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

A 4x6 foot flag is the first size that really needs a flagpole in the ground. It is too large for a standard house bracket, and that is the honest reason to step up to it rather than any question of appearance.

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

Built to the Alabama flag specification

The Alabama flag is set out in Alabama Code Section 1-2-5. It is a crimson St. Andrew’s cross, a saltire, on a white field, with the bars required to be not less than six inches broad.

Adopted February 16, 1895 by Act 383, introduced by its designer, Representative John W. A. Sanford Jr.

Alabama Code Section 1-2-5 says nothing about the overall size or even the shape. The only absolute measurement in it is that the saltire bars be not less than six inches broad, which on a small flag is proportionally impossible to satisfy and has never once been enforced. The Attorney General addressed the shape question in 1987 and concluded that where the statute is silent, precedent and practice govern.

This flag reproduces the design faithfully, built to the standard outdoor sizes used across the industry and bought by the states themselves. The colors, the seal and the emblems are the part that has to be right on an outdoor flag, and they are right here.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Code of Alabama Section 1-2-5 reads:

The flag of the State of Alabama shall be a crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white. The bars forming the cross shall be not less than six inches broad, and must extend diagonally across the flag from side to side.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Code of Alabama Section 1-2-5 in full at Justia, and check what we sell against it.

This is the flag we make. Not an approximation of it.

What is on it and what it means

The statute itself describes only a crimson saltire on white. It carries no seal and no lettering, which is why it reads clearly from a distance at every size.

What most listings get wrong

Because the statute sets a minimum bar width of six inches, a very small flag technically does not meet the legal definition. That is a curiosity rather than a problem, but it is the kind of detail nobody else on the internet mentions.

Where the Alabama flag flies

A thirty eight by twenty foot flag on a seventy foot pole at Camp Liberty in Cullman County is billed only as Cullman County's largest, not a statewide record.

Fly it on Alabama’s birthday

Alabama became the 22nd state on December 14, 1819. 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 Alabama flag has an official reason to go up.

Order it ahead of the date and it is ready to fly that day. Every state’s birthday is listed on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Alabama

Nylon inland at Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa. Polyester on the Gulf Coast at Mobile for salt, humidity and hurricane exposure.

Take any flag down for tornado and tropical events.

For scale, the National Weather Service ultraviolet index forecast for Mobile on July 23, 2026 was 11 at solar noon, in the extreme band. That is the sun this flag has to survive.

At this size, twenty four square feet, wind load starts to count, and the material verdict above applies with more force than at house flag size.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

Lock stitching means each stitch is knotted into the next, so a broken thread stops where it broke rather than unzipping the seam. 4 rows does not mean 4 times the strength; it means 3 backups. An inch and a half of reinforced heavy duty white heading holds two solid brass grommets and tooth washers, carrying real load at twenty four square feet.

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

Two colors and no seal. It is one of the cheapest state flags to build well and one of the most durable, because there is no fine detail to crack or fade unevenly.

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 Alabama flag placed 29, at 6.06 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

An in-ground flagpole between eighteen and twenty five feet is the right fit; a six foot house bracket will leave it dragging and wrapping.

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?

The proportion that makes both tables work is simple: length equal to roughly a quarter to a third of the flagpole’s height. Sitting between two sizes is common, and the choice there is really a trade between a flag that flies often and one that is seen from a distance.

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 ratio does not fail at a hundred feet, but the transaction does change: past that height the flag, the flagpole, the truck, the halyard and the foundation have to be engineered together, and a flag ordered without checking the flagpole rating tends to cost the flagpole first. A few of the country’s best known flags deliberately exceed the rule, on the strength of an engineer’s calculation rather than a chart.

The full range is available to order even where a size is not shown on the site. If what you need is not listed here, ask and we can still get it made.

About the back of the flag

The back of a printed flag shows the design reversed, not missing. That is true of almost every flag in the country, and it is normal rather than a flaw. Getting both sides to read correctly means sewing two flags together with a liner between them, which roughly doubles the cost and the weight. Single sided is standard practice, and the right choice unless a particular state’s law says otherwise.

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

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

Municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies all buy state flags from us regularly. The tax exempt page handles tax exempt accounts, and the contact page is the route for quantity orders, replacement schedules or a size not shown here.

Why buy it from us

A small American company runs this store, and everything listed here is something we actually stock. Every flag is made in the United States, printed in UV resistant ink, and built to the construction described above rather than built down to a price. We would rather one flag last than sell three that fail early. Free shipping kicks in over twenty five dollars.