FORTISVEX California State Flag 8x12 Feet Nylon - Made in USA Bear Flag with Rope and Thimbles

The 8x12 foot flag belongs to institutions: civic buildings, campuses, large commercial sites, on a flagpole forty to fifty feet tall. This is not a size anyone ends up with by accident.

This is the California state flag at 8x12 Feet (96 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with a sewn rope and plated steel thimbles.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

At ninety six square feet the flagpole feels the load in earnest, and on an exposed site above, polyester is the only sensible material, with the flagpole and truck rated accordingly.

This listing is nylon, right for the sheltered and moderate wind sites above, for a standard house bracket, and for anywhere you take the flag down before a storm. Two things make it the pick. It flies on the breeze most yards actually see instead of hanging flat, being light, and it dries fast, which fights mildew where humidity is high. What it sacrifices is ultraviolet resistance: nylon’s amide bonds absorb and break under sun, losing strength and color faster than polyester, plus roughly a tenth of its strength while wet. For an exposed site from the list above, the polyester version is the better choice.

Here is the part usually learned the hard way, after a second purchase: nylon catches wind on days polyester simply will not move. When the flag needs to be visibly flying — a quiet morning, a holiday, a funeral, a ceremony — that argues for nylon even on a site where polyester would technically last longer. A flag that just hangs there is not doing its job either.

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 8x12 Feet is built

This size gets six rows of lock stitching on the fly end and zig zag stitched corners, since a straight-sewn corner is exactly what a season of wind will work open.

The arithmetic behind that: 96 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.

This is a two person flag on the ground and a two person job at the flagpole. Ninety six square feet will take you off balance in a gust while you are clipping it on.

With lock stitching, every stitch knots into its neighbor, so damage stays contained at the break instead of running down the seam. Read 6 rows not as 6 times the strength but as 5 backups. There are no grommets at this size — a nylon rope sewn the full heading length, finished with two plated steel thimbles, carries the load rather than letting it tear at two points.

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.

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?

This size needs an in-ground flagpole between forty and fifty feet, with a truck and halyard, not a bracket.

Questions about the 8x12 Feet

What size flagpole for an 8x12 foot flag? Forty to fifty feet, on a truck and halyard rated for the load. This is an institutional flag.

What are the thimbles for? The rope sewn through the heading ends in two plated steel thimbles. The halyard snaps clip to the thimbles, so the pull runs through the rope along the whole hoist rather than tearing at two grommets.

Can an 8x12 foot flag fly around the clock? It can, on a lit flagpole, but a flag flown twenty four hours lasts roughly a quarter as long as one flown sunrise to sunset. Budget for that.

Why the grommets disappear

Two grommets cannot carry ninety six square feet of pull — it concentrates too much force on two small rings. A full-length sewn rope spreads that load across the entire hoist instead, with thimbles taking the attachment. More expensive to build, but the only way this size holds up.

Specifications

• Size: 8x12 Feet
• Area: 96 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 6 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 2 inch
• Finish: Rope and Thimbles
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

Both tables follow the same logic. A flagpole reads best with a flag whose length falls between a quarter and a third of its height. Where a size could go either way, smaller means more flying days and a longer life, bigger means more visibility at range.

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

Push the flagpole past a hundred feet and the same ratio still applies, but it stops being a simple lookup: the flag, the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load need to be engineered as a unit, and skipping that step damages the flagpole before it damages the flag. A number of famous large flags deliberately break the rule of thumb, on an engineer’s word rather than a table’s.

The website does not show every size we can supply. If yours is missing from the listing, the full range above is still available to order.

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

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

State flags go out to municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies as a matter of course. Tax exempt purchasing runs through the tax exempt page, and anything involving quantity, a replacement schedule or a size we do not list goes through the contact page.

Why buy it from us

We are a small company based in America, and we keep in stock what we sell. Every flag is made domestically, printed in UV resistant ink, and finished to the construction described above rather than scaled down to a price. Selling a flag that lasts matters more to us than selling three that don’t. Orders over twenty five dollars ship free.