FORTISVEX Idaho State Flag 4x6 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

This is the first size that genuinely outgrows a house bracket and calls for a flagpole in the ground. The honest reason to buy a 4x6 foot flag is size, not looks.

This is the Idaho state flag at 4x6 Feet (24 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.

Built to the Idaho flag specification

The Idaho flag is set out in Idaho Code Section 46-801. It is the state seal on a blue field with a red and gold band reading State of Idaho. The statute describes a silk ceremonial color, five feet six inches by four feet four inches with gilt fringe, which is the pattern flag the state keeps rather than the size anyone flies outdoors.

Adopted in 1907.

Idaho Code Section 46-801 describes a silk flag five feet six inches by four feet four inches on a pike with two and a half inch gilt fringe and a twenty one inch seal. Those are the dimensions of a ceremonial parade color from 1907, not of an outdoor flag, and no manufacturer in the country stocks that size.

We hold to a faithful reproduction of that design, at the standard outdoor sizes the industry uses and the states themselves buy. What matters on a flag that flies outdoors is accurate colors, seal and emblems, and that is exactly what this one has.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Idaho Code Section 46-801, State Flag reads:

A state flag for the state of Idaho is hereby adopted, the same to be as follows: A silk flag, blue field, five (5) feet six (6) inches fly, and four (4) feet four (4) inches on pike, bordered with gilt fringe two and one-half (2 1/2) inches in width, with state seal of Idaho twenty-one (21) inches in diameter, in colors, in the center of a blue field. The words "State of Idaho" are embroidered in with block letters, two (2) inches in height on a red band three (3) inches in width by twenty-nine (29) inches in length, the band being in gold and placed about eight and one-half (8 1/2) inches from the lower border of fringe and parallel with the same.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Idaho Code Section 46-801 in full at the Idaho Legislature, and check what we sell against it.

That is the flag as we build it. Nothing about it is approximate.

What is on it and what it means

The seal shows a miner and a woman representing liberty, justice and equality, and reflects mining, forestry, farming and the state’s wildlife.

What most listings get wrong

The seal on this flag is the only state seal in the country designed by a woman, Emma Edwards Green, in 1891. Almost nobody selling this flag mentions her. Note also that the words State of Idaho appear both on the red and gold band and again inside the seal itself. That is not a printing mistake, it is the flag as Idaho Code Section 46-801 specifies it.

Emma Edwards Green designed the seal in 1891. No other state seal was designed by a woman.

Where the Idaho flag flies

Idahoans obtain United States Capitol flags through the congressional delegation. Idaho Code Section 67-820 provides that when the flag is flown at half staff at the capitol for a line of duty death, the flag flown over the capitol building in honor of the deceased shall be presented to the family. The Idaho State Historical Society documents that the copper eagle atop the Capitol dome was fabricated from parts of the battleship Idaho and was re-gilded with gold leaf during the 2005 to 2010 restoration. The state flag descends from the battle flag of the First Idaho Infantry carried in the Philippines in 1899.

Fly it on Idaho’s birthday

Idaho became the 43rd state on July 3, 1890. Under the United States Flag Code as amended July 7, 1976, a state flag flown on the state’s birthday takes its place beneath the United States flag, and that day is the one date every year the Idaho flag has an official reason to go up.

Buy it now and it is on the flagpole for the day. The full list of state birthdays is on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Idaho

Nylon in the sheltered Treasure Valley at Boise, Nampa and Meridian. Polyester across the wind exposed Snake River Plain and Magic Valley at Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls.

For scale, the National Weather Service ultraviolet index forecast for Boise on July 23, 2026 was 10 at solar noon, in the very high band. That is the sun this flag has to survive.

At twenty four square feet the wind load starts to matter, and the verdict above applies with more force than it does to a house flag.

You are looking at the nylon here, the right pick for the sheltered and moderate wind sites named above, for any house bracket, and for anywhere the flag gets brought in during storms. Two things make that case. It is light enough to move on the breeze most yards actually get rather than hang limp, and it dries fast, which keeps mildew away in a humid climate. What it trades away is ultraviolet durability — nylon’s amide bonds break down under ultraviolet light, losing strength and color faster than polyester, and it loses roughly a tenth of its strength while wet. For one of the exposed sites named above, the polyester version is the better fit.

The part most buyers learn only the second time around: nylon flies in wind too light to move polyester. When it matters that the flag is actually moving — a still morning, a holiday, a funeral, a ceremony — that favors nylon even somewhere polyester would last longer. A flag that hangs motionless is not doing its job either, however durable it is.

The working benchmark most institutions use comes from the American Legion, which reports that the United States government expects a flag flown daily from sunrise to sunset to last about ninety days, and one flown around the clock about a quarter of that. Retailer experience runs three to six months for nylon and four to eight for polyester flown daily, and one to three years for a flag flown only on occasions. Those are working figures, not a warranty, and exposure moves them a long way in either direction.

How the 4x6 Feet is built

A 4x6 foot flag's larger area, over half again a 3x5 Feet's, catches more wind and stresses the fly end harder. That is why it carries four rows of lock stitching rather than fewer.

Work the numbers and you get 24 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. At thirty miles an hour, the fly end actually outpaces the wind, because the wave running to the tip accelerates along the way — the reason the tip fails first, and the reason fly-end stitching count is the number that matters.

A one person job, technically, but the first windy day taking it down alone will make the size difference clear. Bring it in ahead of weather, not during it.

With lock stitching, every stitch knots into its neighbor, so damage stays contained at the break instead of running down the seam. Read 4 rows not as 4 times the strength but as 3 backups. The heading is reinforced heavy duty white, an inch and a half, with brass grommets and tooth washers taking a real load across twenty four square feet.

This flag is commercial grade nylon, light enough to move in a gentle breeze, and it sheds water instead of soaking it up, drying fast — which matters, since a wet flag is a heavy flag that works its own seams harder. UV resistant, field tested ink is what stands between the flag and the sun, since sun is what fades a flag over time.

Why this flag is harder to make than most

A highly detailed painterly seal with two human figures. This is among the most expensive state flags to reproduce accurately and the fine detail is what separates a good one from a cheap one.

For what it is worth, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 72 state, provincial and territorial flags in 2001 and rated them from zero to ten. The Idaho flag placed 64, at 3.17 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

This size wants an in-ground flagpole of eighteen to twenty five feet — on a six foot bracket, expect it to drag and wrap around the pole.

Questions about the 4x6 Feet

What flagpole does a 4x6 foot flag need? An in-ground flagpole of eighteen to twenty five feet. It is too large for a standard house bracket, which is the honest reason to choose it.

Is a 4x6 foot flag worth it over a 3x5 foot flag? Only if the flagpole is tall enough. On a twenty foot flagpole a 3x5 foot flag looks lost and a 4x6 foot flag fills it. On a six foot bracket the 4x6 foot flag will wrap.

Can I fly a 4x6 foot state flag with a 4x6 foot United States flag? Yes, and on two flagpoles of equal height that is the correct pairing, with the United States flag to the viewer’s left.

Where the step up starts to cost you

The move from 3x5 Feet to 4x6 Feet is where cutting corners becomes expensive. More area means more force at the fly end and more load on the grommets, so a cheaply built 4x6 Feet fails faster than a cheaply built 3x5 Feet. This size is where construction quality actually matters.

Specifications

• Size: 4x6 Feet
• Area: 24 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 4 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 1-1/2 inch
• Finish: Brass Grommets
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

Both tables come down to one ratio: the flag’s length wants to be a quarter to a third of the flagpole’s height. When a size sits on the border between two rows, the smaller flag will fly on more days and outlast the bigger one, while the bigger flag is the one people notice from further off.

If you know your flagpole height, start here.

• 6 Feet house bracket: 2x3 Feet or 3x5 Feet
• 15 to 20 Feet flagpole: 3x5 Feet or 4x6 Feet
• 20 to 25 Feet flagpole: 4x6 Feet or 5x8 Feet
• 25 to 35 Feet flagpole: 5x8 Feet or 6x10 Feet
• 35 to 45 Feet flagpole: 6x10 Feet or 8x12 Feet
• 45 to 60 Feet flagpole: 8x12 Feet or 10x15 Feet
• 60 to 80 Feet flagpole: 10x15 Feet or 12x18 Feet
• 80 to 100 Feet flagpole: 12x18 Feet or 15x25 Feet
• 100 to 120 Feet flagpole: 15x25 Feet or 20x30 Feet
• 120 to 150 Feet flagpole: 20x30 Feet or 20x38 Feet
• 150 to 200 Feet flagpole: 20x38 Feet or 30x50 Feet
• 200 to 240 Feet flagpole: 30x50 Feet or 30x60 Feet
• 240 Feet and above: 30x60 Feet or 50x80 Feet, engineered to the flagpole

If you know your flag size, start here.

• 2x3 Feet: 4 to 8 Feet bracket or garden flagpole
• 3x5 Feet: 6 Feet bracket, or 15 to 20 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 4x6 Feet: 18 to 25 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 5x8 Feet: 25 to 35 Feet flagpole
• 6x10 Feet: 30 to 40 Feet flagpole
• 8x12 Feet: 40 to 50 Feet flagpole
• 10x15 Feet: 50 to 60 Feet flagpole
• 12x18 Feet: 60 to 80 Feet flagpole
• 15x25 Feet: 80 to 100 Feet flagpole
• 20x30 Feet: 100 to 120 Feet flagpole
• 20x38 Feet: 120 to 150 Feet flagpole. This is the garrison size under Executive Order 10834, at a one to one point nine ratio rather than the two to three of the commercial sizes, and it is the size flown at the White House and the Capitol
• 30x50 Feet: 150 to 200 Feet flagpole
• 30x60 Feet: 200 to 240 Feet flagpole. This is the largest standard commercial size
• 50x80 Feet: 240 Feet and above, engineered to the flagpole

The quarter to a third rule holds all the way up, but above about a hundred feet the flag and the flagpole stop being two purchases and become one engineered system: the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load all have to be specified together, and a flag bought without checking the flagpole rating damages the flagpole first. Several famous installations deliberately fly longer than the rule, which is a choice made with an engineer rather than from a chart.

What is on the website is not the limit of what we carry. Any size in the tables above can be ordered, listed or not.

About the back of the flag

The reverse of a printed flag mirrors the front, which is ordinary and true of nearly every flag in the country. To have both faces read correctly requires a double sided construction: two flags joined with a liner in between, at about twice the material and twice the price. Single sided is the industry standard, and the sensible pick unless a state’s statute says otherwise.

Flying it with the United States flag

Title 4, Section 7 of the United States Flag Code sets the rule: no flag flies above the United States flag, and none takes its place to the right at the same level, meaning the viewer’s left. Two equal-height flagpoles put the United States flag on the viewer’s left, with both flags matched in size. Unequal flagpoles put the United States flag on the taller one, and a single flagpole with two flags carries the United States flag at the top. Civilians are not bound by penalty under the Flag Code, but it remains the standard institutions follow.

Buy two and they both last longer

Alternate two flags on a monthly schedule and you will get more life from both than from three flags flown until they wear out, because resting fabric recovers and the fly end stops absorbing the same repeated stress. A severe storm is the one condition worth taking the flag down for; it can do more damage in a night than six calm months. The fly end frays first, not the center, and stitching it early adds a season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

We regularly supply state flags to cities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies. Tax exempt accounts run through the tax exempt page. Quantity pricing, replacement schedules, or a size that is not listed all go through the contact page.

Why buy it from us

This is a small American company, and what you see listed is what we actually stock. Every flag is made in the United States, printed with UV resistant ink, and built to the construction described above, not to whatever a price point demands. Selling one flag that lasts beats selling three that fail. Orders over twenty five dollars ship free.