-CITE-

4 USC CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

.

-HEAD-

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-MISC1-

Sec.

1. Flag; stripes and stars on.

2. Same; additional stars.

3. Use of flag for advertising purposes; mutilation of flag.

4. Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery.

5. Display and use of flag by civilians; codification of rules and

customs; definition.

6. Time and occasions for display.

7. Position and manner of display.

8. Respect for flag.

9. Conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of flag.

10. Modification of rules and customs by President.

AMENDMENTS

1998 - Pub. L. 105-225, Sec. 2(b), Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1498,

added items 4 to 10.

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 1 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 1. Flag; stripes and stars on

-STATUTE-

The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal

stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall

be forty-eight stars, white in a blue field.

-SOURCE-

(July 30, 1947, ch. 389, 61 Stat. 642.)

-MISC1-

SHORT TITLE OF 2000 AMENDMENT

Pub. L. 106-252, Sec. 1, July 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 626, provided

that: ''This Act (enacting sections 116 to 126 of this title and

provisions set out as a note under section 116 of this title) may

be cited as the 'Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act'.''

-EXEC-

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 10798

Ex. Ord. No. 10798, Jan. 3, 1959, 24 F.R. 79, which prescribed

proportions and sizes of flags until July 4, 1960, was revoked by

section 33 of Ex. Ord. No. 10834, set out as a note under this

section.

EX. ORD. NO. 10834. PROPORTIONS AND SIZES OF FLAGS AND POSITION OF

STARS

Ex. Ord. No. 10834, Aug. 21, 1959, 24 F.R. 6865, provided:

WHEREAS the State of Hawaii has this day been admitted into the

Union; and

WHEREAS section 2 of title 4 of the United States Code provides

as follows: ''On the admission of a new State into the Union one

star shall be added to the union of the flag; and such addition

shall take effect on the fourth day of July then next succeeding

such admission.''; and

WHEREAS the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of

1949 (63 Stat. 377), as amended (now chapters 1 to 11 of Title 40,

Public Buildings, Property, and Works and title III of the Act of

June 30, 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 et seq.)) authorizes the President to

prescribe policies and directives governing the procurement and

utilization of property by executive agencies; and

WHEREAS the interests of the Government require that orderly and

reasonable provision be made for various matters pertaining to the

flag and that appropriate regulations governing the procurement and

utilization of national flags and union jacks by executive agencies

be prescribed:

NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as

President of the United States and as Commander in Chief of the

armed forces of the United States, and the Federal Property and

Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (see Short Title

note under section 471 of Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and

Works), it is hereby ordered as follows:

PART I - DESIGN OF THE FLAG

Section 1. The flag of the United States shall have thirteen

horizontal stripes, alternate red and white, and a union consisting

of white stars on a field of blue.

Sec. 2. The positions of the stars in the union of the flag and

in the union jack shall be as indicated on the attachment to this

order, which is hereby made a part of this order.

Sec. 3. The dimensions of the constituent parts of the flag shall

conform to the proportions set forth in the attachment referred to

in section 2 of this order.

PART II - REGULATIONS GOVERNING EXECUTIVE AGENCIES

Sec. 21. The following sizes of flags are authorized for

executive agencies:

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dimensions of Flag

Size Hoist (width) Fly (length)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Feet Feet

(1) 20.00 38.00

(2) 10.00 19.00

(3) 8.95 17.00

(4) 7.00 11.00

(5) 5.00 9.50

(6) 4.33 5.50

(7) 3.50 6.65

(8) 3.00 4.00

(9) 3.00 5.70

(10) 2.37 4.50

(11) 1.32 2.50

-------------------------------

Sec. 22. Flags manufactured or purchased for the use of executive

agencies:

(a) Shall conform to the provisions of Part I of this order,

except as may be otherwise authorized pursuant to the provisions of

section 24, or except as otherwise authorized by the provisions of

section 21, of this order.

(b) Shall conform to the provisions of section 21 of this order,

except as may be otherwise authorized pursuant to the provisions of

section 24 of this order.

Sec. 23. The exterior dimensions of each union jack manufactured

or purchased for executive agencies shall equal the respective

exterior dimensions of the union of a flag of a size authorized by

or pursuant to this order. The size of the union jack flown with

the national flag shall be the same as the size of the union of

that national flag.

Sec. 24. (a) The Secretary of Defense in respect of procurement

for the Department of Defense (including military colors) and the

Administrator of General Services in respect of procurement for

executive agencies other than the Department of Defense may, for

cause which the Secretary or the Administrator, as the case may be,

deems sufficient, make necessary minor adjustments in one or more

of the dimensions or proportionate dimensions prescribed by this

order, or authorize proportions or sizes other than those

prescribed by section 3 or section 21 of this order.

(b) So far as practicable, (1) the actions of the Secretary of

Defense under the provisions of section 24(a) of this order, as

they relate to the various organizational elements of the

Department of Defense, shall be coordinated, and (2) the Secretary

and the Administrator shall mutually coordinate their actions under

that section.

Sec. 25. Subject to such limited exceptions as the Secretary of

Defense in respect of the Department of Defense, and the

Administrator of General Services in respect of executive agencies

other than the Department of Defense, may approve, all national

flags and union jacks now in the possession of executive agencies,

or hereafter acquired by executive agencies under contracts awarded

prior to the date of this order, including those so possessed or so

acquired by the General Services Administration, for distribution

to other agencies, shall be utilized until unserviceable.

PART III - GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 31. The flag prescribed by Executive Order No. 10798 of

January 3, 1959, shall be the official flag of the United States

until July 4, 1960, and on that date the flag prescribed by Part I

of this order shall become the official flag of the United States;

but this section shall neither derogate from section 24 or section

25 of this order nor preclude the procurement, for executive

agencies, of flags provided for by or pursuant to this order at any

time after the date of this order.

Sec. 32. As used in this order, the term ''executive agencies''

means the executive departments and independent establishments in

the executive branch of the Government, including wholly-owned

Government corporations.

Sec. 33. Executive Order No. 10798 of January 3, 1959, is hereby

revoked. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

*** ILLUSTRATION OMITTED ***

--------------------------------------

Standard proportions

Hoist (width) of flag 1.0 A

Fly (length) of flag 1.9 B

Hoist (width) of Union 0.5385( 7/13) C

Fly (length) of Union 0.76 D

0.054 E

0.054 F

0.063 G

0.063 H

Diameter of star 0.0616 K

Width of stripe 0.0769( 1/13) L

--------------------------------------

-SECREF-

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 5 of this title.

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 2 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 2. Same; additional stars

-STATUTE-

On the admission of a new State into the Union one star shall be

added to the union of the flag; and such addition shall take effect

on the fourth day of July then next succeeding such admission.

-SOURCE-

(July 30, 1947, ch. 389, 61 Stat. 642.)

-SECREF-

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 5 of this title.

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 3 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 3. Use of flag for advertising purposes; mutilation of flag

-STATUTE-

Any person who, within the District of Columbia, in any manner,

for exhibition or display, shall place or cause to be placed any

word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, or any advertisement

of any nature upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the

United States of America; or shall expose or cause to be exposed to

public view any such flag, standard, colors, or ensign upon which

shall have been printed, painted, or otherwise placed, or to which

shall be attached, appended, affixed, or annexed any word, figure,

mark, picture, design, or drawing, or any advertisement of any

nature; or who, within the District of Columbia, shall manufacture,

sell, expose for sale, or to public view, or give away or have in

possession for sale, or to be given away or for use for any

purpose, any article or substance being an article of merchandise,

or a receptacle for merchandise or article or thing for carrying or

transporting merchandise, upon which shall have been printed,

painted, attached, or otherwise placed a representation of any such

flag, standard, colors, or ensign, to advertise, call attention to,

decorate, mark, or distinguish the article or substance on which so

placed shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be

punished by a fine not exceeding $100 or by imprisonment for not

more than thirty days, or both, in the discretion of the court.

The words ''flag, standard, colors, or ensign'', as used herein,

shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or

representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made

of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size

evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors,

or ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a

representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the

stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any

part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the

same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the

flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America.

-SOURCE-

(July 30, 1947, ch. 389, 61 Stat. 642; Pub. L. 90-381, Sec. 3, July

5, 1968, 82 Stat. 291.)

-MISC1-

AMENDMENTS

1968 - Pub. L. 90-381 struck out ''; or who, within the District

of Columbia, shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile or defy,

trample upon, or cast contempt, either by word or act, upon any

such flag, standard, colors, or ensign,'' after ''substance on

which so placed''.

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 4 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 4. Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery

-STATUTE-

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: ''I pledge allegiance to

the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for

which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty

and justice for all.'', should be rendered by standing at attention

facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in

uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their

right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over

the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag,

and render the military salute.

-SOURCE-

(Added Pub. L. 105-225, Sec. 2(a), Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1494;

amended Pub. L. 107-293, Sec. 2(a), Nov. 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 2060.)

-MISC1-

Historical and Revision Notes

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at

Large)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

4 36:172. June 22, 1942, ch.

435, Sec. 7, 56

Stat. 380; Dec. 22,

1942, ch. 806, Sec.

7, 56 Stat. 1077;

Dec. 28, 1945, ch.

607, 59 Stat. 668;

June 14, 1954, ch.

297, 68 Stat. 249;

July 7, 1976, Pub.

L. 94-344, (19), 90

Stat. 813.

-------------------------------

-COD-

CODIFICATION

Pub. L. 107-293, Sec. 2(b), Nov. 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 2060,

provided that: ''In codifying this subsection (probably should be

''section'', meaning section 2 of Pub. L. 107-293, which amended

this section), the Office of the Law Revision Counsel shall show in

the historical and statutory notes that the 107th Congress

reaffirmed the exact language that has appeared in the Pledge for

decades.''

-MISC3-

AMENDMENTS

2002 - Pub. L. 107-293 reenacted section catchline without change

and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as

follows: ''The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, 'I pledge

allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the

Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.', should be rendered by standing

at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.

When not in uniform men should remove their headdress with their

right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over

the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag,

and render the military salute.''

FINDINGS

Pub. L. 107-293, Sec. 1, Nov. 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 2057, provided

that: ''Congress finds the following:

''(1) On November 11, 1620, prior to embarking for the shores

of America, the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact that

declared: 'Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and the

advancement of the Christian Faith and honor of our King and

country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts

of Virginia,'.

''(2) On July 4, 1776, America's Founding Fathers, after

appealing to the 'Laws of Nature, and of Nature's God' to justify

their separation from Great Britain, then declared: 'We hold

these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable

Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of

Happiness'.

''(3) In 1781, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration

of Independence and later the Nation's third President, in his

work titled 'Notes on the State of Virginia' wrote: 'God who gave

us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be

thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a

conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of

the Gift of God. That they are not to be violated but with His

wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God

is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.'

''(4) On May 14, 1787, George Washington, as President of the

Constitutional Convention, rose to admonish and exhort the

delegates and declared: 'If to please the people we offer what we

ourselves disapprove, how can we afterward defend our work? Let

us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair;

the event is in the hand of God!'

''(5) On July 21, 1789, on the same day that it approved the

Establishment Clause concerning religion, the First Congress of

the United States also passed the Northwest Ordinance, providing

for a territorial government for lands northwest of the Ohio

River, which declared: 'Religion, morality, and knowledge, being

necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind,

schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.'

''(6) On September 25, 1789, the First Congress unanimously

approved a resolution calling on President George Washington to

proclaim a National Day of Thanksgiving for the people of the

United States by declaring, 'a day of public thanksgiving and

prayer, to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts,

the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording

them an opportunity peaceably to establish a constitution of

government for their safety and happiness.'

''(7) On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered

his Gettysburg Address on the site of the battle and declared:

'It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task

remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take

increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last

full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these

dead shall not have died in vain - that this Nation, under God,

shall have a new birth of freedom - and that Government of the

people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the

earth.'

''(8) On April 28, 1952, in the decision of the Supreme Court

of the United States in Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952),

in which school children were allowed to be excused from public

schools for religious observances and education, Justice William

O. Douglas, in writing for the Court stated: 'The First

Amendment, however, does not say that in every and all respects

there shall be a separation of Church and State. Rather, it

studiously defines the manner, the specific ways, in which there

shall be no concern or union or dependency one on the other.

That is the common sense of the matter. Otherwise the State and

religion would be aliens to each other - hostile, suspicious, and

even unfriendly. Churches could not be required to pay even

property taxes. Municipalities would not be permitted to render

police or fire protection to religious groups. Policemen who

helped parishioners into their places of worship would violate

the Constitution. Prayers in our legislative halls; the appeals

to the Almighty in the messages of the Chief Executive; the

proclamations making Thanksgiving Day a holiday; ''so help me

God'' in our courtroom oaths - these and all other references to

the Almighty that run through our laws, our public rituals, our

ceremonies would be flouting the First Amendment. A fastidious

atheist or agnostic could even object to the supplication with

which the Court opens each session: ''God save the United States

and this Honorable Court.'' '

''(9) On June 15, 1954, Congress passed and President

Eisenhower signed into law a statute that was clearly consistent

with the text and intent of the Constitution of the United

States, that amended the Pledge of Allegiance to read: 'I pledge

allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the

Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.'

''(10) On July 20, 1956, Congress proclaimed that the national

motto of the United States is 'In God We Trust', and that motto

is inscribed above the main door of the Senate, behind the Chair

of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and on the

currency of the United States.

''(11) On June 17, 1963, in the decision of the Supreme Court

of the United States in Abington School District v. Schempp, 374

U.S. 203 (1963), in which compulsory school prayer was held

unconstitutional, Justices Goldberg and Harlan, concurring in the

decision, stated: 'But untutored devotion to the concept of

neutrality can lead to invocation or approval of results which

partake not simply of that noninterference and noninvolvement

with the religious which the Constitution commands, but of a

brooding and pervasive devotion to the secular and a passive, or

even active, hostility to the religious. Such results are not

only not compelled by the Constitution, but, it seems to me, are

prohibited by it. Neither government nor this Court can or

should ignore the significance of the fact that a vast portion of

our people believe in and worship God and that many of our legal,

political, and personal values derive historically from religious

teachings. Government must inevitably take cognizance of the

existence of religion and, indeed, under certain circumstances

the First Amendment may require that it do so.'

''(12) On March 5, 1984, in the decision of the Supreme Court

of the United States in Lynch v. Donelly, 465 U.S. 668 (1984),

in which a city government's display of a nativity scene was held

to be constitutional, Chief Justice Burger, writing for the

Court, stated: 'There is an unbroken history of official

acknowledgment by all three branches of government of the role of

religion in American life from at least 1789 . . . (E)xamples of

reference to our religious heritage are found in the statutorily

prescribed national motto ''In God We Trust'' (36 U.S.C. 186)

(now 36 U.S.C. 302), which Congress and the President mandated

for our currency, see (31 U.S.C. 5112(d)(1) (1982 ed.)), and in

the language ''One Nation under God'', as part of the Pledge of

Allegiance to the American flag. That pledge is recited by many

thousands of public school children - and adults - every year . .

. Art galleries supported by public revenues display religious

paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries, predominantly inspired

by one religious faith. The National Gallery in Washington,

maintained with Government support, for example, has long

exhibited masterpieces with religious messages, notably the Last

Supper, and paintings depicting the Birth of Christ, the

Crucifixion, and the Resurrection, among many others with

explicit Christian themes and messages. The very chamber in

which oral arguments on this case were heard is decorated with a

notable and permanent - not seasonal - symbol of religion: Moses

with the Ten Commandments. Congress has long provided chapels in

the Capitol for religious worship and meditation.'

''(13) On June 4, 1985, in the decision of the Supreme Court of

the United States in Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985), in

which a mandatory moment of silence to be used for meditation or

voluntary prayer was held unconstitutional, Justice O'Connor,

concurring in the judgment and addressing the contention that the

Court's holding would render the Pledge of Allegiance

unconstitutional because Congress amended it in 1954 to add the

words 'under God,' stated 'In my view, the words ''under God'' in

the Pledge, as codified at (36 U.S.C. 172) (now 4 U.S.C. 4),

serve as an acknowledgment of religion with ''the legitimate

secular purposes of solemnizing public occasions, (and)

expressing confidence in the future.'' '

''(14) On November 20, 1992, the United States Court of Appeals

for the 7th Circuit, in Sherman v. Community Consolidated School

District 21, 980 F.2d 437 (7th Cir. 1992), held that a school

district's policy for voluntary recitation of the Pledge of

Allegiance including the words 'under God' was constitutional.

''(15) The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals erroneously held, in

Newdow v. U.S. Congress (9th Cir. June 26, 2002), that the

Pledge of Allegiance's use of the express religious reference

'under God' violates the First Amendment to the Constitution, and

that, therefore, a school district's policy and practice of

teacher-led voluntary recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance is

unconstitutional.

''(16) The erroneous rationale of the 9th Circuit Court of

Appeals in Newdow would lead to the absurd result that the

Constitution's use of the express religious reference 'Year of

our Lord' in Article VII violates the First Amendment to the

Constitution, and that, therefore, a school district's policy and

practice of teacher-led voluntary recitations of the Constitution

itself would be unconstitutional.''

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 5 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 5. Display and use of flag by civilians; codification of rules

and customs; definition

-STATUTE-

The following codification of existing rules and customs

pertaining to the display and use of the flag of the United States

of America is established for the use of such civilians or civilian

groups or organizations as may not be required to conform with

regulations promulgated by one or more executive departments of the

Government of the United States. The flag of the United States for

the purpose of this chapter shall be defined according to sections

1 and 2 of this title and Executive Order 10834 issued pursuant

thereto.

-SOURCE-

(Added Pub. L. 105-225, Sec. 2(a), Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1494.)

-MISC1-

Historical and Revision Notes

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at

Large)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

5 36:173. June 22, 1942, ch.

435, Sec. 1, 56

Stat. 377; Dec. 22,

1942, ch. 806, Sec.

1, 56 Stat. 1074;

July 7, 1976, Pub.

L. 94-344, (1), 90

Stat. 810.

-------------------------------

-REFTEXT-

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Executive Order 10834, referred to in text, is set out as a note

under section 1 of this title.

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 6 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 6. Time and occasions for display

-STATUTE-

(a) 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.

(b) The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

(c) The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is

inclement, except when an all weather flag is displayed.

(d) The flag should be displayed on all days, especially on New

Year's Day, January 1; Inauguration Day, January 20; Martin Luther

King Jr.'s birthday, third Monday in January; Lincoln's Birthday,

February 12; Washington's Birthday, third Monday in February;

Easter Sunday (variable); Mother's Day, second Sunday in May; Armed

Forces Day, third Saturday in May; Memorial Day (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; Veterans Day, November 11; Thanksgiving Day, fourth

Thursday in November; Christmas Day, December 25; and such other

days as may be proclaimed by the President of the United States;

the birthdays of States (date of admission); and on State holidays.

(e) The flag should be displayed daily on or near the main

administration building of every public institution.

(f) The flag should be displayed in or near every polling place

on election days.

(g) The flag should be displayed during school days in or near

every schoolhouse.

-SOURCE-

(Added Pub. L. 105-225, Sec. 2(a), Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1494;

amended Pub. L. 106-80, Sec. 1, Oct. 25, 1999, 113 Stat. 1285.)

-MISC1-

Historical and Revision Notes

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at

Large)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

6 36:174. June 22, 1942, ch.

435, Sec. 2, 56

Stat. 378; Dec. 22,

1942, ch. 806, Sec.

2, 56 Stat. 1074;

July 7, 1976, Pub.

L. 94-344, (2)-(5),

90 Stat. 810.

-------------------------------

In subsection (d), the words ''Veterans Day'' are substituted for

''Armistice Day'' because of the Act of June 1, 1954 (ch. 250, 68

Stat. 168).

AMENDMENTS

1999 - Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 106-80 inserted ''Martin Luther King

Jr.'s birthday, third Monday in January;'' after ''January 20;''.

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 7 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 7. Position and manner of display

-STATUTE-

The flag, when carried in a procession with another flag or

flags, should be either on the marching right; that is, the flag's

own right, or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the

center of that line.

(a) The flag should not be displayed on a float in a parade

except from a staff, or as provided in subsection (i) of this

section.

(b) The flag should not be draped over the hood, top, sides, or

back of a vehicle or of a railroad train or a boat. When the flag

is displayed on a motorcar, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the

chassis or clamped to the right fender.

(c) No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the

same level, to the right of the flag of the United States of

America, except during church services conducted by naval chaplains

at sea, when the church pennant may be flown above the flag during

church services for the personnel of the Navy. No person shall

display the flag of the United Nations or any other national or

international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior

prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United

States at any place within the United States or any Territory or

possession thereof: Provided, That nothing in this section shall

make unlawful the continuance of the practice heretofore followed

of displaying the flag of the United Nations in a position of

superior prominence or honor, and other national flags in positions

of equal prominence or honor, with that of the flag of the United

States at the headquarters of the United Nations.

(d) The flag of the United States of America, when it is

displayed with another flag against a wall from crossed staffs,

should be on the right, the flag's own right, and its staff should

be in front of the staff of the other flag.

(e) The flag of the United States of America should be at the

center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags

of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and

displayed from staffs.

(f) When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of

societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United

States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags

are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States

should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant

may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the United

States flag's right.

(g) When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to

be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should

be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the

display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in

time of peace.

(h) When the flag of the United States is displayed from a staff

projecting horizontally or at an angle from the window sill,

balcony, or front of a building, the union of the flag should be

placed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half-staff.

When the flag is suspended over a sidewalk from a rope extending

from a house to a pole at the edge of the sidewalk, the flag should

be hoisted out, union first, from the building.

(i) When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a

wall, the union should be uppermost and to the flag's own right,

that is, to the observer's left. When displayed in a window, the

flag should be displayed in the same way, with the union or blue

field to the left of the observer in the street.

(j) When the flag is displayed over the middle of the street, it

should be suspended vertically with the union to the north in an

east and west street or to the east in a north and south street.

(k) When used on a speaker's platform, the flag, if displayed

flat, should be displayed above and behind the speaker. When

displayed from a staff in a church or public auditorium, the flag

of the United States of America should hold the position of

superior prominence, in advance of the audience, and in the

position of honor at the clergyman's or speaker's right as he faces

the audience. Any other flag so displayed should be placed on the

left of the clergyman or speaker or to the right of the audience.

(l) The flag should form a distinctive feature of the ceremony of

unveiling a statue or monument, but it should never be used as the

covering for the statue or monument.

(m) The flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted

to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff

position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is

lowered for the day. On Memorial Day the flag should be displayed

at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the

staff. By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at

half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States

Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession,

as a mark of respect to their memory. In the event of the death of

other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed

at half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or

in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent

with law. In the event of the death of a present or former

official of the government of any State, territory, or possession

of the United States, the Governor of that State, territory, or

possession may proclaim that the National flag shall be flown at

half-staff. The flag shall be flown at half-staff 30 days from the

death of the President or a former President; 10 days from the day

of death of the Vice President, the Chief Justice or a retired

Chief Justice of the United States, or the Speaker of the House of

Representatives; from the day of death until interment of an

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a Secretary of an executive

or military department, a former Vice President, or the Governor of

a State, territory, or possession; and on the day of death and the

following day for a Member of Congress. The flag shall be flown at

half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless that day is also

Armed Forces Day. As used in this subsection -

(1) the term ''half-staff'' means the position of the flag when

it is one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the

staff;

(2) the term ''executive or military department'' means any

agency listed under sections 101 and 102 of title 5, United

States Code; and

(3) the term ''Member of Congress'' means a Senator, a

Representative, a Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner from

Puerto Rico.

(n) When the flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so

placed that the union is at the head and over the left shoulder.

The flag should not be lowered into the grave or allowed to touch

the ground.

(o) When the flag is suspended across a corridor or lobby in a

building with only one main entrance, it should be suspended

vertically with the union of the flag to the observer's left upon

entering. If the building has more than one main entrance, the

flag should be suspended vertically near the center of the corridor

or lobby with the union to the north, when entrances are to the

east and west or to the east when entrances are to the north and

south. If there are entrances in more than two directions, the

union should be to the east.

-SOURCE-

(Added Pub. L. 105-225, Sec. 2(a), Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1495.)

-MISC1-

Historical and Revision Notes

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at

Large)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

7 36:175. June 22, 1942, ch.

435, Sec. 3, 56

Stat. 378; Dec. 22,

1942, ch. 806, Sec.

3, 56 Stat. 1075;

July 9, 1953, ch.

183, 67 Stat. 142;

July 7, 1976, Pub.

L. 94-344, (6)-

(11), 90 Stat. 811;

Sept. 13, 1994,

Pub. L. 103-322,

title XXXII, Sec.

320922(b), 108

Stat. 2131.

-------------------------------

-EXEC-

PROC. NO. 3044. DISPLAY OF FLAG AT HALF-STAFF UPON DEATH OF CERTAIN

OFFICIALS AND FORMER OFFICIALS

Proc. No. 3044, Mar. 1, 1954, 19 F.R. 1235, as amended by Proc.

No. 3948, Dec. 12, 1969, 34 F.R. 19699, provided:

WHEREAS it is appropriate that the flag of the United States of

America be flown at half-staff on Federal buildings, grounds, and

facilities upon the death of principal officials and former

officials of the Government of the United States and the Governors

of the States, Territories, and possessions of the United States as

a mark of respect to their memory; and

WHEREAS it is desirable that rules be prescribed for the uniform

observance of this mark of respect by all executive departments and

agencies of the Government, and as a guide to the people of the

Nation generally on such occasions:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, President of the United

States of America and Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the

United States, do hereby prescribe and proclaim the following rules

with respect to the display of the flag of the United States of

America at half-staff upon the death of the officials hereinafter

designated:

1. The flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff on

all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels of the Federal Government

in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and

its Territories and possessions for the period indicated upon the

death of any of the following-designated officials or former

officials of the United States:

(a) The President or a former President: for thirty days from the

day of death.

The flag shall also be flown at half-staff for such period at all

United States embassies, legations, and other facilities abroad,

including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

(b) The Vice President, the Chief Justice or a retired Chief

Justice of the United States, or the Speaker of the House of

Representatives: for ten days from the day of death.

(c) An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the

Cabinet, a former Vice President, the President pro tempore of the

Senate, the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of

the Senate, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, or

the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives: from the day

of death until interment.

2. The flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff on

all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels of the Federal Government

in the metropolitan area of the District of Columbia on the day of

death and on the following day upon the death of a United States

Senator, Representative, Territorial Delegate, or the Resident

Commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and it shall

also be flown at half-staff on all buildings, grounds, and naval

vessels of the Federal Government in the State, Congressional

District, Territory, or Commonwealth of such Senator,

Representative, Delegate, or Commissioner, respectively, from the

day of death until interment.

3. The flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff on

all buildings and grounds of the Federal Government in a State,

Territory, or possession of the United States upon the death of the

Governor of such State, Territory, or possession from the day of

death until interment.

4. In the event of the death of other officials, former

officials, or foreign dignitaries, the flag of the United States

shall be displayed at half-staff in accordance with such orders or

instructions as may be issued by or at the direction of the

President, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices

not inconsistent with law.

5. The heads of the several departments and agencies of the

Government may direct that the flag of the United States be flown

at half-staff on buildings, grounds, or naval vessels under their

jurisdiction on occasions other than those specified herein which

they consider proper, and that suitable military honors be rendered

as appropriate.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the

Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this 1st day of March in the year

of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the

Independence of the United States of America the one

hundred and seventy-eighth.

(seal) Dwight D. Eisenhower.

-SECREF-

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in title 10 section 2249b; title 36

section 136.

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 8 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 8. Respect for flag

-STATUTE-

No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of

America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing.

Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional

flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor.

(a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down,

except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger

to life or property.

(b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the

ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.

(c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but

always aloft and free.

(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or

drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in

folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white,

and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the

middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker's

desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in

general.

(e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored

in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or

damaged in any way.

(f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling.

(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of

it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure,

design, picture, or drawing of any nature.

(h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving,

holding, carrying, or delivering anything.

(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any

manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles

as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise

impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed

for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be

fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.

(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or

athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the

uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of

patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and

is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin

being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart.

(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a

fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way,

preferably by burning.

-SOURCE-

(Added Pub. L. 105-225, Sec. 2(a), Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1497.)

-MISC1-

Historical and Revision Notes

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at

Large)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

8 36:176. June 22, 1942, ch.

435, Sec. 4, 56

Stat. 379; Dec. 22,

1942, ch. 806, Sec.

4, 56 Stat. 1076;

July 7, 1976, Pub.

L. 94-344, (12)-

(16), 90 Stat. 812.

-------------------------------

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 9 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 9. Conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of flag

-STATUTE-

During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag or when the

flag is passing in a parade or in review, all persons present

except those in uniform should face the flag and stand at attention

with the right hand over the heart. Those present in uniform

should render the military salute. When not in uniform, men should

remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the

left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Aliens should stand

at attention. The salute to the flag in a moving column should be

rendered at the moment the flag passes.

-SOURCE-

(Added Pub. L. 105-225, Sec. 2(a), Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1498.)

-MISC1-

Historical and Revision Notes

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at

Large)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

9 36:177. June 22, 1942, ch.

435, Sec. 5, 56

Stat. 380; Dec. 22,

1942, ch. 806, Sec.

5, 56 Stat. 1077;

July 7, 1976, Pub.

L. 94-344, (17), 90

Stat. 812.

-------------------------------

-CITE-

4 USC Sec. 10 01/06/03

-EXPCITE-

TITLE 4 - FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES

CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG

-HEAD-

Sec. 10. Modification of rules and customs by President

-STATUTE-

Any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag of the

United States of America, set forth herein, may be altered,

modified, or repealed, or additional rules with respect thereto may

be prescribed, by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the

United States, whenever he deems it to be appropriate or desirable;

and any such alteration or additional rule shall be set forth in a

proclamation.

-SOURCE-

(Added Pub. L. 105-225, Sec. 2(a), Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1498.)

-MISC1-

Historical and Revision Notes

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at

Large)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

10 36:178. June 22, 1942, ch.

435, Sec. 8, 56

Stat. 380; Dec. 22,

1942, ch. 806, Sec.

8, 56 Stat. 1077;

July 7, 1976, Pub.

L. 94-344, (20), 90

Stat. 813.

-------------------------------

-REFTEXT-

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Herein, referred to in text, means sections 4 to 10 of this

title.

-EXEC-

PROC. NO. 2605. THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES

Proc. No. 2605, Feb. 18, 1944, 9 F.R. 1957, 58 Stat. 1126,

provided:

The flag of the United States of America is universally

representative of the principles of the justice, liberty, and

democracy enjoyed by the people of the United States; and

People all over the world recognize the flag of the United States

as symbolic of the United States; and

The effective prosecution of the war requires a proper

understanding by the people of other countries of the material

assistance being given by the Government of the United States:

NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the power vested in me by the

Constitution and laws of the United States, particularly by the

Joint Resolution approved June 22, 1942, as amended by the Joint

Resolution approved December 22, 1942 (now sections 4 to 10 of this

title), as President and Commander in Chief, it is hereby

proclaimed as follows:

1. The use of the flag of the United States or any representation

thereof, if approved by the Foreign Economic Administration, on

labels, packages, cartons, cases, or other containers for articles

or products of the United States intended for export as lend-lease

aid, as relief and rehabilitation aid, or as emergency supplies for

the Territories and possessions of the United States, or similar

purposes, shall be considered a proper use of the flag of the

United States and consistent with the honor and respect due to the

flag.

2. If any article or product so labelled, packaged or otherwise

bearing the flag of the United States or any representation

thereof, as provided for in section 1, should, by force of

circumstances, be diverted to the ordinary channels of domestic

trade, no person shall be considered as violating the rules and

customs pertaining to the display of the flag of the United States,

as set forth in the Joint Resolution approved June 22, 1942, as

amended by the Joint Resolution approved December 22, 1942 (U.S.C.,

Supp. II, title 36, secs. 171-178) (now sections 4 to 10 of this

title) for possessing, transporting, displaying, selling or

otherwise transferring any such article or product solely because

the label, package, carton, case, or other container bears the flag

of the United States or any representation thereof.

-SECREF-

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in title 10 section 2249b.

-CITE-