Different displays do not necessarily mean there is one rule everyone has ignored. A national order, state direction, local observance, and facility instruction can have different scopes. The flags themselves may also have different directions.
Check the Flag and the Property
Ask whether the notice concerns the U.S. flag, the state flag, or both. Then check whether it covers federal property, state buildings, a county, a particular organization, or a broader invitation to participate. A flag on a school or municipal building may be responding to an instruction that does not appear in a national-only service.
Check the Time and the Latest Version
An order may begin at sunrise, end at sunset, change after an extension, or depend on a funeral date. A display can also simply be late to change. Photographs and social posts can remain visible long after an order has ended.
Verify Before You Copy a Neighbor
Use the official notice for your location. This site's state pages describe their monitored scope and verification time, and link to primary sources. If you find an applicable order we have missed, send the source through our correction form. We review submissions before changing the published status.
Check My State Report a Possible Error
References: the applicable official orders and the U.S. Flag Code.