Guidelines for Displaying the Flag
Time of day:
It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.
Days of the year:
The flag should be displayed on all days, but especially on:
- New Year’s Day – January 1
- Inauguration Day – January 20
- Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday – the third Monday in January
- Lincoln’s Birthday – February 12
- Washington’s Birthday – the third Monday in February
- Easter Sunday – varies
- Mother’s Day – the second Sunday in May
- Armed Forces Day – third Saturday in May
- Memorial Day – (flag should be half-staff until noon) the last Monday in May
- Flag Day – June 14
- Independence Day – July 4
- Labor Day – first Monday in September
- Constitution Day – September 17
- Columbus Day – second Monday in October
- Navy Day – October 27
- Veteran’s Day – November 11
- Thanksgiving Day – fourth Thursday in November
- Christmas Day – December 25
Exception for inclement weather:
The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all-weather flag is displayed.
It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.
Days of the year:
The flag should be displayed on all days, but especially on:
- New Year’s Day – January 1
- Inauguration Day – January 20
- Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday – the third Monday in January
- Lincoln’s Birthday – February 12
- Washington’s Birthday – the third Monday in February
- Easter Sunday – varies
- Mother’s Day – the second Sunday in May
- Armed Forces Day – third Saturday in May
- Memorial Day – (flag should be half-staff until noon) the last Monday in May
- Flag Day – June 14
- Independence Day – July 4
- Labor Day – first Monday in September
- Constitution Day – September 17
- Columbus Day – second Monday in October
- Navy Day – October 27
- Veteran’s Day – November 11
- Thanksgiving Day – fourth Thursday in November
- Christmas Day – December 25
Exception for inclement weather:
The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all-weather flag is displayed.