Sunday · September 27, 2026
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Flag status›Virginia

Virginia Flag Status — Is the Flag at Half-Staff Today?

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State flag of Virginia
The 10th state · 1788

Who lowers the flag in Virginia

In Virginia, flags are lowered by the Governor, and the Governor’s office maintains a dedicated flag-information page under constituent services. Virginia is among the better-documented states: the page states the current status, the honoree and the period together rather than requiring a search through press releases.

The flag of Virginia

A blue field carries the state seal: Virtus, a female warrior personifying virtue, stands triumphant over a fallen tyrant, with the motto “Sic semper tyrannis” below. The image dates to the state’s 1776 constitution.

Virginia on the American flag

Betsy Ross Flag
Betsy Ross Flag · 1777–1795

Adopted by the Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777 — 'Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.' The circular star arrangement is traditionally credited to Betsy Ross, the Philadelphia upholsterer said to have sewn the first example for General Washington.

Sunrise and sunset in Richmond

The flag is raised at sunrise and lowered at sunset. Today at the state capital:

Sunrise
7:01 AM
Sunset
6:59 PM
Capital
Richmond

How Virginia became a state

Jamestown, founded in 1607, was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, and Virginia’s tobacco-fueled gentry produced an outsized share of the nation’s founders. Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution on June 25, 1788 and contributed eight presidents — more than any other state.

Admitted June 25, 1788 — the 10th state.

1607
Jamestown founded — the first permanent English settlement.
1619
House of Burgesses convenes, the first representative legislature in the colonies.
1781
British surrender at Yorktown ends major Revolutionary War combat.
1788
Tenth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1861
Virginia secedes and Richmond becomes the Confederate capital.
1865
Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House.

Virginia at a glance

Nickname
Old Dominion / Mother of Presidents
Motto
Sic semper tyrannis (Thus always to tyrants)
Largest city
Virginia Beach
State bird
Northern Cardinal
State flower
American Dogwood
State tree
Flowering Dogwood

Did you know

  • Eight U.S. presidents were born in Virginia — more than any other state.
  • The Pentagon, in Arlington, was for over 80 years the world’s largest office building by floor area, until India’s Surat Diamond Bourse surpassed it in 2023.
  • Mount Vernon, Washington’s home, sits along the Potomac River.
  • Virginia’s state beverage is milk.

Born or raised here: George Washington (1st President; Westmoreland County) · Thomas Jefferson (3rd President; Shadwell) · James Madison (4th President; Port Conway) · James Monroe (5th President; Westmoreland County) · Patrick Henry (orator, “Give me liberty or give me death”) · Pocahontas (Powhatan diplomat)

Official source

Orders are announced by the Governor’s office.

Virginia, answered plainly

Common questions.

Is the flag at half-staff in Virginia today?+

The status above answers that for today. A national half-staff order applies in Virginia as it does everywhere else; the Governor can also lower flags within the state independently.

Who orders flags to half-staff in Virginia?+

In Virginia, flags are lowered by the Governor, and the Governor’s office maintains a dedicated flag-information page under constituent services. Virginia is among the better-documented states: the page states the current status, the honoree and the period together rather than requiring a search through press releases.

Does a county order mean the whole of Virginia lowers its flags?+

No. A county or single-facility order (the State Capitol, for instance) applies only where it says it does. This page shows those separately from the statewide status precisely so the two are never confused — if the status above reads full-staff, Virginia has no statewide order in effect regardless of any local one.

When should the flag be raised and lowered in Virginia?+

The flag flies from sunrise to sunset. Today at the state capital, Richmond, those times are shown above. On the final day of a half-staff order that runs "until sunset", the flag returns to full height at the local sunset — which is why the West Coast stays lowered a few hours after the East.

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