Executive Order 10834: The Flag of the United States
Summary
Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10834 on August 21, 1959, the day Hawaii became a state. The order established the star arrangement and proportions for the 50-star United States flag and addressed the flags executive agencies buy and use. Signing did not make the new design the official flag that same day: the transition occurred on July 4, 1960 under the statutory rule for adding a state's star. Existing government flags could continue to be used until unserviceable under the order's procurement provisions.
Status: In effect. Yes. EO 10834 remains the presidential specification for the 50-star flag and associated executive-agency procurement rules. Its new flag became official on July 4, 1960. The current U.S. Code retains the order under the flag provisions; the reviewed Federal Register disposition identifies no later revocation.
Key facts at a glance
| Signed | August 21, 1959 |
|---|---|
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Federal Register | 24 FR 6865; published August 25, 1959 |
| Current label | In effect |
| Amended by | No amendment listed in the reviewed disposition; see later-law qualifications below |
| Related orders | EO 10798 |
| Checked | October 25, 2026 |
What it requires today
Part I preserves thirteen alternating red and white horizontal stripes and a blue union containing white stars. The attachment supplies the positions of the stars and the proportions of the flag's constituent parts. The written specification and its drawing belong together: a casual description of fifty stars cannot substitute for the prescribed arrangement when a federal procurement specification requires conformity.
Part II identifies authorized agency sizes and requires newly manufactured or purchased government flags to conform, subject to specified exceptions. The eleven listed sizes include several proportions, so the commonly cited overall 1:1.9 ratio is not a statement that every authorized agency flag must have precisely that ratio. The dimensions in the attachment, the listed sizes and the authority for limited adjustments need to be read together rather than treating one number as the entire order.
Union jacks have their own relationship to the national flag. Their exterior dimensions are to equal the union of an authorized flag size; a union jack flown with a national flag is sized to that flag's union. Defense and GSA can authorize necessary minor adjustments or other proportions or sizes for sufficient cause within their respective procurement responsibilities, with coordination as practicable. This is a limited administrative flexibility, not a general power for an individual purchaser to redesign the national emblem.
Who it affects
The procurement directions apply to executive departments, independent executive establishments and wholly owned government corporations within the order's definition. Defense administers its side of government procurement, including military colors, and GSA the other executive-agency side. Private households, manufacturers and schools may choose flags following these specifications, but an executive-agency purchasing rule should not be confused with a universal penal rule for every privately owned flag. Separate statutes and flag-use guidance have their own scope.
How it came about
Alaska's admission had already led to the 49-star design under EO 10798, signed January 3, 1959. The Eisenhower Presidential Library records the successive committee submissions and official raisings of the 49- and 50-star flags at Fort McHenry. Hawaii's admission required another design, but 4 U.S.C. 2 places the addition of a new state's star on the following July 4. The 49-star flag therefore occupied a genuine intervening period rather than being an error immediately displaced when the 50-star order was signed.
What agencies did under it
Section 25 addressed practical government inventory. Flags and union jacks already possessed, and those acquired under contracts awarded before the order, could generally be used until unserviceable. Limited exceptions required the appropriate Defense or GSA approval. The design transition thus did not require agencies to discard every serviceable older flag overnight. A historical photograph of an older government flag after the new specification was issued does not alone establish a violation.
The current U.S. Code's flag chapter reproduces EO 10834 as the specification governing proportions, sizes and star positions. The chapter also contains statutes concerning stripes, stars and display. That compilation makes it possible to distinguish the congressional rule about adding stars from the presidential technical specification. The order's continuing presence there, together with the reviewed disposition record, supports the current status without treating a historical presidential-library exhibit as the only legal evidence.
For a government purchasing decision, the relevant agency's current procurement specification and any authorized exception determine the item to be supplied. The presidential order gives the underlying design and allocation of responsibility; it is not a complete modern contract or manufacturing manual. A commercial flag advertised as a standard size may therefore differ from the attachment's ordinary overall proportions without that fact alone resolving whether it meets a particular federal contract.
Implementation records: U.S. Code: flag provisions and EO 10834 note; Eisenhower Presidential Library: design and transition history.
Amendments and family tree
EO 10834 expressly revoked EO 10798. It also kept the earlier flag as the official flag until July 4, 1960 through its transition clause. These provisions show why a revocation should be read alongside effective-date and inventory language. The order does not revoke the flag statutes themselves. The preexisting statutory rule supplied the transition date, while the presidential instrument supplied the new arrangement and executive-agency rules within its authority.
Court cases
No court ruling specifically on EO 10834 was identified in the official order, disposition and agency sources reviewed as of October 25, 2026. Litigation about flag expression or a flag-protection statute concerns a different legal question from the government design and procurement specification. This guide does not treat such a case as a judgment invalidating EO 10834 or the 50-star arrangement without an official decision saying so.
Common questions
When did the 50-star flag become official?
July 4, 1960. Eisenhower signed the order on August 21, 1959, but its transition provision and the statute on adding a state's star set the later date. Signing, statehood and official use are separate events.
Did agencies have to throw out every 49-star flag?
Section 25 generally allowed existing government flags and qualifying earlier-contract purchases to be used until unserviceable. The rule contemplated an orderly inventory transition, with limited exceptions requiring the specified official approval.
Must every authorized government flag have a 1:1.9 ratio?
The attachment supplies that familiar overall proportion, but section 21 lists eleven authorized sizes, including some different proportions. The order also permits limited official adjustments. The actual agency specification must be read with those provisions.
Is this the whole Flag Code?
No. It is an executive order about design and specified government procurement. The statutes collected in title 4 and other applicable laws address additional matters. The order should not be presented as the source of every custom or legal rule about flags.
Legal basis
Eisenhower invoked presidential and commander-in-chief authority and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. The preamble also identifies 4 U.S.C. 2's rule for adding a star when a state joins the Union. The relationship between these authorities explains why the order both specifies the design and devotes substantial detail to government property and procurement, rather than creating an all-purpose code governing every private display.
Further reading
Sources
Cite this page
EO Explained, “Executive Order 10834: The Flag of the United States”, checked October 25, 2026. https://eoexplained.com/historic-orders/historic-10834-the-flag-of-the-united-states. Include an access date when citing this dated account. For the presidential instrument itself, cite 24 FR 6865 and the official text.
Last checked
. EO 10834 was checked against its signed record, current disposition and cited implementation sources for the status and scope described above. Report an error or a later official source.