Is flag burning illegal in the Netherlands?
Legal / protected speech
There are no laws banning flag desecration, which is protected under freedom of expression.
The Netherlands is one of 10 countries classified “Legal / protected speech” for flag desecration — 15% of the 67 with data. (Also searched as flag burning.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Flag desecration
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Belgium
- Legal / protected speech Flag desecration is not illegal in Belgium.
- Germany
- Criminal offense Reviling or damaging the national or state flags in public is a criminal offense.
- Denmark
- Only foreign flags protected Desecrating the national flag is legal, but desecrating foreign flags is illegal under the penal code.
- France
- Criminal offense Desecrating the national flag in public places is a criminal offense.
- United Kingdom
- Legal / protected speech There is no specific law making flag desecration a criminal offense.
- Switzerland
- Criminal offense Desecrating national emblems installed by public authority is a crime in Switzerland.
Other laws in Netherlands
- Blasphemy Laws
- No blasphemy law
- Apostasy Laws
- Legal
- Holocaust Denial
- Criminal offense
- Conversion Therapy
- Banned
Every law in the Netherlands → · Where is burning the flag illegal? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.