CUSTOM FIREFIGHTER HATS.
FOR FIREFIGHTERS. BY FIREFIGHTERS.
Quality embroidery - Quantity discounts - Free shipping on hats
Shop by Design
Passport
The Passport design, inspired by traditional American fire helmet shield inserts, is one of our original embroidery layouts for fire department hats dating back to 2010. A longtime firefighter favorite, it remains popular and fully customizable with numbers, letters, and thread colors to represent your department, station, or apparatus.
Fire Mark
The Fire Mark design is inspired by historic fire insurance plaques once used to identify insured buildings. This customizable embroidery layout lets you add text, numbers, and thread colors to reflect your apparatus, department name, or create a unique station design.
Old School 3D
The Old School design was created to showcase raised embroidery on baseball-style hats, featuring a bold typeface perfect for fire department hats. Customize it with your choice of numbers, letters, and thread colors—popular picks include fire department initials or apparatus numbers. A flat stitch version is also available on our knit caps.
Traditional Alpha
The Traditional Alpha design honors the long-standing traditions of the American fire service. As our first embroidery layout, it reflects the classic style worn by firefighters for decades. Featuring your department name, number, and apparatus, it’s a timeless way to represent fire service pride.
Traditional Bravo
The Traditional Bravo design was created from firefighter feedback seeking a modern twist on classic styles. It features your fire company apparatus and number, with customizable Bottom Line Text for fire department name, city, slogan, and more.
IAFF Design
The IAFF design features the official International Association of Fire Fighters logo. We are a licensed IAFF vendor and local chapter member. The IAFF logo and wordmarks are registered trademarks of the International Association of Fire Fighters, used under license. Our Elite Fire Apparel knit caps are proudly Made in America.
Being firefighter owned, we have coupled our knowledge of the fire service with years of fire department embroidery experience in order to create and perfect these design layouts. The Passport, Fire Mark, Old School, Traditional Alpha and Traditional Bravo designs have been created, tested, tweaked, re-tested and perfected over the years. They are already set-up and are ready-to-go layouts that can be personalized for your fire department, fire station or fire apparatus. No set-up fee. No minimum order requirement. Quantity discounts available. Be sure to check out our Quick Order Color Schemes for easy and fast ordering!
Shop by Style
We offer a variety of embroidered firefighter hats to suit different preferences. From flexible, stretch-to-fit hats with elastic sweatbands to adjustable options, we carry both mesh and solid back styles for on- and off-duty wear. In addition to baseball-style fire department hats, we also offer boonie hats and winter caps. We stock youth and oversized sizes and can special order other styles upon request.
Shop by Brand
We proudly offer the most popular hat brands that firefighters know and love. We offer our own private label brand of knit caps that are Made in America and the quality is supreme. In addition, we stock several hat styles by brands that are known for their quality and fit - Flexfit, Legacy, Pacific Headwear, Propper and Richardson.
Have your own custom logo?
We offer a custom embroidery service and have years of experience working with firefighters to create high-quality customization. If you have a fire department patch, logo, emblem or other type of artwork, allow us to create fully custom firefighter hats and apparel for you.
Get A Quote Here
Our Work
See More Examples
Free Shipping
We offer free shipping on all hats. Whether it’s an order for one hat or 100+ hats, shipping is on us. We utilize USPS and UPS carriers and provide tracking numbers so that you can track the package along the way. For bulk orders, discounts are available!
Quantity Discounts
We offer quantity discounts for qualifying orders of 12 or more hats. Our criteria for qualifying for this discount is simply based on efficiency and volume. We look forward to discussing your unique needs and determining the best price that we can offer you for your bulk order. Let’s get started!
Quality Embroidery
We’ve offered expert embroidery services for 17+ years. From our North Carolina base, we provide high-quality embroidery on premium hats and apparel from top of the line brands. Our knowledge and experience consistently results in customer satisfaction. We offer high quality work and would love the opportunity to earn your business. Contact us today!
- Premium Stitch Quality
- Precise Detailing
- Clean, Polished Designs
- High Resolution Photography
- Commercial Grade Equipment
VS
Them
- Loose, Uneven Stitches
- Missing Stitches
- Lacks Clarity and Visual Definition
- Dark, Blurry Photography
- Lower-End Setup
Testimonials
See More Testimonials
Elite Fire Apparel was fantastic to work with. Erin kept me informed throughout the process and they were able to duplicate the current design of our hats. They sent us quality hats and the embroidery looks perfect. From the first time I contacted them to delivery of the product was a matter of a weeks. Great team! Highly recommended!
Throughout my time in the fire service, I have worked with Elite Fire Apparel on multiple projects, both big and small, with multiple agencies. Regardless of the project Scott and Erin have always gone out of their way to make a quality product in a timely fashion...
Hello Scott and Erin,
I have just received another order that I have placed with you and once again I am so very pleased with the quality of the work that you do. I have been ordering from you for many years now, and I have always been...
I have just received another order that I have placed with you and once again I am so very pleased with the quality of the work that you do. I have been ordering from you for many years now, and I have always been...
Elite Fire Apparel was fantastic to work with. Erin kept me informed throughout the process and they were able to duplicate the current design of our hats. They sent us quality hats and the embroidery looks perfect. From the first time I contacted them to delivery of the product was a matter of a weeks. Great team! Highly recommended!
Frequently Asked Questions
Creating high-quality, customized products is our specialty—and our priority. We work hard to ship orders as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality.
Lead time varies based on our current order volume. To keep you informed, we update our Lead Time Page daily (Monday–Friday, excluding holidays and shop closures).
Yes! We offer quantity discounts on most orders of 12 or more hats. The discount is based on volume and production efficiency.
Option 1: Just click “Add to Quote Request” instead of “Add to Cart” on any product page. When all your items are added, click “Finish Quote Request,” fill in the details, and hit “Submit Quote.” We’ll review your request and send you a custom quote—based on your quantity and how efficiently we can produce the order in our shop. Need changes? We can quickly make edits or adjustments on our end to match your department’s needs. Once the quote looks good, simply click the “Proceed to Checkout” button included in the email. It’ll take you straight to our checkout page, where you can complete your order with any major credit card.
Option 2: If you are unsure of the specs - hat style(s), hat color(s), design details, etc. - but want to get started on a custom quote, please fill out our Quantity Discount Quote Form.
No minimums or setup fees apply to hats embroidered with any design from our Elite Fire Apparel Hat Design Collection: Passport, Fire Mark, Old School Font, Traditional Alpha, Traditional Bravo, IAFF Logo. Custom artwork does have minimum order requirements and setup fees, due to the time-intensive process of designing, testing, and refining custom embroidery. Pricing depends on the complexity of the artwork and the number of hats ordered.
Yes, we do offer custom embroidery services!
Please note that custom designs require a minimum order and setup fee, based on design complexity and quantity. We’ll work closely with you to bring your vision to life with the quality we're known for. To get a personalized quote, please fill out our Custom Design Quote Form.
We offer hats in flexible fitted, adjustable, and adjustable-sized options across multiple brands. Sizing can vary by brand and material. Visit our Headwear Sizing Guide.
Need to try before committing? You can order blank hats at retail price for sizing. We cover the shipping to you; you return them (in original, unworn condition) at your expense within 45 days for a full refund.
Shipping is always free for all hats on our website—no hidden fees, no surprises.
Yes! We are a firefighter-owned and operated small family business.
Absolutely. While we stock our most popular styles, we can special order hats from our vendors with a 12-piece minimum per color and size.
Firefighter owned. NC based shop.
We are a firefighter owned and operated embroidery shop located in downtown Cherryville, NC. We specialize in providing a high quality embroidery service for individual firefighters and fire departments across the United States. Whether you need a duty or off-duty hat, we've got you covered.
Need Help?
We take pride in our excellent customer service and years of experience working with firefighters. We are ready to listen to your unique needs and assist you. Let us know how we can help.
Let's Get Started