The Jamaican flag in the canton with a logo of the JDF Air Wing in the middle. Jamaican flag waving above a house roof. The flag of Jamaica was adopted on 6 August 1962, the day Jamaica became independent from British Empire.

Following a national flag design competition (in 1961), which failed to yield a winning model, a bipartisan committee of the Jamaica House of Representatives in early 1962, designed the Jamaican Flag in time for Independence Day Celebrations on August 6, 1962. The emblem has a diagonal cross or saltire with four triangles in juxtaposition.

The flag has a length-to-width ratio of 1:2, which means that the length is twice as long as the breadth. The normal proportions are 1.5 meters by 3 meters (5 feet by 10 feet). Standard etiquette applies in Jamaica to use of the national flag, primarily ensuring it is always the primary flag flown and is in good condition. [citation needed]

The National Flag Code (a set of rules that owners of a flag should follow) was instituted by the government. Jamaica's state ensign is a Blue Ensign with the Jamaican national flag in the canton; it is normally only used by the Jamaican Government. [citation needed]