Flag Flown Over the Capitol
The Flag Flown Over the Capitol program lets you order flags that have flown over the Capitol Building. Contact your Congressman or Senator to place an order, most have order form on their web page. Flags are available in a variety of sizes and materials. Order cotton for indoor flags, nylon for flags that will be outdoors.
Costs are reasonable and will vary by type. There’s also a small charge, currently less than $5 but scheduled to go up, for flying the flag, the certificate, and postage.
Your order for a flag flown over the capital goes to the Architect of the Capitol for scheduling. The Architect’s office receives hundreds of thousands of requests a year, so allow plenty of time, at least 2 to 4 weeks in advance. You can ask that your flag be flown in honor of a specified person or occasion and that your flag be flown on a certain date such as a birthday or anniversary.
Your flag flown over the capital will be mailed to you 4 to 6 weeks later, along with a certificate from The Architect Of The Capitol certifying the date that your flag was flown. The certificate will also show who it was flown for and include any special people or events that it was flown to honor.
No actual records exist for the earliest date the flag was flown over the Capitol but it can be assumed that there were flags flying somewhere over the building since it’s first use. Early inscriptions and lithographs in the office of the Architect of the Capitol show flags flying on either side of the original low dome above the passages connecting the areas now referred to as Statuary Hall and the Old Senate Chamber. The big flags over the East and West entrances are 8 feet by 12 feet and have been flying 24 hours a day since World War I.
The Capitol Flag Flown Over the Capitol program began in 1937 when a Member of Congress requested a flag that had flown over the Capitol. Requests soon outgrew the number of flags that were in regular use, and special flagpoles were set up to fly smaller flags that are better suited for home use.