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Flagpole Guides
Mexico

Flagpoles and flags in Mexico

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This page is an English translation of the Spanish original. Where the two versions differ, the Spanish text is the original.

In Mexico, the national flag flies every day over town halls, schools, hospitals, customs posts, airports and public squares, and every Monday schools render honours to it at the start of the school day. Monumental flags on poles of at least 50 metres can be seen from far away in cities such as Monterrey, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez and Mexico City. In September, the month of the national holidays, the flag appears on balconies, cars and shops. Unlike many countries, Mexico has a statutory list of days on which the flag flies at full mast or at half-mast, and a law of its own that regulates its use, the honours it receives and its sale. This page brings together the rules and customs for flags and flagpoles in Mexico, based on the legislation and the responsible authorities.

Key points

  • Full and half-mast days: article 18 of the law sets 51 days at full mast, plus the closing days of Congress’s sessions, and 32 at half-mast. The guide to flag days lists them with the day of the week.
  • Private use: under article 32, anyone may display the flag at home, at work or on a vehicle, with due respect and in any size, but not use it to promote their image, goods or services. The guide to flag rules covers these points.
  • Half-mast and mourning: besides the days in the law, the President may declare national mourning by decree. More in the guides to half-mast and national mourning.
  • Honours: on 24 February, 15 and 16 September and 20 November, honours to the flag are compulsory at the authorities’ buildings. The guide to flag protocol describes the civil salute and the presentation of the flag.
  • Sizes: the law sets the 4 to 7 proportion and the size of the coat of arms, but no size per pole height. The flag size calculator shows a Mexican maker’s standard sizes.
  • Price: what determines the price of a flagpole and of a flag is covered in the guides to the price of a flagpole and the price of a flag.
  • Installation: a fixed flagpole is building work regulated by each municipality. More in the guide to flagpole installation.

Laws and authorities

The Law on the National Arms, Flag and Anthem (Ley sobre el Escudo, la Bandera y el Himno Nacionales), published in the Official Journal of the Federation on 8 February 1984 and in force since 24 February that year, regulates the features of the national symbols, the use of the coat of arms and the flag, the honours and the performance of the anthem. Its latest amendment, of July 2025, extended the days in article 18 with commemorations of women in Mexican history. The Ministry of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación) monitors compliance and sanctions infringements, and the education authorities do so in schools.

The Federal Criminal Code punishes outrage against and misuse of the national symbols in articles 191 and 192. The Armed Forces follow their own regulations, and the Ministry of National Defence has made, raised and guarded the monumental flags since the 1999 decree.

The flagpole is another matter: under article 115 of the Constitution, municipalities grant licences and permits for construction, so installing one depends on each municipality’s building regulations or, in Mexico City, on the borough (alcaldía).

The flagpole in Mexico

At public buildings, the flag usually flies on a free-standing pole in front of the façade or on the roof. Schools and offices also have a colour-guard flag, which makers offer in the regulation size of 0.90 × 1.58 metres, with its staff and display case. Mexican makers offer aluminium flagpoles of about 4.5 to 24 metres and steel flagpoles of more than 100 metres. The guides to types of flagpoles and flagpole heights cover these forms, and the guide to flagpole materials compares them.

About the guides

The guides are grouped by topic. Each one deals with a specific subject, ends with frequently asked questions, cites its sources and shows the date of its latest update. The federal law applies to the whole country; some federal states, such as Jalisco, also have a flag and a symbols law of their own, and each municipality has its own building regulations. The guides point out these differences where they matter.

All guides

Flag flying and rules

When and how the national flag flies in Mexico: the days in article 18, the rules of the 1984 law, half-mast, national mourning, holidays, honours and foreign flags.

The flag

The national flag and the other flags seen in the country: types, sizes, symbolism, history, what determines the price of a flag and a size calculator.

The flagpole

Types of flagpoles, materials, height, accessories, hoisting mechanisms, lighting and what determines the price of a flagpole.

Installation, safety and maintenance

Municipal permits, foundations, wind and hurricanes, maintenance, repair, lifespan and transport, for households, condominiums, schools, businesses and municipalities.

Frequently asked questions

Can a private person fly the national flag at home in Mexico?

Yes. Under article 32 of the Law on the National Arms, Flag and Anthem, individuals may display the national flag at their homes or workplaces and use it on their vehicles, provided they show the respect due to the national symbol, and the flag may be of any size.

Where is the national flag compulsory?

Under articles 15 and 16 of the law, at the seats of the authorities, at diplomatic and consular missions, at buildings providing education and medical services, at immigration offices, customs, harbour masters’ offices, airports and in the public squares the authorities designate. There the flag stays raised every day of the year.

What does the flag of Mexico look like?

Article 3 of the law describes it as a rectangle divided into three vertical stripes of identical size, green, white and red from the pole, with the national coat of arms in the centre of the white stripe. The arms have a diameter of three quarters of the width of that stripe, and the proportion of width to length is four to seven.

When does the flag fly at half-mast in Mexico?

On the 32 days in fraction II of article 18 of the law, such as 13 September for the Boy Heroes or 2 October for Tlatelolco, and when the President of the Republic declares national mourning by decree. Since 2017, a decree also sets national mourning on 19, 20 and 21 September every year.

Is a permit needed to install a flagpole?

Under article 115 of the Constitution, municipalities grant licences and permits for construction, so the answer depends on each municipality’s building regulations. In Mexico City, the Building Regulations do not list flagpoles among the works exempted by article 62, and the borough (alcaldía) can answer in each individual case.

What is the penalty for desecrating the flag?

Article 191 of the Federal Criminal Code punishes outrage against the coat of arms or the national flag, by word or deed, with six months to four years in prison, a fine or both. The Law on the National Arms, Flag and Anthem also provides fines of up to ten thousand times the Unit of Measurement and Update for its infringements.

Sources

This guide is based on the following sources, most of them in Spanish: