Everett, MA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Everett handles campaign signs in two short sections of Chapter 12A, Signs and Billboards. Section 12A-61 exempts all signs associated with a political campaign from the provisions of the ordinance, on two conditions: the signs are of a temporary nature, and they are removed within thirty days after the date of the election to which they refer. The exemption is from Chapter 12A as a whole, the chapter that otherwise requires a Building Inspector permit before a sign is erected on private property (Section 12A-32) and limits signs in residential districts to the list in Section 12A-53. Section 12A-61 itself prints no size limit and no limit on the number of signs.

Section 12A-62 puts the removal burden on the campaign. Subsection (a) holds the candidates involved responsible for the removal of signs and placards necessary to fulfill the section. Subsection (b) sets the penalty for missing the thirty-day deadline: not more than $5.00 per day per sign, with a maximum penalty of not more than $50.00 per sign. Because the deadline runs from the date of the election to which the sign refers, a sign for a primary and a sign for a general election run on separate clocks.

The scope of the chapter also matters. Section 12A-30 states that the ordinance regulates all exterior signs and all interior signs placed for exterior observance from public ways and places, but not signs located on city property. The Building Inspector is authorized and directed to enforce all provisions of the ordinance under Section 12A-39. This page covers the City of Everett, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, where the City Council legislates by ordinance, and not Everett, Washington.