The Flag Institute maintains and manages the UK Flag Registry, the only definitive record of the nation’s flags: local and community, national, and supranational.
True to our charitable status and democratic principles, we offer this service entirely free of charge.
Two types of local and community flag may qualify for inclusion:
- flags of historic counties or regions, e.g. Riding, island, province
- flags of modern communities, e.g. city, town, village, borough, district, parish
View the flags: National | Supranational | County or Region| City, Town, Village etc.
The UK Flag Registry contains only flags that are free for anyone to own and use.
It does not include flags subject to copyright, nor flags of modern administrative entities, e.g. local authorities.*
- *A local authority may, however, grant free use of its coat of arms as a local and community flag.
A flag can be an original design or a traditional pattern and must comply with basic graphical standards.
Traditional patterns include:
- a traditional flag, e.g. the St Piran’s Cross of Cornwall
- a flag that displays a current civic coat of arms, e.g. Hertfordshire, Northumberland
- a flag that displays a historic civic coat of arms, e.g. Cheshire, or an element thereof, e.g. Buckinghamshire
Entry to the UK Flag Registry
A flag can enter the Registry by one of two routes:
- an open design competition and public vote
- a formal written application from a local authority or representative local group
- explaining the symbolism of the proposed design
- providing clear evidence of provenance and the extent and history of local use
Help and advice
Do you want to run a Flag Institute-approved design competition and/or enter a flag in the UK Flag Registry?
For FREE help and advice, or to report any unlisted flag in common use, please contact:
- , Communities Vexillologist OR
- , Chief Vexillologist
Buy a registered flag
To buy any flag in the UK Flag Registry, please contact a Flag Institute Registered British Flagmaker OR Trade Member.
