State flag

There are two separate meanings for the term state flag in vexillology – the flag of state of a government, and the flag of an individual subnational state.

Government flag

A state flag is a variant of a national flag (or occasionally a completely different design) specifically designated and restricted by law or custom (theoretically or actually) to use by a country's government or its agencies. For this reason they are sometimes referred to as "government flags". In many countries the state flag and the civil flag (as flown by the general public) are identical, but in other countries, notably those in Latin America, central Europe, and Scandinavia, the state flag is a more complex version of the national flag, often featuring the national coat of arms or some other emblem as part of the design. Scandinavian countries also use swallowtailed state flags, to further differentiate them from civil flags.

In addition, some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by non-military government ships such as coast guard vessels. For example, government ships in the United Kingdom fly the blue ensign.

State flags should not be confused with the national flag as used by military organisations; these are referred to as war flags and naval ensigns.

National flags with separate state and civil versions

*Flag of Andorra (for civil flag the coat of arms is optional)
*Flag of Argentina (for civil flag the sun is optional)
*Flag of Austria (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Belgium (state flag has different proportions)
*Flag of Bolivia (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Costa Rica (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Denmark (state flag has different proportions and shape)
*Flag of Ecuador (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of El Salvador (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Finland (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Germany (government flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Guatemala (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Haiti (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Hungary (optional coat of arms on the state flag)
*Flag of Iceland (state flag has different proportions and shape)
*Flag of India (Tricolour with Ashok Chakra in middle)
*Flag of Liechtenstein (has standard of the Government with the coat of arms)
*Flag of Lithuania (different "historical" state flag)
*Flag of Monaco (different state flag)
*Flag of Norway (state flag has different proportions)
*Flag of Peru (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Poland (has a "variant of the national flag" with the coat of arms)
*Flag of San Marino (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Serbia (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Spain (state flag includes the coat of arms)
*Flag of Transnistria (state flag incudes hammer and sickle)
*Flag of Trinidad and Tobago (state flag has different proportions)
*Flag of Venezuela (state flag includes the coat of arms)

Flag of a subnational state

In the United States, Australia, Brazil and some other federal countries, the term state flag can have a different usage, as it frequently refers to an official flag of any of the individual states or territorial sub-divisions that make up the nation.

To avoid confusion with the first meaning of the term, however, such a flag would might be more precisely referred to as "the flag of the state of X", rather than "the state flag of X". For this usage, see also:

*Flags of the U.S. states
*Flags of the Australian states and territories