Flag Day 2027 falls Monday, June 14. A legal holiday only in Pennsylvania — and New York observes it on Sunday, June 13 instead.
Flag Day is not a federal holiday. Pennsylvania is the only state where it is a legal holiday.
New York’s Consolidated Laws designate the second Sunday in June as Flag Day, which in 2027 is Sunday, June 13 — the day before everyone else. Two states with a Flag Day, two different dates.
Table of Contents
When is Flag Day 2027?
Monday, June 14, 2027.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Federal date | Monday, June 14, 2027 |
| New York state date | Sunday, June 13, 2027 |
| Rule | Fixed date, June 14 |
| Federal holiday | No |
| Statute | 36 U.S.C. 110 |
| Legal holiday in | Pennsylvania only |
| Commemorates | The Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777 |
What the 1777 resolution said
On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Flag Resolution:
“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.”
There was no ceremony attached to it — a country at war deciding what it would fly (National Constitution Center; Wikipedia).
The anniversary then went largely unmarked for a century.
The 172-year path to a statute
| Year | Step | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1777 | Flag Resolution adopted, June 14 | GovInfo |
| 1861 | Hartford, Connecticut holds one of the earliest observances | Dept. of Veterans Affairs |
| 1877 | First national observance, on the resolution’s centenary | GovInfo |
| 1885 | Schoolteacher Bernard J. Cigrand holds a formal “Flag Birthday” observance at Stony Hill School, Waubeka, Wisconsin | Checkiday via Yahoo News |
| 1916 | Woodrow Wilson issues a proclamation for national observance | GovInfo |
| 1927 | Calvin Coolidge issues a further proclamation | National Flag Foundation |
| 1937 | Pennsylvania becomes the first and only state to make it a legal holiday | Wikipedia |
| 1949 | H.J. Res. 170 signed by Truman on August 3, codified at 36 U.S.C. 110 | GovInfo |
Cigrand, the Wisconsin schoolteacher, went on to head the American Flag Day Association and the National Flag Day Society.
The observance spread through schools in the late nineteenth century partly as a vehicle for teaching history to the children of immigrants (Dept. of Veterans Affairs).
The 1949 legislation did more than designate the date. It also requires the sitting president to issue a Flag Day proclamation every year (National Write Your Congressman).
Flag Day 2027 closures
| Institution | Monday, June 14, 2027 |
|---|---|
| Federal offices | Open |
| Banks and Federal Reserve | Open |
| U.S. Postal Service | Normal delivery |
| NYSE and Nasdaq | Open, normal trading |
| Pennsylvania state offices | Closed — legal state holiday |
| Other state offices | Open |
| Public schools | Open outside Pennsylvania |
Pennsylvania is the sole exception in the country. Everywhere else, Flag Day is a day of recognition with no closure attached.
A date discrepancy worth knowing about
Sources disagree on when Pennsylvania adopted Flag Day as a state holiday. Some give May 7, 1937 as the date of enactment; Wikipedia gives June 14, 1937, describing the first observance as beginning in the town of Rennerdale.
The two are reconcilable — one is likely the signing date and the other the first observance — but no source consulted states which is which.
If the distinction matters for your purposes, check the Pennsylvania statute directly rather than relying on either figure.
Flag Day dates 2025 to 2032
| Year | June 14 falls on | New York’s second Sunday |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Saturday | June 8 |
| 2026 | Sunday | June 14 — the dates coincide |
| 2027 | Monday | June 13 |
| 2028 | Wednesday | June 11 |
| 2029 | Thursday | June 10 |
| 2030 | Friday | June 9 |
| 2031 | Saturday | June 8 |
| 2032 | Monday | June 13 |
The two dates coincide only when June 14 itself falls on the second Sunday in June, as in 2026.
In every other year New York’s observance lands somewhere between June 8 and June 13.
What Flag Day 2027 is not
Flag Day is not a federal holiday. It is codified at 36 U.S.C. 110 as an observance, not in 5 U.S.C. 6103 as a holiday, and it closes no federal office.
It is not a state holiday except in Pennsylvania.
It is not observed on June 14 in New York, which uses the second Sunday in June — Sunday, June 13 in 2027.
It is not the anniversary of the first American flag being made. It commemorates the Continental Congress adopting the design on June 14, 1777. The Betsy Ross attribution is tradition and is disputed by historians.
Frequently asked questions
What day is Flag Day 2027?
Monday, June 14, 2027, nationally. New York observes its state Flag Day on the second Sunday in June, which is Sunday, June 13 in 2027.
Is Flag Day a federal holiday?
No. Flag Day is codified at 36 U.S.C. 110 as a national observance rather than a federal holiday. Federal offices, banks, the postal service and the stock exchanges all operate normally. Pennsylvania is the only state where it is a legal holiday with closures (GovInfo).
Why did it take until 1949 to become official?
Because it moved through proclamation before it moved through Congress. Wilson proclaimed a national observance in 1916 and Coolidge did so again in 1927, but neither had statutory force. Congress passed H.J. Res. 170 and Truman signed it on August 3, 1949 — 172 years after the Flag Resolution itself.
Sources
- GovInfo (U.S. Government Publishing Office), Flag Day — https://www.govinfo.gov/features/flag-day-2022
- Wikipedia, Flag Day (United States) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_Day_(United_States)
- National Constitution Center, A brief history of Flag Day — https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/a-brief-history-of-flag-day
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, The Origins of Flag Day (PDF) — https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/flagday.pdf
- Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Flag Day — https://virginiahistory.org/learn/flag-day
- National Flag Foundation, How Flag Day Became a National Holiday — https://www.nationalflagfoundation.org/how-flag-day-became-a-national-holiday/
- National Write Your Congressman, Today in History — Flag Day — https://www.nwyc.com/article/today_in_history_flag_day
