El Dorado County, CA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Political and other noncommercial-message signs fall under the Sign Permit exemptions in Section 130.36.030(B), which lists sign types that skip the County's discretionary planning sign review as long as they stay within fixed size, height, and duration limits. Outside election season, a noncommercial sign is capped at six square feet, set back at least five feet from the public right-of-way, and cannot project above the roofline of the structure it sits near. During the 60 days before a special, general, or primary election, and for the two weeks after, the same setback and height rules apply but the allowed area jumps to 32 square feet, giving households and candidates far more room for yard signs through the election cycle. All such signs must remain unlit.

Because the Chapter is written to be message-neutral (Section 130.36.020(B)), County staff reviewing a sign cannot evaluate the content of a political message and may only look far enough to confirm the sign fits the noncommercial-sign category. Section 130.36.020(C) also lets a property owner freely swap one protected message for another on an already-permitted sign structure without a new permit, so a yard sign frame used for one candidate can be reused for a different one without additional County review.