US flag days 2026 and 2027: when the American flag is flown

The flag days of the United States are set by Congress. The Flag Code, 4 U.S.C. § 6(d), states that the flag “should be displayed on all days”, and then names the days on which it is especially displayed. Other laws, collected in 36 U.S.C. chapter 1, create observances such as Flag Day, Patriot Day and Gold Star Mother’s Day and ask the President to call for the flag to be displayed, or flown at half-staff, each year by proclamation.

The Flag Code is a guide for civilians and contains no penalties. According to the Congressional Research Service, it functions as a guide to be followed voluntarily. For federal buildings, the President’s proclamations direct how the flag is flown.

The days in the Flag Code

Section 6(d) also names “such other days as may be proclaimed by the President”, the birthdays of States (date of admission) and State holidays. Hawaii, for example, was admitted on August 21, 1959, the day Executive Order 10834 was signed. The list has grown over time: Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday was added in 1999, Father’s Day in 2008, National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day in 2009 and National Vietnam War Veterans Day in 2017.

All dates for 2026 and 2027

The table shows every day in the Flag Code for 2026 and 2027 with its date, together with the observances in 36 U.S.C. that call for the flag to be displayed or flown at half-staff, and marks the legal public holidays under 5 U.S.C. § 6103.

The half-staff days

Federal law names four days each year on which the flag is flown at half-staff:

• Memorial Day, the last Monday in May: at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff (4 U.S.C. § 7(m)).
• Peace Officers Memorial Day, May 15: at half-staff, unless that day is also Armed Forces Day (4 U.S.C. § 7(m) and 36 U.S.C. § 136). In 2027, May 15 is the third Saturday in May, so both days fall together and the flag flies at full staff.
• Patriot Day, September 11: Congress asks the President to call for the flag at half-staff in honor of those who died in the attacks of September 11, 2001 (36 U.S.C. § 144).
• National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, December 7 (36 U.S.C. § 129).

In addition, under Public Law 107-51 of 2001, the flags on all federal office buildings are lowered to half-staff each year in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The day is set by proclamation; in 2026 it was Sunday, May 3. How the flag is lowered is described in the guide to half-staff.

Flag Day and National Flag Week

Flag Day, June 14 (36 U.S.C. § 110), marks the adoption of the Stars and Stripes by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The week in which June 14 falls is National Flag Week (36 U.S.C. § 122), when the President calls on citizens to display the flag, and the 21 days from Flag Day through Independence Day are designated as Honor America Days (36 U.S.C. § 112). The 2026 proclamation marked the 250th year of American independence.

Days for the people as well as for government buildings

Most observances in 36 U.S.C. ask the President to call on government officials to display the flag on government buildings. A few also invite the people to display the flag at their homes: Mother’s Day (§ 117), Gold Star Mother’s Day, the last Sunday in September (§ 111), and National Maritime Day, May 22 (§ 128). Others, such as Loyalty Day on May 1, National Aviation Day on August 19 and Thomas Jefferson’s birthday on April 13, concern government buildings only and are not in the table.

Schools, polling places and public buildings

Under 4 U.S.C. § 6(e) to (g), the flag should be displayed daily on or near the main administration building of every public institution, in or near every polling place on election days, and in or near every schoolhouse during school days. How flags are flown on federal holidays is covered in the guide to flags on federal holidays, and the order of flags in the guide to flag etiquette.