Flagday

Flag rules · IS

Flag rules in Iceland

The flag days in Presidential Decree No. 5/1991 bind the named public institutions, not private individuals generally. The Flag Act's general time limits govern the national flag; round-the-clock display is permitted from 1 May through 15 August. Where the sources do not define private custom, this guide does not present one as binding.

07:00hoist earliest
☾normally lower at sunset
1 maj–15 aug24-hour display permitted

Hoisting and lowering

  • The national flag may not be hoisted before 07:00, is normally lowered at sunset and may never remain up after midnight.
  • From 1 May through 15 August, the national flag may remain flying around the clock.
  • At an outdoor gathering, official ceremony, funeral or memorial, the flag may remain up while the ceremony lasts, but never after midnight.

Half-mast

  • On Good Friday, the public institutions covered by the calendar must fly the flag at half-mast throughout the flagging period.
  • The reviewed laws do not prescribe a general private mourning procedure, so such a custom should not be presented as Icelandic law.

Pennant and flag type

  • Private individuals use the ordinary rectangular national flag; the swallow-tailed state flag is reserved for the state and public institutions.
  • The reviewed laws set no separate binding display time for a private pennant.

Condition and use

  • When flown at the peak, the flag must be intact and have the correct colours.
  • No other marks may be added to the national flag.
  • On a building, the pole may rise vertically from the roof or project from the facade; on a vessel, the flag is placed at the stern or on the aftmost mast.

Folding the flag

  • The reviewed Icelandic laws prescribe no special folding method.
  • A decorative fold should therefore not be presented as a legal requirement; the source-backed requirement is that a flown flag is intact and correctly coloured.

Funerals and memorials

  • At a funeral or memorial, the flag may remain up after sunset while the ceremony lasts, but never after midnight.
  • This exception governs time; it does not prescribe a general private rule for when or how to fly at half-mast.