Taunton, MA Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Section 440-706C(1) lists the sign categories that are permitted and do not require a permit or registering with the Building Department, and Subsection (f), Holiday Lights, is one of them: holiday lights and decorations that carry no commercial message can go up without a sign permit, but only for a limited period, no longer than 60 continuous days and no longer than 100 days in any calendar year, and the limit applies at any premises, whether the use there is commercial, residential or industrial. The two caps work together: a resident can't leave lights up for a single 70-day stretch, and can't string together multiple shorter displays that add up to more than 100 days across the year.

Because the exemption turns on the absence of a commercial message, holiday lighting used to advertise a business, rather than to decorate for the season, falls outside Subsection (f) and would need to be evaluated under the ordinance's other sign categories, potentially requiring a permit. The City Planner and Building Inspector jointly administer sign compliance, including confirming that an exempt display hasn't drifted into commercial messaging or overstayed its 60- or 100-day window.