The American flag should be displayed on all days and especially the holidays listed below. The dates marked in red color indicate when you should fly your flag at half-staff.

Did you know that half mast is a popular term used for flying a flag at half staff, but is not the correct term? Half mast is a term used in reference to nautical flag poles, or mast. Half staff is a term used for any other flagpole whether residential, or commercial.

Psst...Sign up for our Flag Alerts to receive timely emails alerting you to flag events such as when to fly the flag at half staff.

National Holidays 2020

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New Year's Day
January 1

Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 20

Inauguration Day
January 21

Lincoln's Birthday
February 12

President's Day
February 17

Washington's Birthday
February 17

St. Patrick's Day
March 17

National Vietnam War Veterans Day
March 29

National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day
April 9

Easter Sunday
April 12

Earth Day
April 22

International Firefighters Day
May 4

Mother's Day
May 10

Peace Officer's Memorial Day
May 15 (half-staff)

Armed Forces Day
May 16

Memorial Day
May 25 (half-staff to noon)

Remember D-Day
June 6

Army Birthday
June 14

Flag Day
June 14

Father's Day
June 16

Independence Day
July 4

National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day
July 27

Coast Guard Birthday
August 4

Labor Day
September 7

Patriot Day
September 11 (half-staff)

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
September 17

Air Force Birthday
September 18

National POW/MIA Recognition Day 
September 18

Gold Star Mother's Day
September 27

National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service
October 4 (half-staff)

Columbus Day
October 12

National Indigenous Peoples Day
October 12

Navy Birthday
October 13

Election Day
November 3

Marine Corps Birthday
November 10

Veterans Day
November 11

Thanksgiving Day
November 26

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
December 7 (half-staff)

Christmas Day
December 25

State Holidays

Birthdays of States
(The date of admission)

Extracted from the July 7, 1976 amendment to the Flag Code (Public Law 94-344, 94th Congress.

State Birthdays

A U.S. state is any one of the fifty sub national entities of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. The following dates are when our states became apart of the federal government. Fly your American and State flags on their anniversary into statehood and remember your heritage.

Alabama
December 14, 1819

Alaska
January 3, 1959

Arizona
February 14, 1912

Arkansas
June 15, 1836

California
September 9, 1850

Colorado
August 1, 1876

Connecticut
January 9, 1788

Delaware
December 7, 1787

Florida
March 3, 1845

Georgia
January 2, 1788

Hawaii
August 21, 1959

Idaho
July 3, 1890

Illinois
December 3, 1818

Indiana
December 11, 1816

Iowa
December 28, 1846

Kansas
January 29, 1861

Kentucky
June 1, 1792

Louisiana
April 30, 1812

Maine
March 15, 1820

Maryland
April 28, 1788

Massachusetts
February 6, 1788

Michigan
January 26, 1837

Minnesota
May 11, 1858

Mississippi
December 10, 1817

Missouri
August 10, 1821

Montana
November 8, 1889

Nebraska
March 1, 1867

Nevada
October 31, 1864

New Hampshire
June 21, 1788

New Jersey
December 14, 1787

New Mexico
January 6, 1912

New York
July 26, 1788

North Carolina
November 21, 1789

North Dakota
November 2, 1889

Pennsylvania
December 12, 1787

Ohio
March 1, 1803

Oklahoma
November 16, 1907

Oregon
February 14, 1859

Rhode Island
May 29, 1790

South Carolina
May 23, 1788

South Dakota
November 2, 1889

Tennessee
June 1, 1796

Texas
December 29, 1845

Utah
January 4, 1896

Vermont
March 4, 1791

Virginia
June 25, 1788

Washington
November 11, 1889

West Virginia
June 20, 1863

Wisconsin
May 29, 1848

Wyoming
July 10, 1890

Washington POW/MIA Flag Display Rules

POW/MIA Flag Display Effective July 23, 2017, HB 1204 regarding the days to display the POW/MIA flag requires that "Each public entity must display the national league of families' POW/MIA flag along with the flag of the United States and the flag of the state upon or near the principal building of the public entity…" A "public entity" as used in this legislation "means every state agency, including each institution of higher education, and every county, city, and town."

The flag must be displayed on the following dates:

• March 30 (Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day)
• April 9 (Former Prisoners of War Recognition Day)
• Third Saturday in May (Armed Forces Day)
• Last Monday in May (Memorial Day)
• June 14 (Flag Day)
• July 4 (Independence Day)
• July 27 (National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day)
• Third Friday in September (National POW/MIA Recognition Day)
• November 11 (Veterans' Day)
• December 7 (Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day)

If the designed day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the POW/MIA flag must be displayed on the preceding Friday. The Governor's Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee's website provides information to public entities regarding the purchase and display of the POW/MIA flag.

New Jersey KIA (Killed In Action) Flag Display Rules

Effective August 7, 2017, Bill #S1497 requires all municipal buildings to fly the KIA Flag. "The flag shall be displayed during normal business hours at the State House in Trenton, the principal municipal building in each municipality, and the principal county building in each county seat." 

For more information, click here to read the entire bill.