Flag of Massachusetts

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Use	Civil and state flag
Proportion	3:5
Adopted	July 3, 1971; 53 years ago (1971-07-03)
Design	A state coat of arms on a white field.
Flag of the governor of Massachusetts
Design	State flag in the form of a pennant.
Massachusetts ensign
Use	Naval ensign
Adopted	1971; 53 years ago (1971)
Design	A green tree on a white field.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been represented by official but limited-purpose flags since 1676, though until 1908 it had no state flag per se to represent its government. A variant of the white flag with blue seal was carried by each of the Massachusetts volunteer regiments during the American Civil War alongside the National Colors. An exception were the two "Irish regiments" (the 9th and 28th Volunteers), each of which was permitted to carry an alternative green flag with a harp symbol.

The state currently has three official flags: a state flag, a governor's flag, and a "naval and maritime flag" (despite it no longer having its own naval militia). With Florida, it is one of only two state flags to prominently feature a Native American in its heraldry. In 2001, a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) placed Massachusetts's state flag 38th in design quality out of 72 flags (U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial).^[1]

In early 2021, then-Governor Charlie Baker signed a bill to change the state flag and seal. As of 2022, the redesign was not complete and the commission asked to extend the deadline to 2023.^{[citation needed]} In 2023 the commission concluded without recommending specific replacements for either flag or seal, though the commission's co-chair Brian Boyles stated that he and his colleagues had made significant progress on the issue.^[2]