Flag rules in Belgium

Flags in Belgium involve several authorities. The federal government regulates the national and the European flag on public buildings, and the communities and regions regulate their own flags. For private individuals, little is set down in law. This guide sets out the rules, from public buildings to a flag in one's own garden.

The federal rules

The royal decree of 5 July 1974 on flag flying on public buildings is the basis. Article 1 lists the days on which the national flag and the European flag are flown on public buildings. The decree was amended in 1989, 1993, 1998, 2013 and 2015. The full list of dates is in the guide on flag days.

The decree says nothing about times, the size of the flag or private homes. The colours themselves are in article 193 of the Constitution: red, yellow and black.

The rules of the communities and regions

Each decree sets out where its flag is flown. The Flemish flag is flown on 11 July on public buildings in the Dutch-language area and on the buildings of Flemish institutions in Brussels, and also whenever the Belgian or the European flag is flown. The flag of the French Community is flown on 27 September on public buildings in the French-language area, and there on official buildings on the same days as the national flag. The Walloon Region and the German-speaking Community have similar provisions for their areas. The Flemish and Walloon decrees and the decree of the French Community also allow the government to order flags to be flown on other dates.

The Flemish circular

The Flemish Government set out the rules in more detail in circular VR 2015/37. It is addressed to the services of the Flemish Government, the provinces, the municipalities and the districts, and applies in the Dutch-language area and to Flemish institutions in Brussels. Among other things, it contains:

• an overview of the dates on which the Belgian, Flemish and European flags are flown, and the dates on which the provincial and municipal flags may be flown
• the order of precedence of the official flags, explained in the guide on flag protocol
• the rule that the Flemish flag flies permanently on the large administrative buildings of the Flemish Government, while municipalities and provinces are free to fly flags permanently
• practical recommendations: all flags of the same size, clean flags replaced in good time, and flags on isolated poles taken in in the evening

Under the decree of 7 November 1990, the provincial governors supervise compliance by the provinces and municipalities of the Dutch-language area.

Flying a flag as a private individual

For private individuals there is no obligation to fly a flag in Belgium and no list of set times. Anyone flying the tricolour or another flag can follow the rules for public buildings, but is not bound by them. It is customary to keep the flag clean and whole and not to let it touch the ground. The protocol service of the FPS Home Affairs mentions the latter explicitly for a flag at half-mast.

Other rules can still apply. A free-standing flagpole falls under the planning rules of the region, as described in the guide on flagpole installation. A flag or pole on or above the public highway, such as a pavement, can fall under the municipal police regulations. And flags with advertising fall under the Advertising Regulation in Flanders, covered in the guide on flagpoles for businesses.

Special events

For a death in the Royal Family, a national disaster, a state visit or a commemoration, the authorities issue separate instructions. These apply to public buildings. More on this is in the guides on half-mast, flags in mourning and foreign flags in Belgium.