Flag of Washington

What the flag shows

• The field. Dark green silk or bunting, as the law requires.
• The seal. In the center, a reproduction of the state seal, embroidered, printed, painted or stamped, showing a portrait of George Washington on a blue background.
• The ring. A gold ring around the portrait with black lettering: “The Seal of the State of Washington” and “1889,” the year of statehood.
• The fringe. Optional; if used, it must be gold or yellow, the same shade as the seal.

The law does not fix the flag’s dimensions.

Before 1923

Washington had no official flag for its first three decades of statehood. Many cities and towns flew a military-style flag with a gold profile of George Washington on blue bunting. Another unofficial design put a gold state seal on a purple or green background; a ceremonial banner of that kind still hangs in the State Reception Room of the Legislative Building.

The 1923 law

The first official flag law, Senate Bill 154, passed the Senate on February 15 and the House on March 5, 1923, and became law without the governor’s signature. It called for a dark green field with the state seal in the center and any fringe in dark green to match. In 1925 the Legislature changed the fringe to gold or yellow, to match the seal.

A new portrait

The seal at the center of the flag was first drawn in 1889 by the Olympia jeweler Charles Talcott. In 1967 the Legislature adopted a redrawn seal, using a portrait of Washington by Gilbert Stuart chosen by the Seattle designer Richard Nelms, and amended the flag law at the same time.

Rules for the flag

State law requires the US and state flags to be prominently displayed in schools, courtrooms and state buildings. The secretary of state may give state flags to armed forces units free of charge and sells them to the public. Washington has no official pledge or salute to its flag.