Flag Order of Precedence: Poles, Military, and POW/MIA Rules

When flags are displayed together, the flag order of precedence in the United States runs from the national flag at the top down through state flags, local government flags, and finally organizational or private flags. This hierarchy is set out in the U.S. Flag Code at 4 U.S.C. § 7, which governs position and manner of display.¹ Military service flags, international flags, and the POW/MIA flag each follow their own conventions within that framework.

The Basic Ranking

The U.S. flag always occupies the center and the highest point of any group of flags. No other flag or pennant may be placed above it or to its right, meaning the flag’s own right as viewed from behind. The statute contains one narrow exception: during church services conducted by naval chaplains at sea, the church pennant may fly above the U.S. flag.¹

Below the U.S. flag, the standard descending order is:

United States flag, highest and most prominent
State flags
City and other local government flags
Organizational, corporate, or private flags

The same ranking applies whether the flags are grouped on staffs, flown from adjacent poles, or carried in a procession. In a marching line, the U.S. flag goes on the marching right or in front of the center of the other flags.¹

How the Order Looks on the Pole

One Pole, Multiple Flags

When several flags share a single pole or halyard, the U.S. flag goes at the peak. State, city, and organizational flags hang below in that order. No flag on that pole may be larger or more prominent than the U.S. flag.¹

Adjacent Poles

When flags fly from separate poles side by side, the U.S. flag is hoisted first and lowered last. It occupies the position of honor to its own right, which appears on the left from the viewer’s perspective. Nothing may be placed to the U.S. flag’s right, and nothing may fly higher on an adjacent pole.¹

Crossed Staffs Against a Wall

With the U.S. flag and one other flag on crossed staffs, the U.S. flag goes on its own right, and its staff sits in front of the other. People get this wrong often because “the flag’s own right” is the opposite of what a viewer facing the display sees.¹

Military Service Flag Order

Department of Defense Directive 1005.8 establishes the order of precedence for members of the armed forces in formations, and the same sequence is used for service flag displays at DoD installations and ceremonies. The order is based on each branch’s establishment date, with one policy adjustment:

United States Army (1775)
United States Marine Corps (1775)
United States Navy (1775)
United States Air Force (1947)
United States Space Force (2019)
United States Coast Guard (1790)

The Coast Guard’s placement is the point most people question. Although it predates the Air Force and Space Force, the Coast Guard normally sits last in DoD formations because it operates under the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Defense.² That changes in wartime. Under 14 U.S.C. § 103, when the President directs the Coast Guard to operate as a service in the Navy, the Coast Guard moves up to the position immediately after the Navy.³

The Space Force was established on December 20, 2019, after DoD Directive 1005.8 was last updated, so it does not appear in the directive’s text. In practice, it slots in after the Air Force based on establishment date.

Flags of Different Nations

When the flags of two or more nations are flown together, the Flag Code requires each flag to be flown from a separate staff of the same height, at approximately the same size. International custom forbids displaying one nation’s flag above another’s during peacetime.¹ Identical staffs, equal heights, and comparable sizes all signal the equality of sovereign states.

The Flag Code itself does not prescribe an arrangement order. Most international events follow the United Nations Flag Code, which arranges flags in English alphabetical order by country name.⁴ At diplomatic summits, allied military ceremonies, and international sporting events, English alphabetical order is the default.

State and Territory Flags

When all 50 state flags are displayed together, the standard approach is to arrange them by the date each state ratified the Constitution or was admitted to the Union, with Delaware (1787) first and Hawaii (1959) last. The U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry accepts alphabetical order as an alternative.⁵

Territorial flags come after the state flags. The territories typically included are the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.⁵

The Flag Code does not specify an order for municipal or local flags. When several city flags appear at the same level, common practice is to arrange them by date of incorporation or alphabetically, but that is convention, not federal law.

Where the POW/MIA Flag Goes

Federal law gives the National League of Families POW/MIA flag a special status. Under 36 U.S.C. § 902, it must be displayed at specific federal locations, including the Capitol, the White House, national war memorials, national cemeteries, certain cabinet buildings, major military installations, VA medical centers, and U.S. Postal Service post offices, on every day the U.S. flag is flown.⁶

When the POW/MIA flag shares a single pole with the U.S. flag, it flies directly below it. No federal statute spells out where it ranks relative to state or service flags in a multi-flag lineup, which produces occasional confusion at public events. Many organizations place it immediately below the U.S. flag and above all others, treating it as a federally recognized banner with special standing.

Half-Staff and the Rest of the Line

Lowering the national flag to half-staff changes the look of any display, and the authority to order it is defined by statute. The President can order the U.S. flag to half-staff on the death of principal government figures, with set durations: 30 days for the death of a President 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, a cabinet secretary, a former Vice President, or a sitting governor; and the day of death and the following day for a Member of Congress.¹

State governors can order state facility flags to half-staff for present or former state officials, active-duty service members from their state, or first responders killed in the line of duty. Under the Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007, when a governor issues a half-staff order for a fallen service member, federal installations in that state must comply.¹ On Memorial Day, the flag flies at half-staff only until noon, then goes to full staff for the rest of the day.

The Rules Are Advisory

One point catches many readers off guard. The U.S. Flag Code carries no penalties for civilians. The statute uses “should” throughout, and courts have treated it as declaratory and advisory rather than mandatory.⁷ No fine or arrest attaches to displaying flags in the wrong order or otherwise departing from these guidelines. Government buildings, military installations, and official ceremonies follow the order of precedence closely; for private citizens and organizations, it is a strong custom rather than an enforceable rule.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
2
Department of Defense. DoD Directive 1005.8 – Order of Precedence of Members of Armed Forces of the United States When in Formations
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 14 USC 103 – Department in Which the Coast Guard Operates
4
United Nations. The United Nations Flag Code
5
The Institute Of Heraldry. Display of State Flags
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 36 USC 902 – National League of Families POW/MIA Flag
7
Congress.gov. Frequently Asked Questions About Flag Law