Oakland County wants residents to help design a new county flag, replacing one that has flown since 1970.

The county's Flag Leadership and Advisory Group, known as F.L.A.G., opened a public submission process on Oct. 1 and will accept designs through 5 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2027. Anyone can submit regardless of age or where they live, according to the county's announcement. That means Birmingham and Bloomfield-area residents can participate alongside anyone else in the county.

The current flag features a maize-colored oak tree on a green background with the number "1820," the year the county was founded. The Oakland County Board of Commissioners adopted it on May 21, 1970.

According to the county, the design meets only three of five criteria for effective flags set by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA). Those criteria are simplicity, meaningful symbolism, limited colors, no text or seals, and distinctiveness.

"Very few of our residents even know Oakland County has a flag," Commissioner Brendan Johnson said, as The Oakland Press reported.

Johnson, a Rochester Hills Democrat who chairs F.L.A.G., introduced the resolution the Board of Commissioners approved in June 2025 to create the advisory group. The county held a news conference at the Oakland History Center in Pontiac on Oct. 1 to announce the public submission process.

The seven-member panel includes three commissioners: Johnson, Yolanda Smith Charles of District 17 and Robert Smiley of District 14. Smiley, a Wixom Republican, has described himself as a lifelong design professional. The group also includes Oakland County Historian Carol Bacak-Egbo, Historical Commission chair Dave Decker, Creative Operations Officer Steve Dorsey and Community Engagement Representative Spencer Verhagen.

Submissions must be original, rectangular and approximately 3-by-5 inches. The group prohibits designs made with artificial intelligence or stock images. No prize money is offered. Submitters give up all intellectual property rights.

F.L.A.G. members will review every valid entry. They may pick one design outright or combine elements from several. Pro bono vexillological experts from NAVA and internal county designers will help refine the final product at no cost to the county.

The county plans to unveil the new flag in fall 2027, timed to the relocation of about 700 county employees to a new campus in downtown Pontiac.

The submission form and a library of maps, historical narratives and community information curated by Bacak-Egbo are available at oaklandcountymi.gov/flag.

Upcoming: Oakland County flag design submissions are due by 5 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2027.