Columbia, MO Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Public property
- No posters on poles, trees, curbs
- Private property
- 16 sq ft, 10 ft max height
- Standard
- Content-neutral for all noncommercial signs
- Citation
- UDC § 29-4.8(c)(2), (e)(7)
Summary
Columbia, Missouri bars anyone but a public officer from fastening election campaign posters to curbstones, lampposts, poles, bridges, or trees on public streets, while noncommercial signs on private property in Boone County follow content-neutral size and height limits.
No person, except a public officer or an employee in the performance of a public duty, shall fasten any sign or notice of any kind on any curbstone, lamppost, street or sidewalk surface, pole, bridge or tree upon a public street, except for any banner attached to a city street light standard for which an attachment permit has been issued. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, advertisements and announcements of buildings or land for sale or rent, garage sales, private picnics and election campaign posters. This prohibition is not to be construed as prohibiting signs or notices indicating danger or aids to service or safety, or subdivision identification signs, to be erected with written permission from the director.
(3) No signs painted on buildings, walls or fences shall be allowed.
(4) No wind signs shall be allowed.
(5) No freestanding, on-premises commercial sign, including the supporting structures, shall be allowed to remain on any property more than six (6) months after the business or uses advertised on the sign have been discontinued.
(6) No sign shall be erected or maintained in a location or in such a manner that any portion of the sign will be within ten (10) feet, measured either horizontally, vertically or at any intermediate angle, of any electric power line wire carrying a voltage in excess of two hundred forty (240) volts, nor shall any sign be within ten (10) feet of a vertical line extended upward from such an electric power line wire.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 138).
Full Breakdown
UDC § 29-4.8(c)(2) makes it unlawful to fasten any sign to a curbstone, lamppost, street or sidewalk surface, pole, bridge, or tree on a public street, expressly naming election campaign posters among the prohibited postings, with no exception for candidates or campaign committees. On private property, political signs qualify as noncommercial signs under § 29-4.8(e)(7): they must be ground- or wall-mounted, capped at sixteen square feet and ten feet tall, and the city must apply size and height limits in a content-neutral manner regardless of the sign's message.
Violations & Fines
Fastening a campaign poster to a public pole, tree, or curb is a Code violation subject to removal and penalty under UDC § 29-6.6; a private-property sign exceeding the noncommercial size or height cap faces the same enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a campaign sign on a utility pole in Columbia, Missouri?
How big can a political yard sign be on my own property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Columbia
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