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

Built to the Louisiana flag specification

The Louisiana flag is set out in Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:153. It is a blue field with a pelican in her piety, a mother feeding three chicks, and a ribbon reading Union Justice Confidence, at a seven to eleven ratio.

Officially adopted July 1, 1912, with the current standardized version adopted November 22, 2010.

Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:153 describes the pelican, the three drops of blood and the motto, but the operative text does not fix an overall size. The seven to eleven proportion usually quoted comes from the official artwork held by the Secretary of State rather than from the code.

What we build is a faithful reproduction of that design, sized to the standard outdoor sizes every manufacturer uses and the states themselves order in. On an outdoor flag, the colors, the seal and the emblems are what has to be right, and here they are.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:153, subsection A reads:

The official flag of Louisiana shall be that flag now in general use, consisting of a solid blue field with the coat-of-arms of the state, the pelican tearing its breast to feed its young, in white in the center, with a ribbon beneath, also in white, containing in blue the motto of the state, "Union, Justice and Confidence", the whole showing as below. The design of the flag depicting the pelican tearing at its breast to feed its young shall include an appropriate display of three drops of blood.

The artwork is by reference.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Louisiana Revised Statutes 49:153 in full at the Louisiana Legislature, and check what we sell against it.

It is the real flag we produce, not a simplified version.

What is on it and what it means

The pelican, the state bird, tearing her own breast to feed her young is an old symbol of self-sacrifice. Three drops of blood are explicitly required following a 2006 amendment.

What most listings get wrong

A great many flags still on the market omit the three blood drops. The statute requires them. If your Louisiana flag has no drops, it does not match the law.

Where the Louisiana flag flies

Louisiana law is unusually explicit. Revised Statutes 49:152 through 153.1 require that the United States flag, the Louisiana flag and the prisoner of war and missing in action flag each wave from sunrise to sunset every day over the State Capitol, with the prisoner of war flag displayed beneath the state flag. A 2024 Flag Day executive order codified flag procedures over the Capitol. Official Louisiana flags are sold through the Capitol Foundation. The Secretary of State is custodian of the official artwork. A distinctive history: Admiral Farragut removed a pelican flag from the Old State Capitol when Baton Rouge fell in 1862, and the present flag with the pelican tearing her breast and three drops of blood was standardized in 2006 and formally adopted November 22, 2010, a change prompted by an eighth grader noticing the blood drops were missing.

Fly it on Louisiana’s birthday

Louisiana became the 18th state on April 30, 1812. 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 Louisiana flag has an official reason to go up.

Buy it in time and it goes up on the day it matters. Every state’s date is on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Louisiana

Polyester statewide. Gulf salt, extreme humidity and hurricanes at New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Shreveport interior is the one nylon tolerant zone.

Take flags down for tropical systems.

For scale, the National Weather Service ultraviolet index forecast for New Orleans on July 23, 2026 was 9 at solar noon, in the very high band. That is the sun this flag has to survive.

Wind load becomes a real factor at twenty four square feet, and the verdict above matters more at this size than it does for a 3x5 Feet house flag.

The nylon is what you are looking at here — the right choice for the sheltered and moderate wind sites named above, for a house bracket, and for anywhere the flag comes down ahead of storms. Two things settle it. It is light enough to fly on an ordinary yard’s breeze rather than sag, and it dries fast, fighting mildew in humid conditions. What it gives up is resistance to ultraviolet — nylon’s amide bonds break under sun, costing strength and color faster than polyester, and it loses roughly a tenth of its strength while wet. If the site is one of the exposed ones above, the polyester version fits better.

One more consideration, learned by most people only after a repeat purchase: a nylon flag moves in conditions where polyester hangs still. If the flag needs to actually be flying — a calm morning, a holiday, a funeral, a ceremony — that is an argument for nylon even on a site where polyester would technically outlast it. A flag that just hangs there has failed just as much as one that frays.

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 carries well over half again the area of a 3x5 foot flag, so it catches proportionally more wind and the fly end works harder for it. Four rows of lock stitching, and it needs all four.

The arithmetic behind that: 24 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. In a thirty mile an hour wind the fly end of a flag this size travels faster than the wind itself, because the wave running out to the tip accelerates as it goes. That is why the tip wears out first and why the stitching count at that end is the number worth reading on any listing.

One person can still manage this, though the first attempt on a windy day makes the extra size obvious. Take it down before the storm, not in the middle of it.

A lock stitch ties into the stitch next to it, so one broken thread does not unzip the whole seam — it just stops. 4 rows is not 4 times the strength; it is 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.

Nylon, commercial grade, is what this flag is made from. It is light enough to move in a gentle breeze, sheds rather than soaks up water, and dries quickly — a wet flag is a heavier flag, harder on its own seams. The ink is UV resistant and field tested, because sun exposure is what actually fades a flag.

Why this flag is harder to make than most

A detailed pelican device with three chicks, three required blood drops, and a motto ribbon. The drops are small enough that they are the most commonly dropped detail in the trade.

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 Louisiana flag placed 36, at 4.98 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

Buying cheap gets expensive right at the 3x5 Feet-to-4x6 Feet step up. The added area puts more force on the fly end and more load on the grommets, so a budget-built 4x6 Feet fails sooner than a budget 3x5 Feet would. Construction is no longer a nicety at this size.

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?

One rule sits under both tables: the flag should run about a quarter to a third the height of the flagpole. On the border between two rows, the smaller flag flies more and lasts longer; the larger one is the one you can see from the road.

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 proportion still applies past a hundred feet, but the decision changes character: the flagpole, the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load stop being separate line items and become one engineered whole, and ordering a flag without confirming the flagpole rating puts the flagpole at risk first. A few famous flags fly deliberately larger than the rule suggests, and all of them do it with engineering behind the choice.

We do not limit ourselves to what is listed on the site. The full range above is available to order, and an unlisted size can still be supplied.

About the back of the flag

Hold a printed flag up to the light and the reverse side shows the design in mirror image. That is not a defect — it is how nearly every flag flown in America is made. A flag correct on both sides is a double sided flag, two flags sewn together around a liner, and it runs roughly double the price and double the weight. Unless a state’s own statute calls for it, single sided is standard and it is the right call.

Flying it with the United States flag

This is governed by the United States Flag Code, Title 4, Section 7: the United States flag always outranks every other flag in position, never displayed below it or to its right at the same level — right from the viewer’s side, that is. Two flagpoles of equal height place the United States flag at the viewer’s left with both flags the same size; if the poles differ in height, it goes on the taller pole; on one pole flying two flags, it sits at the top. The Flag Code carries no penalty for private citizens, but institutions treat it as the standard.

Buy two and they both last longer

One flag flown month after month wears faster at the same point every time; two flags rotated monthly outlast three run to failure, because rest lets fabric recover. Bring the flag in ahead of severe weather — a hard storm overnight can outdo six normal months. And check the fly end first, since that is where fraying starts, and a small stitch repair there is worth a full extra season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

Our state flags go to municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies regularly. Tax exempt purchasing is handled on the tax exempt page. For quantity, a replacement schedule, or a size outside this listing, use the contact page.

Why buy it from us

We run a small American company and stock the flags we sell. Each one is made in the United States, printed in UV resistant ink, and built to the construction described above instead of built to hit a lower price. One durable flag beats three that fail, in our view. Free shipping applies to orders over twenty five dollars.