• During recitation:
  • Military personnel stand at attention, face, and salute the flag.
  • Civilians stand at attention and place right hand over heart.
  • Men should remove their hats with their right hand, and hold it over the left shoulder with their hand over their heart.
  • Protocol is the same for the playing of the National Anthem.
  • If the flag is not present, however, listeners should stand and face the music.

• General Flag Etiquette:
  • Respect must always be accorded to the US flag.
  • The flag is never dipped to an individual.
  • The flag should not touch anything beneath it.
  • The flag should not be used as apparel, bedding, drapery, decoration, or for transporting or holding objects.
  • The flag must be protected from damage or soiling during display or storage.
  • The flag should not be used for advertising purposes.
  • No decoration of any type should be mounted on the flag, its staff, or halyard.
  • The flag should not be embroidered on personal items nor printed on material subject to discard. Military personnel, police and rescue workers, and members of patriotic organizations may wear flag patches.
  • A worn flag, no longer suitable for display, should be destroyed in a dignified manner, preferably by burning.

• Carrying the Flag of the United States:
• The flag should always be carried aloft and free, not flat or horizontally.
• When the flag is passing in a parade, bystanders follow the same protocol required for The Pledge of Allegiance. The flag must be placed on the marching right when carried in procession with other flags.
• In a serial line of flags, the US flag must be forward of the center of the line.
• If carried on a float, the flag must be mounted on a staff, unless it is exhibited vertically or horizontally against a backdrop. Protocol for this method is the same as that for mounting the flag on a wall.
• During a funeral procession, if a flag is draped over a casket, the union should be over the deceased's head and left shoulder. During burial, the flag must not touch or be lowered into the earth.

• Raising and Lowering the Flag of the United States:
• The flag should be raised vigorously and lowered respectfully.
• When flying a flag at half-mast, it must first be raised to the peak, and then lowered.
• When lowering the flag at sunset, it should first be raised to the peak again.
• When flown with state, local, or organizational flags, the US flag should be hoisted first and lowered last.
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• Displaying the Flag of the United States:
  • The flag should be flown daily from sunrise to sunset from public buildings (including schools), and at polling places during elections. If properly illuminated, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day.
  • Unless the flag is made from all-weather materials, it should not be displayed in poor weather.
  • The flag should be flown on national and state holidays, and other special occasions. On Memorial Day, the flag should be hung at half-mast until noon.
  • The flag must never be displayed with union down except in distress.
  • When displayed in a church or at an oratory event, the US flag should be mounted to the speakers right.
  • When the flag is displayed from a pole extending at a horizontal angle from a structure, the union should be at the peak, unless the flag is being flown at half-mast. If the flag is not flown from a staff, it must be displayed in a manner that prevents it from folding.
  • When the US flag is mounted horizontally or vertically on a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the viewers left.
  • When hung over a street, the union should be to the east in a north-south street, or north in an east-west street.
    the flag should not be draped over a vehicle or train. The flag may be displayed from a car's staff, firmly clamped or mounted to the right fender or chassis.


• Displaying the US Flag with other Flags:
  • If two flags are displayed with crossed staffs against a wall, the US flag must be placed on its own right, with its staff mounted over the staff of the other flag.
  • When displayed in a row of flags, the US flag will always be to the flags own right (the observers left).
  • If the flags of two or more nations are displayed together, the flags should be similar in size and flown at the same height from separate staffs.
  • When displayed with state, local, or organizational flags on the same staff, the US flag must always be highest, whether mounted on the same or separate staffs.
  • When displayed among a group of flags or pennants, the US flag should be in the center and the highest. The church pennant is the only flag ever flown over the national ensign at the point of hoist. It is displayed during church services, both ashore and afloat.

E-mail:  WEBMASTER

Created: 7 May 2004

Updated: 1 March 2008

Copyright © 2004 by SWAN Unlimited