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

The 5x8 foot flag belongs on a thirty foot commercial flagpole — a dealership, a bank, a fire station, a church, a school. It also suits a homeowner whose flagpole is too tall for a 4x6 foot flag to fill properly.

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

Built to the Utah flag specification

The Utah flag is set out in Senate Bill 31 of 2023, signed March 21, 2023 and effective March 9, 2024, Utah State Flag Day, 113 years after the 1911 original. It is horizontal bands of blue, white and red, with the white forming mountain peaks, and a gold hexagon containing a gold beehive and a white five-pointed star.

Adopted through the 2022 More Than A Flag campaign, which drew 7,031 total submissions including 5,702 flag designs, 2,500 of them from students, from all 29 counties.

What the statute here fixes is the design, the colors and the seal or emblem; it does not fix a size for an outdoor flag to hit. That is the position in most of the country, and it is the reason every manufacturer settles on the same standard sizes.

The reproduction here is faithful to the design, in the standard outdoor sizes used industry wide and bought by the states themselves. On an outdoor flag, correct colors, seal and emblems are what counts, and that is what you get.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Utah Code Section 63G-1-501, State flag, Description, Image, Display reads:

(1) The state flag of Utah shall be a rectangle that has a width to length ratio of three to five and contain the following: (a) two irregular, horizontal lines dividing the flag into three separate segments, of which: (i) the top segment: (A) is located above the higher horizontal line; and (B) is shaded in blue; (ii) the middle segment: (A) is located between the two horizontal lines; (B) is shaded in white; (C) at the higher horizontal line, takes the shape of a mountain with five peaks, the center peak being the tallest and following the shape of the highest point of the hexagon described in Subsection (1)(b); and (D) at the lower horizontal line, follows the shape of the lowest point of the hexagon described in Subsection (1)(b); and (iii) the bottom segment: (A) is located below the lower horizontal line; and (B) is shaded in red; (b) one hexagon that: (i) is shaded in blue; (ii) contains a smaller gold hexagon outline; and (iii) is placed within the center of the middle segment described in Subsection (1)(a)(ii); (c) one beehive that: (i) is shaded in gold; (ii) contains five hive sections with a small semicircle removed from the center of the base of the lowest section; and (iii) is placed within the center of the hexagon described in Subsection (1)(b); and (d) one five-pointed Utah star that: (i) is shaded in white; and (ii) is placed below the center of the beehive described in Subsection (1)(c).

The prior 1911 flag is retained as the historic state flag under Section 63G-1-503.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Utah Code Section 63G-1-501 in full at the Utah Legislature, and check what we sell against it.

That is the flag we build, not a rough version of it.

What is on it and what it means

The beehive is industry and community, and the settler arrival of 1847. The hexagon is the people’s strength and unity. The star marks statehood in 1896. Red is southern Utah’s red rock, white the mountains and snow, blue the sky.

What most listings get wrong

The pre-2024 seal-on-blue flag is now the historic flag. It still flies at the Capitol but it is not the state flag. Some sources date this design to 2023 because it was signed then, but it became official March 9, 2024.

This flag is new. It took effect March 9, 2024, and the seal flag it replaced is now designated the historic flag.

Where the Utah flag flies

By the governor's 2023 executive order, Utah's historic state flag flies continuously atop the State Capitol, above the new state flag when both are flown together, and both fly on separate poles on the Capitol grounds daily. Big Betsy, seventy eight by one hundred and fifty feet and about four hundred pounds, was made by Colonial Flag Company of Sandy and is flown by the nonprofit Follow the Flag over Grove Creek Canyon in Pleasant Grove each Fourth of July since 2017. It is documented as the largest free flying United States flag in existence, larger than the George Washington Bridge flag.

Fly it on Utah’s birthday

Utah became the 45th state on January 4, 1896. 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 Utah 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 Utah

Nylon in the sheltered Wasatch Front valleys at Salt Lake City and Provo. Polyester in the high desert and canyon wind zones, and at St. George for ultraviolet.

Forty square feet puts real load on the heading in any gust, and an exposed site from the list above will show the difference between materials inside a single season.

This listing is the nylon. It is the right choice for the sheltered and moderate wind sites named above, on any house bracket, and anywhere the flag comes down in storms. Two things decide that. Nylon is light, so it flies on the breeze most yards actually get instead of hanging limp, and it dries fast, which is what fights mildew in a humid climate. What it gives up is ultraviolet life: nylon’s amide bonds absorb ultraviolet and break, so under hard sun it loses strength and color faster than polyester, and it loses roughly a tenth of its strength while it is wet. If your site is one of the exposed ones above, look at the polyester version of this flag instead.

There is one more factor, and most people only discover it after buying the wrong material once: a nylon flag moves on days a polyester flag stays limp. If it matters to you that the flag is actually flying on a still morning, a holiday, at a funeral, at a ceremony, that favors nylon even where polyester would outlast it. A flag hanging motionless has failed at its job too.

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 5x8 Feet is built

At forty square feet this flag is working hard and it fails in public. A frayed tip on a business flagpole is visible from the road, which is the point of flying it at all.

Here is the arithmetic: 40 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. A thirty mile an hour wind sends the fly end moving faster than the wind itself, since the wave traveling toward the tip picks up speed as it goes — which is why the tip wears out first, and why the fly end's stitching count is the figure to check on any listing.

At this size, two people beat one, especially in wind. Forty square feet of loose fabric catches wind mid-fold if you are working alone.

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. The heading widens to two inches here, heavy duty white and reinforced, with two solid brass grommets and tooth washers. Forty square feet in a gust is a serious pull on a heading, and the extra half inch is not decoration.

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.

A design that reproduces cleanly

A clean geometric design replacing a detailed seal. It costs less to make than the flag it replaced and it will last considerably longer.

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

People see the flag before they see the building it stands in front of. A worn, faded flag on a business flagpole sends a message, and that message costs something different from the price of a replacement.

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?

The rule behind both tables below is that a flag’s length should run about a quarter to a third of the flagpole’s height. Where two sizes both fit, the smaller one flies more often and lasts longer, and the larger one reads from further away.

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

That same ratio keeps working past a hundred feet, but at that point the flag and the flagpole are no longer separate purchases — the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load all have to be sized together, and a flag chosen without checking the flagpole first damages the pole rather than itself. A handful of well known installations deliberately run past the rule of thumb, and every one of them did it with an engineer, not a chart.

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

It is normal for a printed flag to read backward from behind — almost every flag flown in America works this way. A flag that reads correctly from both sides is double sided: two flags sewn together with a liner, at roughly double the weight and cost. Single sided stays the standard and the right choice except where a state’s own law requires the double sided build.

Flying it with the United States flag

The United States Flag Code, at Title 4, Section 7, sets this out: the United States flag holds the position of honor, never below another flag and never displaced from the viewer’s left when flags fly level. With two flagpoles of matching height, the United States flag takes the viewer’s left and the flags match in size; with unequal heights, it goes on the taller pole; on a single pole carrying two flags, it is at the top. The Code has no penalty attached for civilians, but it remains the standard every institution follows.

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

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.