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Spark House guide

Flagpole etiquette

Flags flown with or without the U.S. flag.

The U.S. flag above a Knights of Columbus flag on the same pole is appropriate. The Flag Code and the Knights’ own protocol expressly allow society flags below the U.S. flag. [1][4]

Download the two-page flagpole etiquette guide (PDF)U.S. Letter · 8.5 × 11 inches

Sources checked

01 · Display

Choose the appropriate arrangement

State or local flag

With the U.S. flag
May share the pole below the U.S. flag. [1]
Without the U.S. flag
May fly alone. A U.S. companion flag is not required by the Flag Code. [1][2]

Spark House, K of C, or another organizational flag

Ordinary civic or religious organizational identity flags

With the U.S. flag
May share the pole below the U.S. flag. This applies to ordinary organizational identity flags. [1][4]
Without the U.S. flag
May fly alone. The Code does not prescribe an order among organizational flags. [1][2]

Another nation’s flag

Including the yellow-and-white Vatican City flag

With the U.S. flag
Use a separate pole of equal height and flags of approximately equal size. [1][6]
Without the U.S. flag
May fly alone. Two national flags use separate poles of equal height, with approximately equal flag sizes. [1]

Advertising or promotional banner

With the U.S. flag
Use a separate pole. Advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard carrying the U.S. flag. [3]
Without the U.S. flag
U.S. companion-flag rules do not apply; site and sign requirements still need to be observed. [2][3]

Spark House decides which flags it authorizes. This guide explains etiquette, not a new flag-selection policy. A foreign flag flown without the U.S. flag should also follow its own national protocol.

02 · Care

Care for the display

Position and size

Keep the U.S. flag above non-national flags; display other nations’ flags at equal height. Follow the American Legion’s guidance that the U.S. flag be no smaller than companion flags. Do not overload the pole or allow tangling.[1][5]

Light and weather

Illuminate the U.S. flag after dark or lower it at sunset. Use an all-weather flag in inclement weather. Protect flags from damage and keep them clear of the ground. [2][3]

Half staff

Follow applicable national and state notices. Raise the U.S. flag to the peak before lowering to half staff, and again before lowering for the day. Keep companion organizational flags below it, or remove them if clearance is insufficient. [1][5]

03 · Sources

References and official etiquette

Source notes and excerpts checked October 28, 2026.

  1. [1] U.S. Flag Code

    4 U.S.C. § 7

    Section 7(f) addresses state, local and society flags on the same halyard, the rope used to raise them: the U.S. flag should be “at the peak.” Section 7(g) calls for national flags on “separate staffs of the same height,” with approximately equal flag sizes. Sections 7(c) and 7(m) govern prominence and half-staff handling.

    Read section 7 in the official U.S. Code

  2. [2] U.S. Flag Code

    4 U.S.C. § 6

    Sections 6(a)–(c) address daylight display, nighttime illumination, raising and lowering, and all-weather flags. The conclusion that an organizational flag may fly alone is an interpretation of the Code’s scope: it contains no requirement that a U.S. flag accompany an organizational flag at a private site. Other applicable site rules remain separate.

    Read section 6 in the official U.S. Code

  3. [3] U.S. Flag Code

    4 U.S.C. § 8

    Sections 8(b) and 8(e) address ground clearance and preventing damage. Section 8(i) states: “Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.” Using a separate pole for promotional banners is the practical recommendation here. A logo alone does not establish that an ordinary society flag is an advertising sign; § 7(f) still addresses society flags.

    Read section 8 in the official U.S. Code

  4. [4] Knights of Columbus

    Protocol, Meetings, and Ceremonials · Publication 11620 · Revision 7/24 · Printed page 13

    Its U.S. flag rules expressly address society pennants sharing a halyard and say “the latter should always be at the peak.” The same page distinguishes flags of different nations. This supports a K of C organizational flag below the U.S. flag.

    Open the official Knights protocol manual (PDF)

  5. [5] American Legion

    Flag Myths, FAQs, and Terminology · Other Flags and Half-staff

    Under Other Flags, the Legion confirms multiple flags may share a pole, with the U.S. flag highest and no smaller than the others. Its Half-staff section says companion flags are lowered or removed. These are supplemental etiquette interpretations. The Flag Code does not specify a universal hierarchy among organizational flags or a fixed maximum number of flags.

    Read the American Legion flag FAQs

  6. [6] Vatican City State

    Flag · Governorate of the Vatican City State

    The Governorate identifies the yellow-and-white Pontifical flag as Vatican City’s national flag. Treat it as another nation’s flag under § 7(g), rather than as a Knights or parish organizational flag.

    Read the official Vatican City flag description

Reading this guide

The Code supplies the cited U.S. display standards; the Knights manual supplies organizational protocol. The Legion supplies additional custom. This guide applies those sources to an ordinary outdoor Spark House pole. Local permission, sign rules and any separate organizational restrictions remain distinct from flag etiquette.