Bloomfield, NJ Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Bloomfield Township regulates signs in § 315-42 of the Land Development and Zoning chapter. The Code defines a political sign in § 315-42A(5) as a sign advancing the candidacy of any candidate or group of candidates for public office or a cause subject to political judgment. That wording reaches both candidate yard signs and signs about ballot or issue campaigns.

The general rule is that it is unlawful to erect, repair, alter, relocate or keep a sign in the Township without a zoning permit from the administrative officer, except for signs exempted under Subsection A(6). Political signs are on the exempt list. Section 315-42A(6)(h) permits temporary signs indicating a political preference or political event without a sign permit, provided that such signs do not exceed 32 square feet in residential zones.

Three conditions come with the exemption. First, the 32-square-foot limit is printed for residential zones. Second, the signs cannot be displayed on any trees, telephone poles or lighting stanchions, which keeps them off utility poles and street lighting in the public way. Third, all such signs must be removed within five days after the election or the completion of the political event. The deadline runs from the election or event itself, not from a notice by the Township.

Sign area is measured as the net geometric area enclosed by the display surface, including the outer extremities of all letters, characters and delineations, and only one face of a double-faced sign is counted. The Code also states the purpose of the sign chapter: to provide for temporary signs without commercial messages in limited circumstances and to prohibit all signs not expressly permitted. A political sign that stays up past the removal deadline, or that is hung on a pole, falls outside the exemption and can be enforced as a violation of Chapter 315.