Every year in early December we check the White House site for the new Pearl Harbor proclamation. A lot of house flags hang from a bracket by the door. No rope. No pulley. So how do Pearl Harbor Day flag half staff rules work for a flag that can't come down? We make and sell Made in USA flags and get asked this every year. Here is the law, and what we do with a bracket.

TL;DR: December 7 is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day under 36 U.S.C. § 129. The law asks for a yearly call to fly the flag at half-staff. On a pole with a rope, hoist to the peak, lower to half-staff, and raise it to the top again before taking it down (4 U.S.C. § 7(m)). On a fixed house bracket we leave the flag at the top and tie a black ribbon below the finial (the ball or cap on top of the pole). Common practice. Not law. In 2026, December 7 falls on a Monday.

Pearl Harbor Day Flag Half Staff: What 36 USC 129 Says

We read the statute before we answer anyone. Section 129 of Title 36 names December 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (36 U.S.C. § 129). It then requests a proclamation from the President each year. That proclamation calls on federal agencies and "interested organizations, groups, and individuals" to fly the flag at half-staff each December 7, in honor of the people who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor. It sets no hours and no penalty.

Presidents keep issuing it. The 2025 proclamation urged half-staff. Proclamation 10869 said the same for December 7, 2024.

One detail trips people up. December 7 is not one of the named days in the Flag Code's list (4 U.S.C. § 6(d)). It comes in through the list's closing words, "such other days as may be proclaimed by the President of the United States," and through Title 36. The hours come from general custom: sunrise to sunset on a stationary staff, or all night if the flag is lit (4 U.S.C. § 6(a)). The District of Columbia's flag protocol for its own buildings lists December 7 as half-staff from sunrise to sunset (D.C. flag protocol). We keep the same hours at home.

How to Fly a Flag at Half-Staff on a Pole With a Rope (4 USC 7(m))

If your pole has a halyard and a pulley, the Flag Code spells out the motion (4 U.S.C. § 7(m)). This is the order we use:

  1. Hoist the flag briskly to the very top and hold it there for an instant.
  2. Lower it slowly to half-staff. The Code defines that as one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff.
  3. Tie off the halyard so the wind can't walk the flag up or down.
  4. At sunset, raise it back to the peak first.
  5. Then lower it all the way down, ceremoniously, as 4 U.S.C. § 6(b) puts it.

We measure halfway on the pole itself and mark the halyard so the flag stops at the same spot each year.

Memorial Day has its own noon switch in the Code. December 7 has none, so the flag stays at half-staff for the whole day. Our Veterans Day flag etiquette guide covers that noon rule and why November 11 stays at full staff.

How to Fly Half Staff on a House Bracket: The Mourning Ribbon

Most house flags we hear about hang from a porch bracket. A bracket holds a short pole at a fixed angle, and the flag is sleeved or clipped to it. There is no rope. There is nowhere to lower it to. The Flag Code does mention a staff projecting from the front of a building, and says the union goes at the peak unless the flag is at half-staff (4 U.S.C. § 7(h)). It never says how to get a bracket flag to half-staff. We looked. So we stopped hunting for a trick. Our flag stays at the top, and a black ribbon goes on the pole.

The District of Columbia tells its agencies that flags affixed to poles that cannot be half-staffed should show mourning with a length of black streamer at the base of the pole's finial (D.C. flag protocol). The American Legion's official Flag & Emblem store describes its black nylon half-staff ribbon as an acceptable alternative for flags that cannot be lowered to half-staff (American Legion Flag & Emblem). Neither one is federal law. The Flag Code says nothing about ribbons on house flags.

  1. Lift the pole out of the bracket and do the tying at ground level.
  2. Tie or clip the black ribbon to the top of the pole, just below the finial or ball, where the D.C. protocol puts it. Leave the flag cloth alone.
  3. Let the tails hang free alongside the flag.
  4. Set the pole back in the bracket with the union at the peak.
  5. Take the ribbon off at sunset.

How long a ribbon? The Legion's is 2.5 inches wide and 5 feet long, with a grommet for the top of the flag. On a 3x5 flag, 5 feet runs the full length of the fly. Black grosgrain ribbon from a craft store works too, and the D.C. protocol names ribbon as one option.

Some brackets have a second, lower notch. A few flag sellers call that half-staff. We found no official source that does. We would use the ribbon and leave the pole where it is.

After Sunset on December 7

At sunset we pull the ribbon, then bring the flag in or leave it up if it is lit. Bringing it in? Our guide on how to fold an American flag walks through the triangle.

A December flag takes wind and wet. The Code says to skip bad weather unless the flag is an all-weather flag (4 U.S.C. § 6(c)), so we check ours after every storm. Our Durable Patriot is embroidered nylon with sewn stripes and brass grommets, and for most porch brackets we point people to the Durable Patriot 3x5. Our American flag size guide for a house helps with fit, and the full lineup sits in our American flags collection.

For a bracket flag, Pearl Harbor Day flag half staff rules leave one job for the morning of December 7.

Tie the ribbon on at sunrise.

Related from our blog: Veterans Day flag etiquette. How to fold an American flag.

Questions About Pearl Harbor Day Flag Etiquette

Is the flag at half staff on Pearl Harbor Day?
Yes. Under 36 U.S.C. § 129 the President is asked to issue a yearly call to fly the flag at half-staff each December 7, honoring those who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor. The 2024 and 2025 proclamations did exactly that. In 2026 the day falls on a Monday.

What time do you lower the flag on December 7?
The statute sets no hours. Flags on stationary staffs customarily fly sunrise to sunset (4 U.S.C. § 6(a)), and the D.C. flag protocol lists December 7 as half-staff for those hours. Hoist to the peak for an instant, then lower. Raise it to the peak again before taking it down.

How do you fly half staff on a house bracket?
A fixed bracket cannot lower the flag, so leave it at the top and tie a black mourning ribbon just below the finial. D.C. government protocol calls for a black streamer on poles that cannot be half-staffed, and the American Legion's official store calls its ribbon an acceptable alternative. Federal law is silent on it.

Do private homeowners have to fly the flag at half-staff on Pearl Harbor Day?
No law makes a homeowner do it. Section 129 requests a proclamation, and the proclamation urges interested individuals to take part. It is an invitation. Most people who write to us want to join in anyway, and a ribbon lets a bracket flag do it.

What is a mourning streamer?
A mourning streamer, or mourning ribbon, is a narrow black ribbon tied at the top of the pole or flag when the flag cannot go to half-staff. The American Legion sells one 2.5 inches wide and 5 feet long. D.C. protocol places it at the base of the finial. Let it hang beside the flag and take it down at sunset.

Sources

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