Rank insignia plaque Rank insignia plaques , also referred to as rank pins , were badges used in the military forces of Sheev Palpatine ' s Galactic Empire as a means to indicate and distinguish officer ranks . They were originally used by Republic officer s during the Clone Wars , when Palpatine was still Chancellor of the Galactic Republic . The plaque , which was worn on the left side of the regulation tunic over the heart , consisted of translucent , color ed rectangular tiles mounted on a metal bar . Those plaques could comprise one or two rows of tiles mounted on top of another . Double - row plaques were made from two separate parts of one row each , rather than two rows of caps on a single backing piece . The different types of tiles came in blue , red , yellow , and grey . Rank plaques could be encoded with information readable by devices such as electronic locks . Members of media organizations such as the Imperial Press Corps wore Imperial media badges . Galactic Republic insignia . As exemplified by Wullf Yularen , Kilian , and Coburn , a fleet admiral wore an insignia that bore three red tiles on the top bar , and two blue tiles on the bottom bar . Many clone navigation officer s , some of whom held the rank of captain , wore a single - rowed plaque , with two red and one blue tiles ( from left to right ) . Some clone trooper s at the rank of corporal wore a single - rowed plaque of one blue tile followed by two red . Galactic Empire insignia . Although the designs of the Republic plaques remained in use for a brief period after the rise of the Empire , new designs were soon made . However , these designs were sector - specific , which created a jumble of non - uniform markings . Rank plaques weren ' t just worn by officers , but also by Imperial Navy Trooper s and even members of the Stormtrooper Corps such as Snowtroopers . Imperial Military . The rank of Ensign was shown by one red square over one blue , and that of Junior Lieutenant by two red squares over two blue , or a row of two blue squares . A standard Lieutenant was also shown by two red squares over two blue . Alternatively , a single row of three , four or six blue squares could be used , or a single row of two red squares followed by one blue . The rank of Captain , or Commandant for those commanding academies , was signified by three red squares over three blue . A Captain could also wear a row of six yellow squares , or three blue squares followed by two red . A Commander also wore a plaque with three red over three blue , or a line of two red squares , or a line of four blue followed by two red . A Major , a Colonel and a Commodore were all shown by four red squares over four blue , along with the rank of General , although in this case the squares were spaced out further than other ranks . A General could also be shown by six blue squares over six red , or a line of either four yellow squares followed by two red , six red , or six yellow . An Imperial Vice Admiral wore a rank plaque depicting five red squares over five blue . An Admiral was shown by six red squares over six blue , or a single row of either four red squares followed by two yellow , two blue squares followed by four red , or a row of six blue squares . Both Grand Admiral and Grand General bore a plaque with three blue squares followed by three gold , over trios of blue and red . Imperial Security Bureau . Both Lieutenants and Majors of the Imperial Security Bureau had two red squares over two blue on their plaques . Agent s of the ISB wore either two blue squares next to one grey and one red , or at a higher level three blue squares next to two yellow ones . An ISB Inspector General wore a plaque with three red followed by one blue , and a Colonel wore a plaque with three red squares followed by three blue ones . An Admiral , as with the regular military , was six red over six blue . A Lieutenant Commander in the Advanced Weapons Research division of the ISB wore a plaque with a row of six red squares . A Director in Advanced Weapons Research wore six red squares over six blue . A Scientist in Project Celestial Power , which existed within Advanced Weapons Research ' s Tarkin Initiative , wore a plaque with four yellow squares followed by one red . Inspectorate . An Inspector in the Inspectorate wore a plaque with three red squares over three blue . Governance . A Moff ' s plaque had five blue squares over three red and two yellow . A Grand Moff had six blue squares over trios of red and yellow . Although a Governor held a rank equivalent to a Moff , they shared the same rank insignia as a Grand Moff . Behind the scenes . According to Pablo Hidalgo , the rank badges " only mean anything in " . In " " , the plaques look different than in " " , despite many officers holding the same rank . In , all of the plaques were mistakenly made as commander plaques due to a costuming error , even those of Admiral Firmus Piett and Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod . Both " " and " Star Wars Rebels " feature both styles of plaques . In Inspector Thanoth ' s debut issue , " " , he wore a rank insignia featuring three blue squares over three red . However , in all subsequent issues , up until his death in " " , he wore a plaque with thee red over three blue . This article assumes the more recent and more numerous depiction of the plaque is correct .