How long are flags kept at half-staff for presidents, governors, or other officials' deaths?

1. What the federal Flag Code says — “from day of death until interment”

The U.S. Flag Code requires that after the death of a vice president (and certain other national officials) the flag be flown at half‑staff from the day of death until the day of interment; that standard was cited repeatedly in coverage of former Vice President Dick Cheney’s death and was the basis for federal and many state actions to lower flags beginning soon after his death and to keep them lowered through the day of his funeral/interment ^{[1] [4] [5]}.

2. How states implement that federal guideline — variations and proclamations

States implement or echo federal guidance through gubernatorial proclamations that can specify different end times (commonly “until sunset on the day of interment”); reporting across multiple states shows governors ordering flags to remain half‑staff until sunset on Cheney’s interment/funeral day, November 20, 2025, or phrasing it as “the day of interment” ^{[6] [7] [8] [9]}. State notices collected by half‑staff trackers show similar language but also illustrate that governors sometimes set multi‑day half‑staff periods for other officials ^[3].

3. Practical timing language you’ll frequently see — “until sunset” or “until interment”

News outlets and state press releases use two common endings: “until the day of interment” (or “until interment”) and “until sunset on the day of interment.” For Cheney, national and state messaging repeatedly used those terms — flags were lowered starting shortly after his death and were described as remaining at half‑staff through sunset on the interment day ^{[1] [2] [7]}.

4. Shorter or single‑day orders — governors can and do vary the duration

Governors routinely issue single‑day half‑staff orders (for a fallen local official, first responder, or notable figure) that run “sunrise to sunset” on a specified date; halfstaff aggregators and state proclamations include multiple examples where governors ordered flags lowered for specific days rather than the multi‑day federal template ^{[10] [3]}. Those local/state choices show that while the Flag Code sets federal expectations for certain national offices, state executives retain discretion for state buildings and can tailor the period.

5. How media and trackers report durations — consistency around high‑profile deaths

National media and flag‑alert services reported uniformly that flags for Cheney would stay at half‑staff from shortly after his death until his interment/funeral day, and many outlets specified “through sunset” on that day; aggregated trackers reproduced gubernatorial and federal language in near‑real time, demonstrating consistent public messaging about the duration ^{[11] [12] [1] [3]}.

6. What reporting does not address or resolve

Available sources do not mention how every agency or private actor (e.g., private businesses, homeowner associations) chooses to follow these orders, nor do they provide a complete legal enforcement mechanism for noncompliance — coverage focuses on official proclamations and customary practice rather than enforcement details (not found in current reporting). Also, the provided reporting centers on one recent, high‑profile example (Dick Cheney); other officials’ deaths can produce different proclamations and durations depending on federal/state orders ^[3].

7. Takeaway for readers: predictable rules, but local discretion matters

The predictable rule for deaths of vice presidents and some national figures is “from day of death until interment,” typically ending at sunset on the interment day as applied in November 2025 for Cheney ^{[1] [2]}. But state governors regularly exercise discretion — issuing single‑day “sunrise to sunset” orders or multi‑day directives for state‑level figures — so to know exact start/end times for a specific death you should consult the pertinent presidential or gubernatorial proclamation or a real‑time half‑staff tracker cited by states ^{[3] [10]}.