Civil awards and decorations of the United States are awards and decorations of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

which are bestowed by various agencies of the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

for acts of accomplishment benefiting the nation as a whole. U.S. civil awards and decorations are typically issued for sustained meritorious service or for eminence in a field of endeavour, though there are also awards and decorations for a specific heroic act. United States civil awards and decorations are issued by federal,

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, and

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

authorities with the most recognizable decorations issued on the federal level. Certain other civil decorations may be authorized for wear on U.S. military uniforms, upon approval of the military service departments. Each of the military branches also maintains their own series of civil decorations separate from military awards. The following is a listing of articles pertaining to United States civil awards and decorations.

Federal government

* Awards and decorations of the United States government *

Awards and decorations of the United States Merchant Marine Awards and decorations of the United States Merchant Marine are civilian decorations of the United States which are issued to the members of the United States Merchant Marine for a variety of duties both in peace and war. Originally authorized to ...

State government

Awards and decorations of the National Guard Awards and decorations of the National Guard are presented to members of the National Guard (United States) and sometimes to members of the state defense forces in addition to regular United States military decorations. Each of the state govern ...

* Awards and decorations of the State Defense Forces

Local government

United States law enforcement decorations United States law enforcement decorations are awarded by the police forces of the United States of America. Since the United States has a decentralized police force, with separate independent departments existing on the state and local level, t ...

Other organizations

* Awards and decorations of the Naval Sea Cadet Corps *

Awards and decorations of the Civil Air Patrol The awards and decorations of Civil Air Patrol are "designed to recognize heroism, service, and program achievements" of members of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) of the United States of America. The CAP is the official Auxiliaries, auxiliary of the Unite ...

* Cadet awards of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets *

Medals A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

and

badges A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fi ...

of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

Federal government

State government

Local government

Other organizations

See also