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United States Code
Title 36
Chapter 10
Patriotic Customs
Click on a number below to jump directly to that
article.
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§ 170. National anthem;
Star-Spangled Banner. |
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§ 171. Conduct during
playing. |
| § 172.
Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery.
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§ 173. Display and use of
flag by civilians; codification of rules and customs; definition.
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§ 174. Time and occasions
for display. |
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§ 175. Position and
manner of display. |
| § 176. Respect for flag. |
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§ 177. Conduct during
hoisting, lowering or passing of flag. |
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§ 178. Modification of
rules and customs by President. |
| § 179. Design for service flag; persons entitled to
display flag. |
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§ 180. Design for service
lapel button; persons entitled to wear button.
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§ 181. Approval of
designs by Secretary of Defense; license to manufacture and sell;
penalties. |
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§ 182. Rules and
regulations. |
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§ 182a to 184. Repealed.
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§ 185. Transferred.
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§ 186. National motto.
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§ 187. National floral
emblem. |
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§ 188. National march.
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§ 189. Recognition of
National League of Families POW/MIA flag. |
| Miscellaneous
References
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§170. National anthem; Star-Spangled BannerThe composition consisting of
the words and music known as The Star-Spangled Banner is designated the
national anthem of the United States of America.
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§171. Conduct during playingDuring rendition of the national anthem when
the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at
attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in
uniform 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 render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and
retain this position until the last note. When the flag is not displayed,
those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they
would if the flag were displayed there.
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§172. Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of
deliveryThe 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.
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§173. Display and use of flag by civilians; codification of
rules and customs; definitionThe 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 title 4 and Executive
Order 10834 issued pursuant thereto.
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§174. Time and occasions for display
- (a) Display on buildings and stationary flagstaffs in open; night display
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 twenty-four hours a day if properly
illuminated during the hours of darkness.
- (b) Manner of hoisting
The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.
- (c) Inclement weather
The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement,
except when an all weather flag is displayed.
- (d) Particular days of display
The flag should be displayed on all days, especially on New Year's Day,
January 1; Inauguration Day, January 20; 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) Display on or near administration building of public institutions
The flag should be displayed daily on or near the main administration
building of every public institution.
- (f) Display in or near polling places
The flag should be displayed in or near every polling place on election days.
- (g) Display in or near schoolhouses
The flag should be displayed during school days in or near every schoolhouse.
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§175. Position and manner of displayThe 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 thirty
days from the death of the President or a former President; ten 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. 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; 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.
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§176. Respect for flagNo 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.
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§177. Conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of
flagDuring 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.
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§178. Modification of rules and customs by PresidentAny 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.
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§179. Design for service flag; persons entitled to display
flagThe Secretary of
Defense is authorized and directed to approve a design for a service flag,
which flag may be displayed in a window of the place of residence of
persons who are members of the immediate family of a person serving in the
armed forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities
in which the Armed Forces of the United States may be engaged.
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§180. Design for service lapel button; persons entitled to
wear buttonThe
Secretary of Defense is also authorized and directed to approve a design
for a service lapel button, which button may be worn by members of the
immediate family of a person serving in the armed forces of the United
States during any period of war or hostilities in which the Armed Forces
of the United States may be engaged.
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§181. Approval of designs by Secretary of Defense; license
to manufacture and sell; penaltiesUpon the approval by the Secretary of
Defense of the design for such service flag and service lapel button, he shall
cause notice thereof, together with a description of the approved flag and
button, to be published in the Federal Register. Thereafter any person may apply
to the Secretary of Defense for a license to manufacture and sell the approved
service flag, or the approved service lapel button, or both. Any person, firm,
or corporation who manufactures any such service flag or service lapel button
without having first obtained such a license, or otherwise violates sections 179 to 182 of this title, shall, upon conviction
thereof, be fined not more than $1,000.
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§182. Rules and regulationsThe Secretary of Defense is
authorized to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out
the provisions of sections 179 to 182 of
this title.
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§182a to 182d. Repealed. Pub. L. 89-534, § 2, Aug. 11, 1966, 80 Stat. 345
§183, 184. Repealed. Pub. L. 85-857, § 14(84), Sept. 2,
1958, 72 Stat. 1272
§185. Transferred
§186. National mottoThe national motto of the United States is declared to
be 'In God we trust.'
§187. National floral emblemThe flower commonly known as the rose is
designated and adopted as the national floral emblem of the United States
of America, and the President of the United States is authorized and
requested to declare such fact by proclamation.
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§188. National marchThe composition by John Philip Sousa entitled 'The
Stars and Stripes Forever' is hereby designated as the national march of
the United States of America.
§189. Recognition of National League of Families POW/MIA
flagThe National
League of Families POW/MIA flag is hereby recognized officially and
designated as the symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to
resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner,
missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty
for their families and the Nation.
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Miscellaneous References
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 4
CHAPTER 1 - THE FLAG
§1. Flag; stripes and stars onThe 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.
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§ 2. Same; additional starsOn 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.
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§ 3. Use of flag for advertising purposes; mutilation of flagAny 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.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 4
CHAPTER 2 - THE SEAL
§ 41. Seal of the United StatesThe seal
heretofore used by the United States in Congress assembled is declared to
be the seal of the United States.
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§ 42. Same; custody and use ofThe Secretary of State shall have the
custody and charge of such seal. Except as provided by section 2902(a) of title 5, the seal shall not be
affixed to any instrument without the special warrant of the President
therefor.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 5
PART III
CHAPTER 29 - COMMISSIONS, OATHS, RECORDS, AND REPORTS
SUBCHAPTER I - COMMISSIONS, OATHS, AND
RECORDS
§ 2902. Commission; where recorded(a) Except as provided by subsections (b)
and (c) of this section, the Secretary of State shall make out and record,
and affix the seal of the United States to, the commission of an officer
appointed by the President. The seal of the United States may not be
affixed to the commission before the commission has been signed by the
President.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 5 PART I
CHAPTER 1 - ORGANIZATION
§ 101. Executive departmentsThe Executive departments are:
The Department of State. The Department of the Treasury. The Department of
Defense. The Department of Justice. The Department of the Interior. The
Department of Agriculture. The Department of Commerce. The Department of Labor.
The Department of Health and Human Services. The Department of Housing and Urban
Development. The Department of Transportation. The Department of Energy. The
Department of Education. The Department of Veterans Affairs.
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§ 102. Military departmentsThe military departments are:
The Department of the Army. The Department of the Navy. The Department of the
Air Force.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 18
Part I. CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 33 - EMBLEMS, INSIGNIA, AND NAMES
THIS TITLE WAS ENACTED BY ACT JUNE 25, 1948, CH. 645, SEC.
1, 62 STAT. 683
§ 700. Desecration of the flag of the United States; penalties
- (a)(1) Whoever knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns,
maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon any flag of the United States
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year, or
both.
- (2) This subsection does not prohibit any conduct consisting of the disposal
of a flag when it has become worn or soiled.
- (b) As used in this section, the term 'flag of the United States' means any
flag of the United States, or any part thereof, made of any substance, of any
size, in a form that is commonly displayed.
- (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as indicating an intent on
the part of Congress to deprive any State, territory, possession, or the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of jurisdiction over any offense over which it would
have jurisdiction in the absence of this section.
- (d)(1) An appeal may be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the United
States from any interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order issued by a
United States district court ruling upon the constitutionality of subsection
(a).
- (2) The Supreme Court shall, if it has not previously ruled on the question,
accept jurisdiction over the appeal and advance on the docket and expedite to
the greatest extent possible.
UNITED STATES CODE
TITLE 2
CHAPTER 9A - ORGANIZATION
§ 285b. FunctionsThe functions of the Office shall be as follows:
- (1) To prepare, and submit to the Committee on the Judiciary one title at a
time, a complete compilation, restatement, and revision of the general and
permanent laws of the United States which conforms to the understood policy,
intent, and purpose of the Congress in the original enactments, with such
amendments and corrections as will remove ambiguities, contradictions, and other
imperfections both of substance and of form, separately stated, with a view to
the enactment of each title as positive law.
- (2) To examine periodically all of the public laws enacted by the Congress
and submit to the Committee on the Judiciary recommendations for the repeal of
obsolete, superfluous, and superseded provisions contained therein.
- (3) To prepare and publish periodically a new edition of the United States
Code (including those titles which are not yet enacted into positive law as well
as those titles which have been so enacted), with annual cumulative supplements
reflecting newly enacted laws.
- (4) To classify newly enacted provisions of law to their proper positions in
the Code where the titles involved have not yet been enacted into positive law.
- (5) To prepare and submit periodically such revisions in the titles of the
Code which have been enacted into positive law as may be necessary to keep such
titles current.
- (6) To prepare and publish periodically new editions of the District of
Columbia Code, with annual cumulative supplements reflecting newly enacted laws,
through publication of the fifth annual cumulative supplement to the 1973
edition of such Code.
- (7) To provide the Committee on the Judiciary with such advice and
assistance as the committee may request in carrying out its functions with
respect to the revision and codification of the Federal statutes.
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