Fairfield, CA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Fairfield's sign rules live in Municipal Code Chapter 25, Article IX (Section 25.1300, Signs). A political sign is defined as any temporary sign advertising a candidate for political office, a political party, or a ballot measure or item scheduled for an election. Fairfield's ordinance imposes content-neutral size, placement, and duration limits applicable to all temporary signs — typically 6 square feet on residential property and larger thresholds on commercial — and prohibits any sign on public right-of-way (parkways, street trees, traffic-signal poles, utility poles) or on private property without the owner's, lessee's, or person-in-lawful-possession's consent. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 576 U.S. 155 (2015), invalidated content-based distinctions in sign ordinances (e.g., shorter periods for political signs than for real-estate signs), so Fairfield's surviving political-sign rules are duration-neutral within the temporary-sign category. On state highways visible from the right-of-way of I-80, I-680, SR-12, and SR-37, the California Outdoor Advertising Act (Business & Professions Code §5405.3) preempts the city: temporary political signs may be up to 32 square feet, must not be displayed more than 90 days before the election or more than 10 days after, and must have the candidate or committee identification on the sign.