules and Customs; Definition
12
U.S. Government Publishing Office. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005