In 1814 independent Norway adopted the Danish flag with the Norwegian lion in the canton or the upper square at the hoist.

Later in 1814 Norway was united with Sweden, and on 7 March 1815 a common war flag for both states was introduced by royal order in council, the Swedish flag with a white cross on a red background in the square canton.

[3] The current flag of Norway was designed in 1821 by Fredrik Meltzer, a member of the parliament (Storting).

However, the king refused to sign the flag law, but approved the design for civilian use by royal order in council on 13 July 1821.

Until 1838 the Norwegian flag was only used in Northern waters, i.e. the waters north of Cape Finisterre, as Norway had no treaty with the Barbary pirates of North Africa and had to fly the Swedish or union flag for protection.

In 1844 a union mark combining Norwegian and Swedish colours was placed at the hoist of both countries' flags.

The badge was jokingly or derogatorily called Sildesalaten ("the herring salad") because of its jumble of colours and resemblance to a popular dish on the breakfast tables of both countries.

Initially, the union flag was popular in Norway, since it clearly denoted the equal status of the two united states.

Since 1933, only the Norwegian, the Sámi or the local official flags were allowed to fly on top of municipality buildings.

In 2021, related to the group gathering restrictions with COVID-19, the government proposed to adapt the legislation so that municipalities do not need to host an event for hoisting a flag.

For example, it has been argued that pantone suffixes (such as C and U) only are relevant for print on paper, and thus should not be used to specify flag colours.

However, a good approximation can be achieved by following the official translation to web colors in the Pantone Formula Guide.

[22] When raising the Norwegian flag on festive or ceremonial occasions, the hoisting will often be accompanied by a bugle call, fanfare, or the national anthem (Ja, vi elsker).

All uniformed government personnel (e.g.: municipal traffic wardens, policemen, customs official, prison wardens, maritime pilots, armed forces personnel) follow the Norwegian Armed Forces regulation during flag hoisting or lowering.

The regulations stipulate that when seeing the flag being hoisted or lowered, or hearing the bugle call, all activity should if possible be stopped, and personnel should execute the foot drill manoeuvre of "Halt and front face" (stopping up and turning one's body to face the flagpole).

A person must render a salute to the flag when wearing a uniform hat, cap or beret while not in formation.

Finally the folded full length flag, its width 1⁄4 of the hoist, will be rolled up into a red cylinder.

This tradition stems from World War II, when a small-sized flag was hoisted (usually above the CO quarters) in the numerous camps of Norwegian forces in the UK, USA, Sweden, and Canada, to symbolize that fight against the enemy would go on day and night until final victory.

However, his intentions may be inferred from an earlier letter of 30 April with his comments regarding the proposal from the flag committee.

[24][25] The red and blue colours also explicitly referred to the same two countries, former and present union partners.

It was clearly understood by all who took part in the flag discussions locally, in the press or in parliament what those colours denoted.

Others, who saw Denmark as an oppressor, favoured the blue colour associated with the new Swedish dynasty which was seen as more receptive of Norwegian ambitions of autonomy.