Flagpoles for businesses in Portugal

For many companies, the poles at the entrance to their headquarters are a calling card: the national flag, the company flag and sometimes the flags of their customers’ countries. A company that flies flags meets three sets of rules: Decreto-Lei n.º 150/87 on the national flag, Lei n.º 97/88 on advertising messages and the municipal permit for the work. This guide summarises all three.

The national flag at the company

Article 4 of Decreto-Lei n.º 150/87 distinguishes:

• Public companies and public institutes: the national flag is flown at their headquarters, and may also be flown elsewhere.
• Private institutions: the national flag may be flown, provided the legal and protocol procedures in force are respected.

Article 3 allows the heads of private institutions to set further days for flying the flag, beyond Sundays, holidays and days of official ceremonies. The dates are in the guide to flag days.

Logo flags

A flag with the company logo is, legally, a commercial advertising message. Under article 1 of Lei n.º 97/88, as worded by Decreto-Lei n.º 48/2011, displaying advertising messages requires prior licensing, with exceptions:

Under the same law, the licensing criteria aim, among other things, not to spoil the look of places, not to harm monuments, not to affect road traffic safety and not to use shapes or colours that could be confused with traffic signs. Displaying advertising without the consent of the owner of the property is prohibited.

Permit for the pole

The pole is a piece of works, and its status depends on the municipal urban development and building regulations, as described in the guide to flagpole installation. Under Lei n.º 97/88, when advertising requires building works subject to a licence, both licences are obtained cumulatively. In a building divided into flats, article 1422 of the Civil Code requires the authorisation of the condominium assembly for works that change the architectural line or the aesthetic appearance.

Several poles

With two or more poles, the protocol rules of article 8 of Decreto-Lei n.º 150/87 apply:

• The national flag always takes the place of honour: with two poles, the one on the right of a person facing outwards; with three, the centre one.
• The national flag is not smaller than the other flags.
• With poles of different heights, it takes the tallest.

According to the memorandum on flags of the Câmara Municipal do Sabugal, the poles stand to the right of the main door, that is, to the left of someone looking at it, and when they are perpendicular to the door, the one closest to the door is for the national flag. The full rules are in the guide to flag protocol.

Flags of customers and partners

Hotels, exporting companies and event organisers often fly the flags of other countries. With the national flag, the national flag keeps the place of honour. The subject is covered in the guide to foreign flags in Portugal.

National mourning

During national mourning, all the flags flown with the national flag are at half-mast, including the company flag. Half-mast is only possible on a pole with a halyard. The choice of pole type is in the guide to types of flagpoles, and the price in the guide to buying a flagpole.