FORTISVEX South Carolina State Flag 5x8 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

This is commercial territory: a thirty foot flagpole outside a dealership, a bank, a fire station, a church, a school. Homeowners choose it too, when their flagpole is tall enough to make a 4x6 foot flag look undersized.

This is the South Carolina state flag at 5x8 Feet (40 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.

Built to the South Carolina flag specification

The South Carolina flag is set out in no detailed statutory design since 1940, which leaves the shape, the size and the shade of blue formally unspecified. It is a blue field with a white palmetto tree and a white crescent in the upper hoist.

Roots in Moultrie’s Revolutionary flag of 1775, with the current palmetto and crescent design adopted January 28, 1861 after a gold palmetto version that lasted two days.

The statute for this flag describes the design, the colors and the seal or emblem, but it does not fix an overall size that a modern outdoor flag has to match. That is the normal position across most of the country, and it is why every manufacturer builds state flags in the same standard sizes.

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

South Carolina Code Section 1-1-710 reads:

The color indigo blue worn on the uniform of Colonel William Moultrie's soldiers and adopted as the background of the South Carolina State flag, is designated as the official color of the State of South Carolina.

The South Carolina Code contains no design specification for the flag; this color provision is the only statutory statement about its appearance. A 2021 bill proposing one did not become law, which is why palmetto and crescent shapes vary between manufacturers.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read South Carolina Code Section 1-1-710 in full at the South Carolina Legislature, and check what we sell against it.

This is what we actually make, not a stand-in for it.

What is on it and what it means

The palmetto is Fort Moultrie’s palmetto log walls, which absorbed British cannon fire in 1776 rather than splintering. The crescent is the silver gorget worn on Revolutionary soldiers’ caps.

What most listings get wrong

Because the law says almost nothing, manufacturers’ palmettos and crescents vary widely and no two brands match. A standardization effort between 2018 and 2021 stalled and nothing is settled. This is the one state where asking what the official design is has no clean answer.

It is the only state whose flag has no statutory design specification, which is why versions differ between suppliers.

Where the South Carolina flag flies

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park holds the Fort Sumter garrison flag, a thirty three star flag wind damaged the night of April 11, 1861, the Fort Sumter storm flag that flew during the thirty four hour bombardment opening the Civil War on April 12, 1861, and the Palmetto Guard flag, the first Confederate aligned flag over the fort on April 14, 1861. All three were removed from display in September 2023 for long term conservation. The Revolutionary War Fort Moultrie flag is referenced by the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia.

Fly it on South Carolina’s birthday

South Carolina became the 8th state on May 23, 1788. 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 South Carolina flag has an official reason to go up.

Have it on hand before the date arrives and it is on the flagpole in time. The full state-by-state list is on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in South Carolina

Nylon in the Midlands and Upstate at Columbia and Greenville. Polyester on the coast at Charleston and Myrtle Beach.

At forty square feet the load on the heading is real in any gust, and the exposed sites above will show the difference between the two cloths inside a season.

This is the nylon listing, suited to the sheltered and moderate wind sites named above, to any house bracket, and to anywhere you bring the flag in during storms. Two factors drive that choice. Nylon is light, catching the breeze most yards actually get instead of hanging still, and it dries quickly, which is what keeps mildew at bay in humid air. The cost is ultraviolet life: nylon’s amide bonds absorb and break under ultraviolet exposure, fading faster than polyester, and it loses about a tenth of its strength wet. On one of the exposed sites named above, look instead at the polyester version.

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 figure most institutions use is from the American Legion, citing the United States government's expectation of about ninety days for a flag flown daily from sunrise to sunset, and roughly a quarter of that around the clock. Retailers see three to six months in practice for nylon flown daily, four to eight for polyester, and one to three years when flown occasionally. These are practical figures, not a guarantee, and real-world exposure shifts them considerably.

How the 5x8 Feet is built

At this size the flag works hard, and any failure happens in public: a frayed tip on a business flagpole reads from the road, the same place the flag was meant to be seen from.

Work the numbers and you get 40 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.

Two people is easier than one at this size, particularly on a windy site. Forty square feet of loose material catches wind while you are folding it.

Each lock stitch knots into the one beside it, so a broken thread stays broken right where it snapped instead of unraveling the whole seam. 4 rows is not 4 times the strength — it is 3 backups. The heading grows to two inches at this size, reinforced heavy duty white with brass grommets and tooth washers, since forty square feet in a gust pulls hard enough to need it.

This is commercial grade nylon: light enough to fly in a light wind, quick to shed water instead of holding it, and fast to dry, which matters because a waterlogged flag is a heavier flag putting more strain on its seams. UV resistant, field tested ink is what fights the sun, which is the real driver of color loss over time.

A design that reproduces cleanly

A palmetto silhouette and a crescent, with no seal. The variation between suppliers is a legal gap rather than a manufacturing 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 South Carolina flag placed 10, at 7.16 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

This size belongs on an in-ground flagpole between twenty five and thirty five feet — the standard commercial setup.

Questions about the 5x8 Feet

What size flagpole for a 5x8 foot flag? Twenty five to thirty five feet in the ground, which is the standard commercial flagpole. This is the size on most dealerships, banks and fire stations.

Should a business choose nylon or polyester at 5x8 Feet? Nylon flies more often and looks better on a calm day. Polyester lasts longer on an open, windy or coastal site. The section above names which your state is.

How often does a 5x8 foot commercial flag need replacing? A flag flown daily on an exposed commercial flagpole is typically replaced two to four times a year. A rotation of two flags swapped monthly stretches that.

What the condition of it says

The flag is the first thing anyone driving past a business actually sees, before the building itself. A faded, frayed flag says something about that business — a cost entirely separate from what it takes to replace it.

Specifications

• Size: 5x8 Feet
• Area: 40 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 4 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 2 inch
• Finish: Brass Grommets
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

There is one number behind both tables. A flag reads right when its length is somewhere between a quarter and a third of the flagpole it is on. If your flagpole puts you between two sizes, go smaller for a flag that flies more and lasts longer, or bigger for one that carries further.

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

Above roughly a hundred feet of flagpole, the quarter to a third guide keeps its accuracy but loses its simplicity: the flag now has to be specified alongside the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load as a single system, and skipping that step is how a flagpole gets damaged rather than the flag. Several famous installations fly flags larger than the rule on purpose, with an engineer deciding it rather than a table.

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 Flag Code is the source for this. The United States flag is never subordinate in position — nothing flies above it, and nothing takes its place at the viewer’s left when flags are level with each other. On matched flagpoles, the United States flag takes the viewer’s left and the flags should be sized the same; on unequal flagpoles, it goes on the taller one; and on a single pole flying two flags, it goes at the top. There is no penalty for civilians who do not follow the Code, but institutions treat it as the standard regardless.

Buy two and they both last longer

Keep two flags and swap them monthly. That single habit will outlast three flags run to destruction, since resting fabric recovers and the fly end is spared the repeated wear of constant flying. Take the flag down ahead of severe weather, since one bad storm night can outdo six calm months. Watch the fly end rather than the center; a little stitching early saves a whole season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

We supply state flags to municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies. Tax exempt accounts are handled through the tax exempt page. For quantities, replacement schedules or sizes not listed, use the contact page.

Why buy it from us

We are a small American company and we stock what we sell. Every flag here is made in the United States, printed in UV resistant ink, and finished to the construction described above rather than to a price point. We would rather sell you one flag that lasts than three that do not. Free shipping on orders over twenty five dollars.