Why Were U.S. Flags at Half-Staff in 2025? Federal Orders and Dates

U.S. flags were at half-staff on several dates in 2025 for three different kinds of reasons: one-off presidential proclamations, a mourning period set by federal flag protocol, and recurring national observances. The longest stretches honored former President Jimmy Carter in January and former Vice President Dick Cheney in November. Other periods honored Pope Francis, victims of the Minneapolis tragedy, Charlie Kirk, and Army National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. Five recurring observances also placed flags at half-staff on particular days.

This guide covers nationwide federal action and recurring federal observances during calendar year 2025. It is not a complete list of every state, territorial, county, city, school, or institutional flag lowering. If you need the current answer rather than a historical one, check today's U.S. half-staff status. For date-by-date navigation, use the half-staff calendar.

2025 U.S. Half-Staff Dates at a Glance

The table below is designed as a lookup. Match both the date and the location where you saw the flag. A nationwide federal proclamation can explain flags at post offices, military installations, and other federal properties across the country. A state or local order may explain only the poles under that government's control.

Date or period	Reason	Authority or type	End point and scope
Jan. 1-20 and Jan. 21-28	Death of former President Jimmy Carter	Presidential Proclamation 10876, signed Dec. 29, 2024	Federal domestic and overseas facilities; interrupted for the remainder of Inauguration Day
Remainder of Jan. 20	Inauguration Day full-staff exception	Presidential Proclamation 10885	Full-staff for the remainder of Jan. 20, then back to half-staff for Carter
Apr. 21-26	Death of Pope Francis	Presidential Proclamation 10920	Through sunset on the day of interment; federal domestic and overseas facilities
May 4	National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service	Public Law 107-51 and annual proclamation	American flags on all Federal office buildings
May 15	Peace Officers Memorial Day	4 U.S.C. ? 7(m), 36 U.S.C. ? 136, and annual proclamation	Government buildings; states, local governments, and the public were invited to join
May 26 until noon	Memorial Day	4 U.S.C. ? 7(m) and annual proclamation	Half-staff until local noon, then raised to the top for the rest of the day
Aug. 27-31	Victims of the tragedy in Minneapolis, Minnesota	Presidential Proclamation 10966	Through sunset Aug. 31; federal domestic and overseas facilities
Sept. 10-14	Death of Charlie Kirk	Presidential Proclamation 10969	Through sunset Sept. 14; federal domestic and overseas facilities
Sept. 11	Patriot Day	36 U.S.C. ? 144 and annual proclamation	Federal departments and agencies; this date overlapped the Charlie Kirk period
Nov. 3-20	Death of former Vice President Dick Cheney	Statutory protocol in 4 U.S.C. ? 7(m)	From the day of death through interment; White House lowering was publicly reported Nov. 4
Dec. 4	Death of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom	Presidential Proclamation 10995	Until sunset Dec. 4; federal domestic and overseas facilities
Dec. 7	National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day	36 U.S.C. ? 129 and annual proclamation	Federal agencies and interested organizations and individuals were urged to participate

The January 20 row is a full-staff exception, not another half-staff event. It is included because leaving it out would make the Carter period look continuous when the official federal direction changed during Inauguration Day.

How the January Carter Mourning Period Worked

The period began in 2024 but continued through January 28

Former President Jimmy Carter died on December 29, 2024. That day, President Joe Biden issued Proclamation 10876, ordering the flag to half-staff for 30 days at the White House, federal public buildings and grounds, military posts, naval stations and vessels, and U.S. diplomatic and military facilities abroad.

Although the proclamation was signed in 2024, most of its mourning period fell in January 2025. The scheduled federal end was January 28, 2025. That is why Carter belongs in a 2025 date lookup even though the triggering death and signature occurred two days before the year began. The 30-day period is also consistent with the rule for a current or former President described in our guide to when the U.S. flag is flown at half-staff.

Inauguration Day was a one-day full-staff exception

On January 20, President Donald Trump issued a separate Inauguration Day proclamation. It directed the flag to full-staff for the remainder of that day beginning immediately across the same broad federal and overseas network. The document then ordered flags back to half-staff at the end of Inauguration Day until the Carter period concluded.

The safest historical shorthand is therefore: half-staff from the start of January until the January 20 exception, full-staff for the remainder of January 20, and half-staff again through January 28. The proclamation did not supply a simple midnight-to-midnight replacement for January 20, so this guide does not invent a morning clock time.

One-Off Presidential Half-Staff Proclamations in 2025

Pope Francis: April 21 through sunset April 26

The Pope Francis proclamation was effective April 21 and used an event-based deadline: sunset on the day of interment. The Vatican's official calendar records the funeral and burial on April 26, 2025, which supplies the calendar end date. The federal order covered the White House, federal public buildings and grounds, military and naval facilities, and U.S. facilities abroad.

This is a useful example of why readers should open the underlying notice. ?Until the day of interment? cannot be converted into a date reliably until the funeral and burial schedule is official.

Minneapolis tragedy: August 27 through sunset August 31

On August 27, the President issued a proclamation honoring victims of the tragedy in Minneapolis. It directed the standard nationwide federal and overseas locations to remain at half-staff through sunset August 31. Because the order was federal in scope, a flag outside Minnesota could still have been lowered for this reason.

Charlie Kirk: September 10 through sunset September 14

The September 10 proclamation honoring Charlie Kirk directed the same broad federal network to half-staff through sunset September 14. September 11 fell inside this period, so Patriot Day created a second federal basis for the same flag position on that date. For the order text, scope, and end-date analysis, see our separate guide to the 2025 Charlie Kirk half-staff order.

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom: December 4 until sunset

The final event-specific proclamation in the federal 2025 record honored West Virginia Army National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. The December 4 proclamation applied until sunset that same day. This was a one-day federal period; it did not begin on the earlier date of her death.

A Federal Period Without a New Presidential Proclamation: Dick Cheney

Former Vice President Dick Cheney died November 3 and was interred November 20. The relevant authority was the standing rule in 4 U.S.C. ? 7(m): for a former Vice President, the flag is flown at half-staff from the day of death until interment. State government notices cited that rule, and the White House lowering was publicly reported beginning November 4, after his death was announced.

No standalone Cheney proclamation appeared in the White House Presidential Actions archive or in the Federal Register's 2025 half-staff search results. That does not make the period unofficial. It shows why a list limited to newly issued presidential proclamations would miss a federal flag period supplied by statute and established protocol. Our detailed article explains why flags were at half-staff for Dick Cheney in November 2025.

Recurring Federal Half-Staff Observances in 2025

Recurring observances differ from sudden mourning proclamations. Congress has established or requested flag instructions tied to an annual date or memorial service, and the President commonly issues an annual proclamation that applies those instructions to that year's calendar.

National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service: May 4

President Trump's 2025 proclamation designated May 3-4 as National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend and specified that on Sunday, May 4, the flag would be at half-staff at all Federal office buildings. That scope follows Public Law 107-51. It should not be paraphrased as a mandatory order for every private or local flagpole in the country.

Peace Officers Memorial Day: May 15

Peace Officers Memorial Day was Thursday, May 15. Federal law calls for half-staff on this observance unless May 15 also falls on Armed Forces Day. In 2025, Armed Forces Day was May 17, so that exception did not apply. The annual proclamation also called on governors and other officials to direct the observance and invited broader public participation.

Memorial Day: May 26 until noon

Memorial Day has the year's most distinctive timing rule. On Monday, May 26, the flag was displayed at half-staff only until local noon and then raised to the top for the rest of the day. Leaving it at half-staff all afternoon would not follow the customary federal instruction. The 2025 Memorial Day proclamation repeated the noon rule and requested that private citizens observe the customary forenoon period.

Patriot Day: September 11

The 2025 Patriot Day proclamation called on federal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities to display the flag at half-staff on September 11 and invited governors, organizations, and individuals to participate. That annual instruction traces to 36 U.S.C. ? 144. In 2025, it overlapped with the longer Charlie Kirk proclamation, so there were two official reasons on the same day.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day: December 7

The 2025 Pearl Harbor proclamation urged federal agencies and interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag at half-staff on December 7. The observance is established in 36 U.S.C. ? 129. The flag date was December 7 itself, not the entire surrounding weekend.

For recurring dates beyond this single historical year, use the half-staff calendar.

What ?Federal? Meant?and What This Timeline Does Not Include

A standard presidential mourning proclamation in 2025 named the White House, federal public buildings and grounds, military posts, naval stations and vessels, and U.S. diplomatic and military facilities abroad. Some recurring observances used narrower or differently worded scope, such as ?all Federal office buildings? for the Fallen Firefighters service.

Governors can issue qualifying half-staff proclamations within their states, and the mayor of the District of Columbia has parallel authority in the District. Local governments and institutions may also control their own poles. Private homeowners and businesses commonly follow federal requests as a mark of respect, but the federal documents should not be rewritten as a blanket criminal mandate covering every private display. See who can order U.S. flags to half-staff for a fuller authority breakdown.

Accordingly, this timeline does not claim to exhaust every state or local lowering in 2025. If the date you remember is absent, check the governor's official archive and the relevant city, county, agency, campus, or employer notice.

How to Verify a 2025 Half-Staff Date

1. Match the date. Start with the annual table, including its stated end point.
2. Match the property. Decide whether the pole was federal, state, local, institutional, or private.
3. Open the original authority. Use the White House or Federal Register for a presidential action and an official state government page for a governor's order.
4. Read the timing literally. ?Until noon,? ?until sunset,? and ?until interment? are not interchangeable.
5. Check local records when needed. A state or local reason may exist even when no nationwide federal row matches.

When physically handling the flag, federal etiquette says to hoist it to the peak for an instant before lowering it to half-staff. Before taking it down for the day, raise it to the peak again and then lower it ceremoniously.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was the flag at half-staff every day in January 2025?

Not continuously. The Carter mourning period covered January through January 28, but a January 20 proclamation ordered federal flags to full-staff for the remainder of Inauguration Day. They returned to half-staff afterward until the Carter period ended.

Were flags lowered nationwide for every tragedy in 2025?

No. Some events received a nationwide presidential proclamation, while others led only to state, local, or institutional action. The absence of a federal proclamation does not prove that no official flag was lowered anywhere.

Was Veterans Day 2025 a half-staff day?

Veterans Day itself is normally a full-staff display day, not a recurring half-staff observance. In 2025, November 11 fell within the statutory mourning period for Dick Cheney. The half-staff reason was that continuing period, not Veterans Day.

Did private homes and businesses have to follow every federal proclamation?

The proclamations directly named federal properties and facilities and often invited broader participation. Private owners commonly follow the national observance voluntarily, but readers should not treat the announcement as a blanket legal penalty provision for every private pole.

Where can I check the flag status today?

Visit Half Staff Today's live U.S. status page. This article is a historical record with an information cutoff of December 31, 2025.