The coat of arms, primarily consisting of the state seal, is featured in the flag's center. The coat of arms symbolizes the state's principal pursuits and resources. The obverse side of the seal bears the legend "State of West Virginia" together with the state motto, Montani Semper Liberi ("mountaineers are always free"). A farmer stands to the left and miner to the right of a large ivy draped rock bearing the date of the state's admission to the Union, June 20, 1863. In front of the rock lie two rifles upon which rests a red Phrygian cap, or cap of liberty. The lower half of the coat of arms is wreathed by the rhododendron, the state flower. The white stands for purity while the blue border represents the Union. The current flag was adopted by the West Virginia legislature on 7 March 1929.

In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. The survey found West Virginia's flag to be barely out of the bottom 20, as NAVA ranked it at 51 out of the 72.