Political Sign Information - PDF
State and local laws regulate the usage and placement of political signs.
- Political signs may be placed/erected only on private property and with the permission of the property owner
- It is unlawful to place political signs on public property. This includes:
Roads/Medians
Right of Way (ROW) – Defined as:
Road shoulders Sidewalks
Swales Property adjacent to road containing utilities
State or county road ROW (Section 106.1435 (3), Florida Statutes)
Utility poles
Public parking
Public Parks
Government buildings
May not be tacked, tied or pasted to a hydrant, tree, lamppost, telephone, telegraph or electric utility pole, fence or building (326.104 (b) JOC)
- While ROW is not always easily defined, proper placement is generally behind utility poles, behind sidewalks on private property, behind drainage ditches or other utilities and behind fences.
- Political signs can be double faced as long as the faces are parallel (Sec. 656.1302, JOC)
- Signs are limited to one sign per candidate and one sign per ballot issue on the same property
- Political sign sizes are limited as follows:
- Residential Property – 4 sq. ft. (2 X 2) (Sec. 656.1302, JOC)
- All other zoning districts – 16 sq. ft. (4 X 4) (Sec. 656.1302, JOC)
- Residential Property – Top of sign is not more than six (6) feet off the ground
- All other zoning districts – Top of sign is not more than six (6) feet off the ground
- Political sign placement:
- An election sign may be displayed as an attached sign or freestanding. If freestanding, it must be set back from the Right of Way (ROW) not less than 10 feet. (Sec. 656.1314, JOC)
- Signs placed on ROW may be removed by the appropriate department of the city or any other person (Sec. 601.105, JOC)
- Candidate must remove all campaign signs within seven (7) calendar days after the candidate has been defeated, elected or withdrawn. (Sec. 656.1314, JOC)
- See Chapter 609 Code Enforcement Citations
- See Chapter 741 Zero Tolerance on Litter: Increased fines for violations, 1st offense $150; 2nd offense $300; 3rd and after $500 per sign! (this is a revision of Chap. 609 fines)