Colorado HOA Flag Display

Section 1: Overview - Flag display rules for Colorado HOAs

In Colorado, an association cannot ban a flag because of its subject matter, its message, or its content. The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA), C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5, draws that line, and it carves out just one exception, for a flag that carries a commercial message. The association also cannot stop an owner from installing a flag or a flagpole.¹ The federal floor, the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 (4 U.S.C. § 5 note), bars covered associations from restricting how a member displays the United States flag, but it reaches only the U.S. flag.² Colorado goes much further. Since HB21-1310 took effect on September 7, 2021, § 38-33.3-106.5(1)(a) reads as content-neutral: it protects flags generally and lets an association prohibit only those flags that carry a commercial message.³ An association may still set reasonable, content-neutral rules on the number, location, and size of flags and flagpoles, but it may not prohibit a flag or a flagpole outright.¹ That makes Colorado broader than the enumerated-list states. And because the federal act carries no private right of action, a flag dispute plays out through the association's own process and, if it comes to that, the Colorado District Court.⁴ The sections below lay out the federal floor, the Colorado statute, the role of the recorded documents, the operational rules, and the recent activity.

Quick-Reference: Flag display rules at a glance (Colorado)

Section 2: The legal framework

2A. The federal floor: Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005

The federal baseline is the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-243, 120 Stat. 572), signed on July 24, 2006, and set out as a note to 4 U.S.C. § 5.² It says a condominium association, a cooperative association, or a residential real estate management association may not adopt or enforce any policy, or enter into any agreement, that restricts or prevents a member from displaying the flag of the United States on residential property in which the member holds a separate ownership interest or a right to exclusive possession or use.² The act does carve out one narrow exception: an association may impose reasonable restrictions on the time, place, or manner of displaying the flag when those restrictions are necessary to protect a substantial interest of the association.² Two scope limits matter here. First, the act reaches only the flag of the United States, defined by reference to 4 U.S.C. § 3, and only display consistent with the Federal Flag Code (4 U.S.C. ch. 1, §§ 1 to 10).² Second, the act contains no enforcement mechanism and no private right of action. In Murphree v. Tides Condominium at Sweetwater by Del Webb Master Homeowners' Ass'n (M.D. Fla. 2014), a federal court held that the act "does not provide any enforcement mechanism, or explicitly create a private right of action for individuals such as Murphree to bring a lawsuit against a condominium association."⁴ The Federal Flag Code itself speaks in advisory language and prescribes no penalties for private individuals, so it does not stand on its own against an owner; courts reference it as the standard for respectful display of the U.S. flag.⁵ The practical upshot: the federal act sets a floor, but an owner does not use it as the tool to enforce a flag right. Enforcement runs through state law and the recorded governing documents.

2B. Colorado's flag-display statute: CCIOA § 38-33.3-106.5

Colorado's operative rule is C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5, the CCIOA public-policy section that addresses patriotic, political, and religious expression, among other subjects.¹ House Bill 21-1310, which Governor Jared Polis signed on July 2, 2021, and which took effect September 7, 2021, rewrote the flag provision into its current content-neutral form.³ Before that amendment, the statute protected only a short list: the American flag, a military service flag, and political signs within an election window.⁶ HB21-1310 repealed that standalone list and replaced it with a broad, content-neutral protection.⁶ The current text of subsection (1)(a) reads: "The display of a flag on a unit owner's property, in a window of the unit, or on a balcony adjoining the unit. The association shall not prohibit or regulate the display of flags on the basis of their subject matter, message, or content; except that the association may prohibit flags bearing commercial messages. The association may adopt reasonable, content-neutral rules to regulate the number, location, and size of flags and flagpoles, but shall not prohibit the installation of a flag or flagpole."¹ Three points follow. Because the rule is content-neutral, an association generally may not ban a flag for what it depicts or says; the one express content-based exception is a flag that bears a commercial message.¹ The reasonable-rule structure permits content-neutral rules on number, location, and size, but the association may not prohibit installing a flag or a flagpole.¹ As for service flags, HB21-1310 repealed the former subsection (1)(b), which had separately protected a service flag bearing a star displayed inside a window or door of the unit; no service-flag-specific language remains in the statute today, and a service flag now enjoys protection on the same content-neutral basis as any other non-commercial flag.⁷ The flag and sign provisions reach pre-CCIOA communities: § 38-33.3-117(1)(c) applies §§ 38-33.3-104 to 38-33.3-111, which includes § 38-33.3-106.5, to all common interest communities created before July 1, 1992.⁸ Set against the federal U.S.-flag floor, Colorado protects flags generally on a content-neutral basis and bars any flag-or-flagpole-installation ban, while still allowing reasonable, content-neutral placement rules.¹

2C. CC&Rs and corporate law

Because the statute is broad and content-neutral, the recorded declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) plays a narrower role in Colorado than in most states. The CC&Rs and any board rules may set only reasonable, content-neutral rules on number, location, and size; they may not effectively ban a protected flag or prohibit a flagpole.¹ A CC&R or rule that bans a flag for its message, or that prohibits flagpole installation, is void to that extent, because § 38-33.3-106.5 opens with "Notwithstanding any provision in the declaration, bylaws, or rules and regulations of the association to the contrary."¹ The order of precedence runs from federal law and CCIOA § 38-33.3-106.5, then the CC&Rs, then the bylaws, then board rules. Associations organized as nonprofit corporations, which is the common structure, also answer to the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act (C.R.S. § 7-121-101 et seq.); that act supplies corporate formalities such as meetings, elections, and recordkeeping, but not flag rules.⁹ Operationally, a Colorado association may regulate how many flags fly, where they go, and what size they are, all on a content-neutral basis, but it may not single out a flag for what it says or depicts, and it may not bar a flagpole. A manager should apply any rule evenhandedly and without reference to message.

Section 3: What a Colorado association can and cannot do

A. Flags the association must permit

The association must permit essentially all non-commercial flags, on a content-neutral basis. That covers the U.S. flag (also protected by federal law), a state flag, military and uniformed-services flags, POW/MIA flags, first-responder flags, Blue Star and Gold Star service flags, and decorative, sports, foreign, or message flags. This obligation flows from COLORADO STATUTE (C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5(1)(a)), and federal law independently protects the U.S. flag (4 U.S.C. § 5).^1,2 A service flag, once protected under a separate window/door provision, now enjoys protection on the same content-neutral basis as any other flag.⁷

B. Reasonable restrictions the association may impose

The association may adopt reasonable, content-neutral rules on the number, location, and size of flags and flagpoles. It may also apply time, place, and manner rules to the U.S. flag when they are necessary to protect a substantial interest. These powers come from COLORADO STATUTE (C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5(1)(a)) and, for the U.S. flag, FEDERAL LAW (4 U.S.C. § 5 note).^1,2 The limit: no such rule may ban a protected flag or prohibit installing a flag or flagpole.

C. Actions the association may not take

The association may not ban a flag by subject, message, or content; it may not prohibit installing a flag or flagpole; it may not treat a non-commercial flag differently because of its message; and it may not enforce a facially neutral rule selectively or pretextually to target a disfavored message. These prohibitions come from COLORADO STATUTE (C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5(1)(a)).¹ The one express exception is a flag bearing a commercial message, which the association may prohibit.

D. Enforcement and dispute resolution

The federal act has no private right of action, so an owner cannot sue the association under it. A Colorado flag dispute runs through the association's notice-and-hearing process and, if it stays unresolved, the Colorado District Court, with appeals to the Colorado Court of Appeals and discretionary review by the Colorado Supreme Court. This structure comes from FEDERAL LAW (Murphree, M.D. Fla. 2014) and COLORADO STATUTE and court rules.^4,10 The Colorado HOA Information and Resource Center, housed within the Division of Real Estate, registers associations and collects complaints and inquiries, but it does not adjudicate or enforce flag rights.¹¹ Because Colorado law now requires a written policy and a fair fact-finding process before an association may fine an owner (C.R.S. § 38-33.3-209.5), an association that fines an owner over a flag risks having the fine invalidated if the underlying rule is content-based or the process is defective.¹²

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

No Colorado bill enacted in the 2024, 2025, or 2026 regular sessions created or amended a flag-display rule for community associations.¹³ Lawmakers spent their attention elsewhere. Recent CCIOA activity has centered on foreclosure and collections and on reserve studies and management-company turnover, not on flags. Here are the two measures that matter most for associations. The current content-neutral flag rule dates to HB21-1310 (2021), which Section 2B lays out as the governing framework.

B. Recent rulings

No published decision of the Colorado Court of Appeals or the Colorado Supreme Court in the past 36 months applies the federal flag act or the flag provision of C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5, and none resolves a CC&R flag dispute. Recent published CCIOA appellate decisions take up other subjects, and the two below show where the appellate courts have actually been working.

C. Active legislative debates

Right now, Colorado's CCIOA policy debate centers on reserve funding, foreclosure-data implementation, natural-disaster mitigation, and homeowner insurance availability, not on flag display.¹⁸

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Colorado sits at the broadest end of the national spectrum on HOA flag display. It is a content-neutral state: an association generally may not ban any flag for its message, with the single exception of a commercial-message flag.¹ Compare that with enumerated-list states such as Arizona, where A.R.S. § 33-1808 (planned communities) and § 33-1261 (condominiums) protect a fixed list of named flags, including the American flag or a uniformed-services flag displayed per the federal flag code, a first responder flag, a blue star or gold star service flag, and any historic version of the American flag, including the Betsy Ross flag.¹⁹ Compare it too with Texas, where Tex. Prop. Code § 202.012 protects the U.S. flag, the Texas flag, and armed-forces flags,²⁰ with narrow-statute states such as Alabama, where Ala. Code § 35-1-5(a) provides that "notwithstanding any covenant, contract, or restriction to the contrary, a person may exhibit or display on his or her property a current flag of the United States not to exceed 40 square feet in size,"²¹ and with states that lean on the federal U.S.-flag floor alone. For a multi-state operator, a content-based flag rule that might survive in an enumerated-list state generally will not hold up in Colorado, so draft the rules content-neutral. The federal U.S.-flag floor is identical in every state, so the U.S.-flag answer does not change at the Colorado border.

HOA Weekly's Colorado Flag Display coverage updates quarterly as the legislature and the Colorado appellate courts act. Federal frameworks, including the flag act plus the FHA, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and OTARD rule, apply to Colorado associations regardless of the state framework.

1. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-33.3-106.5(1)(a) (Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, official CRS printout, Colo. Div. of Real Estate) ↩
2. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-243, 120 Stat. 572 (codified at 4 U.S.C. § 5 note), Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. Code ↩
3. H.B. 21-1310, HOA Regulation of Flags and Signs, 73d Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Colo. 2021) (effective Sept. 7, 2021) ↩
4. Murphree v. Tides Condo. at Sweetwater by Del Webb Master Homeowners' Ass'n, No. 3:13-cv-713-J-34MCR (M.D. Fla. 2014) ↩
5. 4 U.S.C. ch. 1, §§ 1–10 (Federal Flag Code), Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. Code ↩
6. H.B. 21-1310 final act summary, 73d Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Colo. 2021) (prior law limited protection to the American flag, service flags, and political signs) ↩
7. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-33.3-106.5, source note: "(1)(b) Repealed by Laws 2021, Ch. 415 (H.B. 21-1310), § 1, eff. Sept. 7, 2021" (former service-flag provision) ↩
8. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-33.3-117(1)(c) (applying §§ 38-33.3-104 to 38-33.3-111, including § 38-33.3-106.5, to communities created before July 1, 1992) ↩
9. Colo. Div. of Real Estate, HOA Frequently Asked Questions (Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 7-121-101 et seq., applies to HOAs organized as nonprofits) ↩
10. Colo. Judicial Branch, Court of Appeals (appeals from District Courts; review directed to the Colorado Supreme Court) ↩
11. Colo. Div. of Real Estate, About the HOA Center ("Is not a regulatory program. Does not mediate/arbitrate. Cannot provide legal advice. Cannot assess fines or penalties.") ↩
12. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-33.3-209.5 (responsible governance policies and due process for imposition of fines) ↩
13. Colo. Div. of Real Estate, 2025 Legislative Updates (no flag-display amendment; see also 2024 and 2026 session updates) ↩
14. H.B. 25-1043, Owner Equity Protection in Homeowners' Association Foreclosure Sales (Colo. 2025) (effective Oct. 1, 2025), Colo. Div. of Real Estate ↩
15. H.B. 26-1099, Protect Financial Condition of HOAs (Colo. 2026) (reserve study and management-company record turnover; effective Aug. 12, 2026), Colorado General Assembly ↩
16. Willis v. Twin Shores Master Owner Ass'n, Inc., 2025 COA 37 (Colo. App. No. 24CA0369), cert. granted, No. 25SC286 (Colo. Jan. 12, 2026) ↩
17. Frisco Lot 3 LLC v. Giberson Ltd. P'ship, LLLP, 2024 COA 125 (Colo. App. No. 22CA2219) ↩
18. Cmty. Ass'ns Inst., 2026 Colorado End of Legislative Session Report (reserve funding, foreclosure data, disaster mitigation, insurance access) ↩
19. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1808 (planned communities) and § 33-1261 (condominiums), Arizona Legislature (enumerated protected flags) ↩
20. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.012, Flag Display (U.S. flag, Texas flag, and armed-forces flags), Texas Statutes ↩
21. Ala. Code § 35-1-5, Display of United States Flag ↩

Last verified: July 16, 2026.