Half Staff Flag Days: Annual Dates and Presidential Orders

Half-staff flag days in the United States fall into two groups: five dates fixed by federal law that recur every year, and mourning periods triggered when certain government officials die. The core rules sit in 4 U.S.C. § 7(m), with individual observance days set out in Title 36. The President and state governors can also order the flag lowered for events that fall outside those standing rules.

The Five Annual Half-Staff Days

Five observances call for the flag at half-staff every year on the same schedule.

Peace Officers Memorial Day (May 15): Half-staff all day to honor federal, state, and local law-enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. If May 15 falls on Armed Forces Day, Armed Forces Day takes precedence and the flag flies full-staff.¹²
Memorial Day (last Monday in May): Half-staff from sunrise until noon, then raised to full-staff for the rest of the day. The morning position honors those who died in military service; the afternoon full-staff position represents the resolve of the living to carry on.¹
National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Day: Half-staff at all federal office buildings on the memorial day set each year by presidential proclamation under Public Law 107-51. It typically falls on a Sunday.³
Patriot Day (September 11): The President is asked to issue an annual proclamation directing flags to half-staff for the full day, marking the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.⁴
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (December 7): Half-staff to honor those who died as a result of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, on the President’s proclamation.⁵

Memorial Day is the one that trips people up. It is the only annual half-staff day with a midday change, so if you lower your flag at sunrise, set a reminder to raise it back to the top at 12:00 p.m.

Mourning Periods After an Official’s Death

When a high-ranking federal official dies, 4 U.S.C. § 7(m) fixes how long the flag stays at half-staff. The duration is tied to the office.¹

President or former President: 30 days from the day of death.
Vice President, Chief Justice or retired Chief Justice, or Speaker of the House: 10 days from the day of death.
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, cabinet secretary, former Vice President, or Governor of a state or territory: From the day of death until the day of interment.
Member of Congress: The day of death and the following day.

For the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries not named in the statute, the flag is displayed at half-staff according to presidential instructions or recognized customs.¹

Presidential and Gubernatorial Orders

The recurring dates and the mourning tiers do not cover every situation. Under 4 U.S.C. § 7(m), the President can order the flag to half-staff whenever a principal government figure or a governor dies, and presidential instructions govern display after the death of foreign dignitaries or other officials.¹ In practice, presidents also issue half-staff proclamations after mass tragedies, natural disasters, and the deaths of prominent citizens who don’t fit the statutory tiers.

Governors hold a parallel authority within their own states and territories. A governor may order the flag to half-staff after the death of a current or former state official, a member of the armed forces from that state who dies on active duty, or a first responder from that state who dies in the line of duty.¹ The Mayor of the District of Columbia has the same authority for D.C. officials, service members, and first responders.

When a governor orders the flag lowered for a fallen service member, federal installations and facilities within that state must comply. That requirement was added in 2007.⁶

How to Lower the Flag Correctly

Getting the flag to the halfway point is a two-step process on both ends of the day. In the morning, hoist the flag briskly all the way to the top of the pole, pause for an instant, then lower it slowly to the half-staff position, which the statute defines as the point halfway between the top and bottom of the staff. At the end of the day, raise the flag back to the peak before bringing it down completely.¹

The statute uses “should” rather than “shall” for these steps, so they are customary guidance rather than a hard mandate. Skipping the peak-first ritual is the most common mistake people make.

If Your Flag Can’t Be Lowered

Many homeowners fly the flag from an angled wall-mount bracket where the pole is fixed and the flag cannot slide up or down. The widely accepted alternative is to attach a black mourning ribbon or streamer to the pole just below the finial so it streams alongside the flag. A common sizing guideline is a ribbon roughly the same length as the flag and no more than about one-tenth its width.

Indoor flags in floor stands are not expected to be repositioned either, and the same mourning-streamer approach works. This practice is not codified in the Flag Code, but organizations such as The American Legion have long advocated it as an acceptable custom.

Are the Half-Staff Rules Enforceable?

For private citizens and businesses, no. The Congressional Research Service has described the Flag Code’s display provisions as “declaratory and advisory only,” meaning they set out proper customs without creating any legal obligation for individuals. The code’s preamble at 4 U.S.C. § 5 frames it as guidance “for the use of such civilians or civilian groups or organizations as may not be required to conform with regulations” issued by executive departments.⁷

Government buildings are treated differently. Federal agencies and military installations follow presidential proclamations and the statutory mourning periods. If a neighbor leaves a flag at full height on Memorial Day morning, that is a lapse in etiquette, not a violation of law.

Keeping Track of Half-Staff Orders

The recurring dates are easy to memorize, but presidential and gubernatorial proclamations can arrive at any time. The White House posts proclamations on its website, and most governors publish theirs through official state channels. Free email alert services such as HalfStaff.org send notifications whenever a federal or state order is issued, and subscribers can filter by state.

If you fly a flag at a business or public-facing building, staying current on these orders matters more than it does at home. Leaving a flag at full height during a nationally observed half-staff period is one of the most visible flag-etiquette mistakes, and customers and passersby tend to notice before you do.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 USC 7 – Position and Manner of Display
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 36 USC 136 – Peace Officers Memorial Day
3
The White House. National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, 2026
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 36 USC 144 – Patriot Day
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 36 USC 129 – National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
6
U.S. Government Publishing Office. Public Law 110-41 – Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007
7
Congress.gov. Frequently Asked Questions About Flag Law