Civil flag

A civil flag is a version of the national flag that is flown by civilians on nongovernmental installations or craft. The use of civil flags was more common in the past to denote buildings or ships not crewed by the military.^[1]

The civil and state flags of Lithuania.

In some countries, the civil flag is the same as the state flag but without the coat of arms,^[1] such as in the case of flags from Peru,^[2] Serbia^[3] and Spain. In others, it is an alteration of the war flag.

In Scandinavia, state and war flags can be double and triple-tailed variants of the Nordic Cross flag. Many countries, particularly those with a British heritage, still have distinctive civil flags (technically civil ensigns) for use at sea, many based on the Red Ensign.

References

1. Kamath, Anjali (2009). Flag Book. Mumbai: Popular Prakashan. p. 5. ISBN 978-81-7991-512-7.
2. Smith, Whitney (18 April 2016). "Flag of Peru". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
3. Smith, Whitney (30 October 2013). "Flag of Serbia". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Retrieved 10 May 2019.

Further reading

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Civil and merchant ensigns.

• Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 2008. Flags of the World. ISBN 978-1-59339-492-9.