36 U.S.C. § 301
Section 301 · National anthem
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004)
Most recently applied in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (June 2004)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Designation.—The composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.
(b) Conduct During Playing.—During a rendition of the national anthem—
(1) when the flag is displayed—
(A) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note;
(B) members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute in the manner provided for individuals in uniform; and
(C) all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and
(2) when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 301(a) 36:170. Mar. 3, 1931, ch. 436, 46 Stat. 1508. 301(b) 36:171. June 22, 1942, ch. 435, §6, 56 Stat. 380; Dec. 22, 1942, ch. 806, §6, 56 Stat. 1077; July 7, 1976, Pub. L. 94–344, §1(18), 90 Stat. 812. Amendments 2008—Subsec. (b)(1)(A) to (C). Pub. L. 110–417 added subpars. (A) to (C) and struck out former subpars. (A) to (C) which read as follows:
“(A) all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart;
“(B) men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold the headdress at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and
“(C) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note; and”.