Flagpoles for businesses in Brazil: national flag, logo and advertising

In front of company headquarters, car dealerships, hotels and factories, flagpoles may carry the national flag, the state flag, the municipal flag or the brand’s flag. Two sets of laws meet here: Law 5,700 of 1 September 1971, which regulates the national flag and foreign flags, and municipal advertising laws, which may apply to flags with a logo. This guide uses São Paulo’s Clean City Law (Lei Cidade Limpa) as the example.

The national flag at the company

Law 5,700 allows the flag to be used in all expressions of patriotic feeling, official or private (article 10), and provides for flying it on public or private buildings, offices and anywhere it is shown due respect (article 11). In a line of poles with other flags, the national flag takes the place of honour, in the centre or in the position nearest the centre and to its right (article 19).

If the flag stays up at night, the law provides that it is lit (article 15(3)). The guide to flag lighting covers this point.

What a company does not do with the national flag

Article 31 considers the following, among others, expressions of disrespect and therefore prohibited:

• adding inscriptions to the flag, such as the company’s name or logo, or changing its shape, colours or proportions;
• using it as a cover for plaques, panels or monuments to be unveiled, or as a covering for a rostrum;
• reproducing it on labels or wrappers of products on sale.

The national colours, green and yellow, on the other hand, may be used without any restriction, including together with blue and white (article 29). The guide to the flag rules summarises these rules.

Foreign flags

For branches of foreign companies, hotels and international events, article 33 applies: no flag of another nation may be used in the country unless the national flag is on its right, of equal size and in a prominent position, except at diplomatic and consular seats. More information in the guide to foreign flags in Brazil.

The logo flag as an advertisement

A flag with the company’s name or logo is not regulated by Law 5,700, but it may be considered an advertisement under municipal law. In São Paulo, Law 14,223 of 26 September 2006, the Clean City Law, defines:

• advertisement: any means of visual communication present in the landscape visible from a public thoroughfare, made up of a display area and a structure;
• indicative advertisement: one that only identifies, at the place of the activity, the establishments or professionals that use it.

Under article 13, a single indicative advertisement per property is allowed, containing all the information the public needs, within these limits:

When the indicative advertisement is on totems or tubular structures, it stays within the plot and does not exceed 5 metres in height, structure and advertisement area included (article 13(1)(IV)). The sole paragraph of article 15 prohibits, on built properties, banners, streamers or any other element, inside or outside the plot, drawing attention to offers, products or information beyond those provided for in the law. Article 9 prohibits advertisements on roads, squares and other public places, on trees and on posts, among other places.

Whether a corporate flag counts as an advertisement, and with what area, is for the city hall to say. In other cities, their own municipal laws apply.

The flagpole

The pole itself is a work. Under article 30 of the Constitution, controlling the use and occupation of urban land falls to the municipality, and in São Paulo the Building and Construction Code governs licensing. The guide to installing a flagpole covers the permit, the foundation and buried networks.

For choosing the flag, the rule in article 21 of Law 5,700, a width between one seventh and one fifth of the height of the pole, is the official reference; the guide of the manufacturer B&B Iluminação gives, for example, the 3-pano flag for an 8-metre pole. The flag size calculator does the calculation for each height.