US Flag Code: Display, Half-Staff, and Retirement Rules

The United States Flag Code, set out in Title 4 of the U.S. Code, is the federal guide to displaying, handling, and retiring the American flag. It tells you when to raise and lower it, how to position it with other flags, what uses to avoid, how to observe half-staff, and how to dispose of one that’s worn out. The Code uses advisory language (“should,” not “shall”) for civilians, and the Supreme Court has held that the government cannot criminally punish private citizens for how they treat the flag.¹ The guidelines still reflect the widely accepted standard of respect, and most people who fly a flag want to follow them.

When to Fly the Flag

The standard practice is to fly the flag on buildings and outdoor staffs from sunrise to sunset. You can leave it up around the clock as long as it is properly lit after dark.² The statute doesn’t specify a type of light or a brightness level. In practice, if the flag sits in shadow and you can’t make it out from the street, the lighting isn’t doing its job.

Raise the flag briskly all the way to the top of the staff, and lower it slowly and ceremoniously. Don’t fly it in rain, snow, or heavy wind unless it is an all-weather flag designed for those conditions.²

How to Position the Flag

Flat Against a Wall

When you hang the flag flat against a wall, either horizontally or vertically, the union (the blue field with stars) goes in the upper-left corner from the viewer’s perspective. The statute puts it as “the flag’s own right,” which translates to the observer’s left.³

With State, City, or Organizational Flags

The American flag always takes the position of prominence. Grouped with state, city, or organizational flags on separate staffs, it goes at the center and the highest point. Flown from adjacent staffs in a row, it goes up first and comes down last, and no other flag may be placed above it or to its right (the flag’s own right, which is your left as you face the display).³

On crossed staffs against a wall, the American flag goes on its own right (your left as you face them), with its staff in front of the other flag’s staff.³

With the Flag of Another Country

Different rules apply when the American flag is displayed alongside the flag of another nation. International custom forbids placing one nation’s flag above another in peacetime, so both flags fly from separate staffs of the same height and should be roughly the same size.³ This overrides the general rule about the American flag being highest.

On a Speaker’s Platform, in a Parade, or Off a Building

On a speaker’s platform, the flag belongs on the speaker’s right as the speaker faces the audience. In a procession with other flags, the American flag goes either on the marching right or out front at the center of the line. Flown from a staff angled out from a window, balcony, or building front, the union goes at the peak of the staff (the outer end) unless the flag is at half-staff.³ On a parade float, it should hang from a staff or be suspended to fall freely, not draped flat over the vehicle.⁴

Covering a Casket

When the flag drapes a casket, the union goes at the head and over the left shoulder of the deceased. The flag should not be lowered into the grave and must not touch the ground during the service.⁵

Half-Staff

Flying the flag at half-staff has a specific procedure. Hoist it briskly all the way to the top of the staff, pause there for an instant, then lower it to the halfway point. Before taking it down at the end of the day, raise it back to the peak briefly and then lower it all the way.⁵

The President orders the flag to half-staff on the death of high-ranking federal officials. Governors and the Mayor of the District of Columbia can issue proclamations for officials, service members who die on active duty, and first responders killed in the line of duty within their jurisdiction.⁵ The durations set by the Flag Code are:

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

The President can also order half-staff for foreign dignitaries and other officials not listed.⁵

Memorial Day has its own protocol. The flag flies at half-staff only until noon, then is raised to the top of the staff for the rest of the day.⁵ Peace Officers Memorial Day (May 15), Patriot Day (September 11), and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (December 7) call for half-staff from sunrise to sunset.⁶

What the Code Says Not to Do

The Flag Code identifies specific uses to avoid.

Don’t dip the flag to any person or thing. State flags and organizational colors may be dipped as a salute, but the national flag stays upright.⁷
Don’t use it as clothing, bedding, or drapery. The flag should hang free and not be gathered up in folds or pulled back like a curtain.⁷
Don’t use it as a container for carrying or holding anything.⁷
Don’t mark or decorate the flag itself with letters, designs, logos, or any other markings.⁷
Don’t let it touch the ground, floor, or water.⁷

The Code also says the flag should never be used for advertising, that advertising signs shouldn’t be attached to the same staff or rope, and that the flag shouldn’t be printed on napkins, boxes, or other disposable items or embroidered on cushions and similar articles.⁷ Flag-themed merchandise is everywhere; these provisions are not enforced against private sellers.

When you want red, white, and blue decoration for an event, use bunting rather than the flag itself. Arrange it with blue on top, white in the middle, and red on the bottom. Bunting is the proper material for draping a speaker’s desk, the front of a stage, or a building front.⁸

Flying the Flag at Home

If you live in a community governed by a homeowners association, condominium association, or similar management body, federal law protects your right to fly the American flag. The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act, signed in 2006 and codified in the notes to 4 U.S.C. § 5, prohibits these associations from adopting or enforcing any policy that prevents a member from displaying the U.S. flag on residential property where the member has an ownership interest or an exclusive right to use the space.⁹ The association can still impose reasonable restrictions on time, place, and manner of display, but it cannot impose a blanket ban.

Retiring a Worn Flag

Keep the flag clean, repair minor damage promptly, and replace it when it becomes noticeably faded, frayed, or soiled beyond cleaning.

The traditional folding method produces a tight triangle with only the blue star field visible. The fold begins lengthwise, then proceeds in triangular folds from the striped end until the flag forms a compact triangle.¹⁰

When a flag is too worn or damaged to display, the Flag Code calls for it to be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.⁷ American Legion posts, VFW halls, Boy Scout troops, and some fire departments accept worn flags for ceremonial retirement, and drop-off boxes at these locations make the process simple. If none of those are available, a respectful private burning in a safe outdoor setting fulfills the Code’s guidance.

Conduct During the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance

During the national anthem, civilians who are not in uniform should face the flag, stand at attention, and place the right hand over the heart. Men wearing a hat should remove it with the right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, keeping the hand over the heart. Veterans and active-duty service members present but not in uniform may render a military salute instead.¹¹ When no flag is visible, everyone present should face toward the music and follow the same protocol.

The Pledge of Allegiance uses the same posture: stand at attention, face the flag, right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform remove non-religious headwear. Service members in uniform remain silent, face the flag, and salute.¹²

Is the Flag Code Actually Enforced?

The Flag Code is written in advisory language. Most of its provisions use “should,” not “shall,” and it carries no penalties for private citizens who violate its guidelines. One narrow exception applies within the District of Columbia, where an older provision makes it a misdemeanor to place advertising markings on the flag or to manufacture and sell merchandise bearing the flag’s image, punishable by a fine of up to $100 or up to 30 days in jail.¹

Beyond that DC-specific rule, criminal enforcement is off the table. In 1989, the Supreme Court held in Texas v. Johnson that burning the American flag as political protest is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment, and that the government cannot prohibit expression simply because society finds the idea offensive.¹³ When Congress responded by passing the Flag Protection Act of 1989, the Court struck that down as well in United States v. Eichman.¹⁴

The practical result is that the Flag Code works through social norms and voluntary compliance. Nobody will fine you for leaving your flag out in the rain or hanging it upside down.

Days to Fly the Flag

The Flag Code and longstanding custom designate a number of days each year when display is especially encouraged: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Presidents’ Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day (June 14), Independence Day, Labor Day, Patriot Day (September 11), Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving.⁶ You don’t need a special occasion. Any day is appropriate, and the Code encourages display on or near every home and public building.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC Chapter 1 – The Flag
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 6 – Time and Occasions for Display
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
4
Department of Veterans Affairs. Guidelines for Display of the Flag
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
6
Department of Veterans Affairs. US Flag and Holidays
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 8 – Respect for Flag
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 8 – Respect for Flag
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 5 – Display and Use of Flag by Civilians
10
Department of Veterans Affairs. Correct Method of Folding the United States Flag
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 36 USC 301 – National Anthem
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 4 – Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
13
Legal Information Institute. Texas v Johnson, 491 US 397
14
Legal Information Institute. United States v Eichman, 496 US 310