Flag days in the Netherlands 2026 and 2027

The fixed flag days in the Netherlands are set out in the general flag instruction (algemene vlaginstructie) for central government buildings. The instruction is issued by the Prime Minister; according to the Dutch government, the current version dates from 2013, after the royal succession. Provinces, municipalities and water authorities are asked to follow it, and for citizens, businesses and organisations it is a guideline. Below are all the dates for 2026 and 2027, with the weekday and the way the flag is flown from government buildings.

Flag days year by year

Veterans’ Day is the last Saturday of June and Prinsjesdag the third Tuesday of September. The other dates are fixed, but move when they fall on a Sunday or a Christian holiday. In 2027, 17 May falls on Whit Monday; Queen Máxima’s birthday is therefore marked on 18 May that year.

The fixed days in the flag instruction

Under the flag instruction, the date in brackets applies only when the usual date falls on a Sunday or a generally recognised Christian holiday. Which holidays are generally recognised is set out in the General Time Limits Act (Algemene termijnenwet): Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday and both Christmas days, with Good Friday treated alike.

Extended and limited flag flying

The flag instruction distinguishes extended flying (uitgebreid vlaggen), from all central government buildings, and limited flying (beperkt vlaggen), from the main buildings only. According to the government these are the main buildings of the ministries, the Senate and House of Representatives, the Council of State, the Court of Audit, the National Ombudsman, the Cabinet of the King and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. Municipalities apply the distinction to their own buildings. The flag instruction of the municipality of Zaanstad, for example, names the town hall as its main building and, for extended flying, also flies the flag from other municipal buildings and church towers.

4 and 5 May

On 4 May the flag instruction has the flag at half-mast from 18.00 until sunset. The National 4 and 5 May Committee calls on residents to fly the flag at half-mast that day from sunrise to sunset. Both sources use the tricolour without a pennant. How the flag is flown at half-mast is described in the guide to half-mast.

On 5 May, according to the National Committee, the flag may fly at full mast from sunrise to sunset, without a pennant. It can then also fly together with the municipal flag, the provincial flag or flags of countries involved in the liberation.

On 15 August the official end of the Second World War in the Kingdom is commemorated. According to the National Committee, the flag flies at full mast that day, not at half-mast, and without a pennant.

The orange pennant

On King’s Day and the birthdays of Queen Máxima, Princess Beatrix and the Princess of Orange the flag flies with the orange pennant (oranje wimpel). On all other occasions the flag flies without it, including on Kingdom Day. More about the pennant is in the guide to flag types.

Special flag instructions

Beyond the fixed days, the Prime Minister can issue a special flag instruction, for example for a birth, marriage or death in the Royal House or to commemorate the victims of a national or international disaster. During an official visit by a foreign head of state, the flag instruction has the flag flown only in the places the head of state visits.

Municipalities sometimes fly the flag on more days than the flag instruction lists. Zaanstad, for example, raises the European flag on 9 May, Europe Day. More on this is in the guide to foreign flags in the Netherlands. Flying the flag for family celebrations and exams is covered in the guide to flags on holidays.