Flag lighting in Germany: when may a flag stay up at night?

A floodlit flag in front of the town hall or at company headquarters is a visible sign even at night. For federal authorities, the flag decree provides that flag flying ends at sunset, but floodlit flags may stay up. There is no rule on when a flag on a private pole is taken down. Lighting does, however, touch on other areas of law: neighbour law, nature conservation in some states and, for permanently connected lights, electrical law.

What the flag decree says

What “floodlit” means

Protokoll Inland explains the term: it does not mean that the diffuse light of a street lamp is enough for a passer-by to notice the flag in the dark. Rather, the intention is for the flag as a state symbol to be shown clearly visible even in the dark. In practice, this means one or more floodlights aimed specifically at the flag.

Lighting when flags are in mourning

According to Protokoll Inland, the following also applies to floodlit flags: flying in mourning begins at daybreak, but not before 7 a.m., and ends at sunset, instead of lasting from midnight to midnight. This keeps it consistent with offices that do not fly flags around the clock. If mourning extends over several days, floodlit flags can stay at half-mast throughout. An example of permanent lighting is the Flag of Unity in front of the Reichstag building, which flies permanently and is floodlit in the dark.

Neighbours and light

Under section 906 BGB, a property owner has to tolerate effects such as noise and “similar” effects from a neighbouring property as long as they do not impair, or only insignificantly impair, the use of their own property. Whether a floodlight on a flagpole goes beyond that depends on the individual case. Relevant factors include how bright it is, where it shines, whether it shines into bedroom windows and how long it is on. Floodlights aimed closely at the flag and not shining past it into the sky reduce stray light.

Nature conservation

Artificial light attracts insects at night. Bavaria has its own rules on this in Art. 11a of the Bavarian Nature Conservation Act: under it, interference with insect life through artificial lighting in outlying areas is to be avoided, and sky beamers and devices with a similar effect are not permitted. When lighting installations are put up in outlying areas, their effects on insects are to be examined. Other states have their own rules or none comparable; the lower nature conservation authority can give information.

Electrics and lights

• Permanently connected floodlights: under section 13 of the Low Voltage Connection Ordinance, apart from the network operator, only an installation company listed in a network operator’s register of installers may install, extend or alter the electrical installation behind the house connection fuse.
• Solar lights: work without a connection to the house network. Their output is often lower, which can be enough in a garden, but not always for clearly visible lighting within the meaning of the decree.
• Light sources: LED floodlights use little electricity and can be run with a timer or dusk sensor.

How lights are fixed to the pole is described in the guide to flagpole accessories. The general times are in the guide to flag rules.