Flagpole Etiquette: Displaying, Half-Staff, and Retiring the Flag

Flagpole etiquette in the United States follows the U.S. Flag Code, found at 4 U.S.C. §§ 1–10, which sets out the accepted customs for displaying, handling, and retiring the American flag. The Code is advisory for private citizens: it contains no penalties, and the Supreme Court has held that statutes criminalizing flag desecration violate the First Amendment. The customs still carry real weight in most communities, and getting the details right is what neighbors and passersby notice.

Raising, Lowering, and Time of Day

Raise the flag with a brisk, deliberate motion. Lower it slowly and ceremoniously. The contrast is intentional.¹ During both movements the flag should never touch the ground, the floor, water, or anything beneath it.² A second person holding the fabric off the ground while you clip the halyard makes this easier in a breeze.

The default schedule is sunrise to sunset. If you want to fly around the clock, the flag must be properly illuminated during darkness. A solar spotlight angled upward at the pole satisfies this without wiring.¹

Take the flag down in inclement weather unless you’re flying an all-weather flag.¹ Severe storms are a separate concern. High winds create sail-effect stress that can exceed a pole’s rated load, and most flagpole failures happen when a flag is left up in heavy wind. Lowering it protects both the flag and the pole.

Days the Flag Should Be Displayed

The Flag Code lists more than 20 specific days for display. The most familiar are Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Flag Day on June 14. The list also includes New Year’s Day, Inauguration Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Presidents’ Day, Armed Forces Day, Labor Day, Constitution Day on September 17, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, among others. State admission dates and state holidays qualify as well.¹

Flying every day covers all of these automatically. If you display selectively, keeping a calendar prevents an empty pole on days when the neighborhood expects to see colors.

Half-Staff Procedure

Half-staff has a specific sequence. Raise the flag briskly to the peak of the pole, pause, then lower it to the halfway point between top and bottom. At the end of the day, raise it back to the peak before lowering it all the way.³ Skipping the initial raise-to-the-peak step is the most common mistake.

Only the President or a state Governor can officially order half-staff. Durations vary by whose death is being marked:³

Current or former President: 30 days from the date of death.
Vice President, Chief Justice, or Speaker of the House: 10 days from the date 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 following day.

Memorial Day is different. The flag flies at half-staff from sunrise until noon, then returns to the peak for the rest of the day.¹ Governors can also order half-staff for a service member killed on active duty or a first responder killed in the line of duty from their state.

Flying More Than One Flag on the Pole

When additional flags share the halyard with the U.S. flag, the American flag stays at the peak. State flags, city flags, and organizational pennants go below it, and none may be placed above the U.S. flag or to its right.³ Leave enough spacing so flags don’t wrap around each other.

The POW/MIA flag has its own place. On a single pole it flies directly below the U.S. flag and should be no larger than it.⁴ Congress has designated six national observances on which federal buildings must fly it, and many private owners follow the same pattern.

Military Branch Flags

If you display flags of the U.S. Armed Forces, Department of Defense guidelines order them by date of establishment: Army (1775), Marine Corps (1775), Navy (1775), Air Force (1947), Space Force (2019), and Coast Guard (1790). The Coast Guard goes last despite predating the Air Force because it falls under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime. In wartime, when the Coast Guard operates under the Navy, its flag moves up to the position just behind the Navy flag.

Flags of Other Nations

International custom forbids placing one country’s flag above another’s in peacetime. Flags of two or more nations should fly from separate staffs of the same height and be roughly the same size.³ You cannot put another nation’s flag on the same halyard beneath the U.S. flag the way you would a state or organizational flag.

Respect Rules That Trip People Up

Flying the flag upside down is reserved as a distress signal indicating extreme danger to life or property. The flag should not be used as clothing, bedding, or drapery, and advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard.²

When the flag is displayed from a horizontal or angled staff projecting from a building, the blue union goes at the peak of the staff, meaning the end farthest from the building, unless the flag is at half-staff.³ On a vertical freestanding pole the union naturally sits at the top and no thought is required.

Retiring a Worn Flag

A flag that has become faded, torn, or otherwise worn should come down. The Flag Code says to destroy it in a dignified manner, with burning as the preferred method.² You can do this privately in a fire pit, or hand the flag off to a veterans’ organization. The American Legion and VFW conduct formal retirement ceremonies throughout the year, and most posts accept worn flags year-round.

Inspect the flag regularly instead of waiting for obvious damage. UV and wind fray the fly end first, and by the time the fraying is visible from the ground the flag has usually needed replacing for weeks.

HOAs and Your Right to Fly the Flag

If you live in a community with a homeowners association, federal law protects your display. The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 prohibits condominium associations, cooperatives, and residential management associations from enforcing any rule that would prevent a member from displaying the U.S. flag on property they own or have exclusive use of.⁵

The law does allow “reasonable restrictions” on time, place, and manner. An HOA can set rules about flagpole height, require pre-approval for installation, or limit placement so the pole doesn’t obstruct a neighbor’s sightlines. What the association cannot do is ban the flag. If your CC&Rs include flagpole language, read it carefully. Any restriction must be explicitly stated, uniformly enforced, and aimed at a legitimate concern such as safety or structural integrity rather than discouraging display.

Installation and Upkeep

Before installing a permanent in-ground pole, check local zoning. Many jurisdictions require a building permit for poles over 15 feet, and setback rules dictate distance from property lines and structures. Keep the pole at least 10 feet from overhead power lines. These are easier to sort out before the concrete sets than after.

A metal pole is a tall grounded conductor, so lightning protection matters. A copper-clad ground rod driven deep into the earth directs a strike safely rather than letting the charge travel through the foundation into nearby structures. Aluminum poles in open yards with no taller surroundings especially need this.

Ongoing maintenance is light but noticeable. The most common complaint is halyard noise: metal clips clanging against the pole in wind. Vinyl snap hook covers eliminate most of the noise for a few dollars, and internal halyard systems avoid the problem entirely at higher upfront cost. Inspect the halyard and the pulley at the truck (the fitting at the top of the pole) at least once a year. A rope that breaks mid-hoist turns a five-minute chore into a service call.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 6 – Time and Occasions for Display
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 8 – Respect for Flag
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
4
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The POW/MIA Flag
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 5 – Display and Use of Flag by Civilians