Guide Collections Flags Updated July 22, 2026

U.S. State Flags, Seals, and Coats of Arms

Missouri state flag showing the state coat of arms, circled by 24 gold stars, on horizontal red, white, and blue stripes

U.S. State Flags, Seals, and Coats of Arms

Collection - Flags

Missouri's flag places the state coat of arms, ringed by 24 gold stars, at the center of its red, white, and blue stripes, one of the clearest examples of a flag, a coat of arms, and a seal-style border combined in a single design.

Key Takeaways

U.S. State Flags, Seals, and Coats of Arms

  1. 1

    All 50 U.S. states maintain three separate official emblems: a state flag, a state seal, and a state coat of arms, shown together below for direct comparison.

  2. 2

    Sixteen state flags place the state seal directly on a plain blue field, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Nebraska. Minnesota and Utah both retired that format in 2024 for new star and beehive designs.

  3. 3

    Missouri's flag centers its state coat of arms inside a ring of 24 gold stars, one of the clearest links between a state's flag, seal, and coat of arms on this list.

U.S. State Flags, Seals, and Coats of Arms

How a State Flag, Seal, and Coat of Arms Differ

A state flag is the rectangular banner flown on poles and displayed publicly, usually adopted by a state legislature as the official state ensign. A state seal is a circular device used to authenticate documents, proclamations, and government correspondence; it typically carries the state's name, motto, and year of statehood around a central image.

A coat of arms is the shield-and-crest emblem at the center of that design, the heraldic core that seal makers, and in many cases flag designers, build around. Several states place that same shield directly on their flag or inside their seal's border, which is why the three emblems often look related at a glance.

States With a Seal on Their Flag

Sixteen state flags consist of nothing more than the state seal centered on a plain blue field: Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. A 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association ranked this format near the bottom of 72 US and Canadian flags for failing basic design criteria.

Minnesota and Utah both retired seal-on-blue flags in 2024. Minnesota replaced its seal with a single eight-pointed North Star, and Utah replaced its seal with a golden beehive, moving both states away from the format most others on this list still use.

State Flag, Seal, and Coat of Arms Facts

1 Sixteen state flags place the official state seal on a plain blue field, the single most common state flag format in the country.
2 Missouri's flag rings its state coat of arms with 24 gold stars, one for each state in the Union when Missouri joined in 1821.
3 Ohio is the only U.S. state flag that is not rectangular. Its swallowtail burgee shape carries 17 stars instead of a seal.
4 Illinois added the word ILLINOIS beneath its state seal in 1970, after a soldier serving in Vietnam could not identify the flag among other state flags on display.
5 Minnesota and Utah both replaced seal-on-blue flag designs in 2024, moving away from the format most other states still use.
6 Alabama's coat of arms places the emblems of five governments, France, Spain, Great Britain, the Confederacy, and the United States, on a single quartered shield.

Quick Answers

What is the difference between a state seal and a state flag?
A state seal is a circular device used to authenticate official documents, proclamations, and legal papers. A state flag is the rectangular banner flown on poles and displayed publicly. Many states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, place their seal directly on their flag, which is why the two often look identical at a glance.
Which state flags just show the state seal on a blue background?
Sixteen states use this format: Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Minnesota and Utah both used this format until they adopted new flag designs in 2024.
What is a state's coat of arms used for?
A coat of arms is the shield-and-crest emblem at the center of a state's heraldry, most often reused as the central image inside the state seal. Alabama's coat of arms, for example, places the emblems of five different governments that once held authority over its territory on a single shield.
Does every U.S. state have its own flag, seal, and coat of arms?
All 50 states maintain an official flag and an official seal. Most states also display a distinct coat of arms, typically the shield or central emblem drawn from their seal, shown separately for reference in the table above.
Why do so many state flags look alike?
Sixteen states place their seal on a plain blue field with no other design element, which makes them easy to confuse from a distance. A 2001 vexillology survey ranked this format among the least distinctive of 72 North American flags, and Minnesota and Utah have since redesigned their flags to stand apart from the group.

Methodology

Each entry shows the official flag, state seal, and coat of arms on record for that state, drawn from state government adoption records and archived on each state's individual symbol pages on this site.

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