In prepration for the 1903 St. Louis World’s Fair, the Utah Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) created an unofficial flag. It was embroidered by Agnes Frenelius of Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution.
The flag, a field of blue with the coat of arms in white, was officially adopted March 9, 1911.
In 1913, a full color version was adopted.
In 1922, Dollie McMonegal embroidered the flag with an error (the year 1847 was moved outside of the shield). This was copied and reproduced for years, until the error was noticed by vexillologist John M. Hartvigsen in the 1980s.
It wasn’t until February 2011 that Utah adopted a concurrent resolution requiring flag makers to fix the mistake.
In 2021, the Utah State Flag Task Force was created to redesign the flag. A final design was chosen in 2023, merging elements from public submissions by Mark Brooks, Sarina Ehrgott, and early prototype designs by Ben Barnes. The new flag was officially adopted March 9, 2024.
The Utah flag features two irregular, horizontal lines creating three segments of blue, white, and red. The higher horizontal line forms five peaks.
At the center, a blue hexagon contains a smaller hexagon outlined in gold. Inside the hexagon is a gold beehive consisting of five hive sections. Below is a five-pointed white star.
industry, community, 1847 when pioneers settled in Utah
hope, 1896 when Utah gained statehood, the five historical tribal nations
strength of Utah’s people
Utah’s skies, faith
snowy mountains, indigenous people
Utah’s red rocks and unique landscape, perseverance
The official colors of the flag are white, gold, red, and blue.
The Utah state flag should be constructed with a 3:5 width to length proportion.
Utah statute does not yet specify any other proportions.
The original DAR flag, adopted in 1911.
The coat of arms is changed to full color, encircled with gold. The incorrect McMonegal version is shown here.
A prototype design by the Colonial Flag Company.
An enhanced version of the 2011 prototype created by Perry Van Schelt. Designated the “historic state flag” in 2023 and replaced in 2024.
The current flag, adopted in 2024.