FORTISVEX California State Flag 3x5 Feet Polyester - Made in USA Bear Flag with Brass Grommets

The polyester 3x5 foot flag is the house flag for people who have already worn out a nylon one. If your last flag frayed in a season, this is the answer, provided your site actually has wind.

This is the California state flag at 3x5 Feet (15 square feet) in polyester, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.

Built to the California flag specification

The California flag is set out in California Government Code Section 420, one of the most precise flag statutes in the country. It is two thirds as tall as it is long, with a red stripe along the bottom exactly one sixth of the height, a grizzly bear walking left across a green grass plot of twelve tufts and measuring two thirds of the flag’s height from nose to hind paw, one red five-pointed star in the upper hoist corner, and the words California Republic in condensed gothic capitals between the grass and the stripe.

Adopted in 1911 and standardized to its current form in 1953; it derives from the original Bear Flag raised at Sonoma during the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846, when a short-lived republic declared independence from Mexico and lasted twenty five days; the design is credited to William Todd, a nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln, who painted the original at Sonoma.

California is precise about proportion. Government Code Section 420 makes the flag two thirds as tall as it is long, which is two to three, and a 4x6 foot flag, an 8x12 foot flag, a 10x15 foot flag and a 12x18 foot flag all match it exactly. A 3x5 foot flag is a three to five ratio and is therefore slightly deeper than the statute describes, which is true of almost every 3x5 foot state flag sold in the country.

We reproduce that design faithfully, in the standard outdoor flag sizes the whole industry uses and that the states themselves buy. What matters on an outdoor flag is that the colors, the seal and the emblems are right, and they are.

The law that defines it, in its own words

California Government Code Section 420 reads:

The Bear Flag is the State Flag of California. As viewed with the hoist end of the flag to the left of the observer there appears in the upper left-hand corner of a white field a five-pointed red star with one point vertically upward and in the middle of the white field a brown grizzly bear walking toward the left with all four paws on a green grass plot, with head and eye turned slightly toward the observer; a red stripe forms the length of the flag at the bottom, and between the grass plot and the red stripe appear the words CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC. Dimensions, excluding heading and unfinished flag ends: The hoist or flag width is two-thirds of the fly or flag length; the red stripe width is one-sixth of the hoist width. The state official flag hoist widths shall be two, three, four, five, six and eight feet.

The section continues with the proportions of the star, bear, grass plot and lettering, then the Textile Color Card Association references: White cable 70001, Old Glory red 70180, Irish Green 70168, Maple Sugar brown 70129, Seal dark brown 70108. The bear illustration itself appears only in the printed Statutes of 1953, chapter 1140.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read California Government Code Section 420 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 bear is a California grizzly, a subspecies now extinct. The last one held in captivity, a bear named Monarch, was the model used when the flag was standardized. The star recalls the lone star of the 1836 California revolt. The original 1846 flag was destroyed in the San Francisco fire of 1906.

What most listings get wrong

Three errors are repeated constantly by other retailers and by general reference sites. The bear walks on all fours; it does not stand upright. The words California Republic sit below the bear, not above it. And the word Eureka belongs to the state seal, not to the flag, so any California flag carrying it is wrong.

Where the California flag flies

The Superflag, five hundred and five by two hundred and twenty five feet and about three thousand pounds, was made for Thomas Demski of Long Beach and was recognized by Guinness as the world's largest flag in the 1994 and 1995 editions. Its 1996 unfurling at Hoover Dam made it the largest flag flown. It no longer holds the world title but is still cited as the largest American flag. Calipatria in Imperial County has a one hundred and eighty four foot municipal flagpole so the flag flies at sea level in a town one hundred and eighty four feet below it. Dorris is documented as having one of the tallest United States flagpoles.

Fly it on California’s birthday

California became the 31st state on September 9, 1850. 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 California flag has an official reason to go up.

California Admission Day is September 9, a legal observance, and some cities close offices for it.

Order ahead and this flag is ready for the day. The complete list of state birthdays lives on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in California

Nylon in the mild sheltered coastal valley metros, the Los Angeles basin, San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento. Polyester on the immediate coast for salt, in the high wind passes at San Gorgonio and Altamont, and in the high ultraviolet desert at Palm Springs and the Bakersfield edge.

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

This is a house flag, fifteen square feet, where the material determines whether it flies in a light breeze and how fast it dries once it rains.

You are looking at the two-ply polyester, the right pick for the exposed, windy, coastal and high sun sites named above, and for a flagpole that flies around the clock. The fiber explains why: polyester’s ester bonds hold up under ultraviolet where nylon’s amide bonds fail, so it keeps its strength and color longer in sun. It takes on almost no water, staying just as strong wet as dry, sheds salt rather than absorbing it, and freezes less. Its open weave lets fast wind pass through instead of loading up against it, which is why it beats nylon on exposed flagpoles. The cost is calm-day performance — heavier, it will hang on a still afternoon where nylon keeps moving. On a sheltered site, the nylon version flies more.

There is a second factor most people only learn after buying twice: replacing a flag twice a year on a tall pole costs more than the flag itself. Add the ladder, the halyard work, the time, and on a commercial site, somebody’s paid hour. The heavier material costs more up front and avoids all of that. On an exposed flagpole, this is the cheaper flag across three years, even though it is the dearer one today.

The number most institutions rely on traces to the American Legion, which reports a roughly ninety-day expectation from the federal government for a flag flown daily sunrise to sunset, and about a quarter of that flown around the clock. Retailer experience puts nylon at three to six months daily, polyester at four to eight, and an occasionally flown flag at one to three years. These figures are practical guidance, not a warranty, and exposure will move them considerably.

How the 3x5 Feet is built

Most 3x5 foot flags fail at the fly end early, because this size is bought on price more than any other. The difference between a season and three seasons is four rows of lock stitching there.

Work the numbers and you get 15 square feet of two-ply spun polyester at roughly four 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.

This is a one person job to raise or lower, folding down to drawer size. Rotating two flags monthly costs you a minute at this size, nothing more.

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 heavy duty white and reinforced, an inch and a half wide, with two solid brass grommets. Fifteen square feet is enough sail area to work the grommets hard on a windy site.

This is two-ply spun polyester, the heavier of the two materials. Woven open so wind moves through rather than against it, it keeps its strength wet and holds color longer under strong sun. The trade off is straightforward: it weighs more, needs more wind to fly, and costs more.

Why this flag is harder to make than most

A detailed bear silhouette, a twelve-tuft grass plot, lettering and a star, and a statute that fixes proportions precisely enough that a sloppy reproduction is visibly wrong.

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 California flag placed 13, at 7.00 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

It suits a five or six foot house bracket, or an in-ground flagpole of fifteen to twenty feet. That is the most common residential setup in the country and this is the size built for it.

Questions about the 3x5 Feet

What size flagpole does a 3x5 foot flag need? A six foot house bracket, or an in-ground flagpole of fifteen to twenty feet. It is the most common residential pairing in the country.

How long does a 3x5 foot nylon flag last outside? The federal working figure is about ninety days for a flag flown daily from sunrise to sunset, and about a quarter of that flown around the clock. Retailers commonly see three to six months in daily use and one to three years flown on occasions only.

Is this flag printed or sewn? The design is printed in UV resistant ink on one side and reads through in reverse on the back, which is how nearly every state flag sold in the country is made. The construction, the heading, the stitching and the grommets are sewn.

When a house flag needs the heavy material

The typical suburban house does not need this; nylon flies more there at 3x5 feet. A house on a ridge, a lakeshore, the coast, or open farmland is a different site entirely, and that is where polyester justifies its weight.

Specifications

• Size: 3x5 Feet
• Area: 15 square feet
• Material: 100 percent two-ply spun polyester
• 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?

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

Nothing about the ratio breaks above a hundred feet, but the purchase does: the flag, the flagpole, the truck, the halyard and the foundation become one system that has to be specified together, and skipping that check risks the flagpole before it risks the flag. Some of the largest flags flown in the country are deliberately oversized for their rule-of-thumb flagpole, always on an engineer’s sign-off.

If a size in either table is missing from the website, it does not mean we do not carry it. The full range is available to order regardless of what is currently listed.

About the back of the flag

A printed flag reads correctly from the front and reversed from the back. That is normal and it is true of almost every flag flown in the country. A flag that reads correctly from both sides is a double sided flag, built as two flags sewn together with a liner between them, and it costs roughly twice as much and weighs roughly twice as much. Unless the statute for a particular state requires it, single sided is the standard and the right choice.

Flying it with the United States flag

The United States Flag Code, Title 4, Section 7, governs this. No other flag goes above the United States flag, or to its right when on the same level, which is the viewer’s left. On two flagpoles of the same height the United States flag takes the viewer’s left and both flags should be the same size. If the flagpoles differ in height, the United States flag goes on the taller one. On a single flagpole carrying two flags the United States flag goes at the top. The Flag Code is advisory for civilians and carries no penalty, but it is the standard every institution follows.

Buy two and they both last longer

Buy two flags and swap them every month. That habit alone outlasts three flags flown into the ground, since the material recovers while resting and the fly end is not repeatedly stressed in the same place. Take the flag down for real storms; overnight wind damage can exceed six months of ordinary wear. Inspect the fly end rather than the middle, and a few minutes of repair stitching when fraying starts buys another 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

We are a small, American-based company that stocks what it lists. Every flag is made in the United States, uses UV resistant ink, and is finished to the standard described above rather than cut down to hit a price. One flag that lasts is worth more to us than three that do not. Free shipping applies over twenty five dollars.