St. Louis County, MO Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

The rule sits in Section 1003.168 of the Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 1003 of the St. Louis County Revised Ordinances, in the part headed General regulations, which the code says apply to signs in all zoning districts. Chapter 1003 governs the unincorporated area of the county. Cities inside the county write their own sign codes.

Three provisions in the section shape what a campaign can do. Subsection 4(6) lists political campaign and ballot issue signs among the structures that need no permit when erected on private property. The exemption carries two numbers: eight square feet for any one sign, and sixteen square feet in total for each lot or unit. A lot can therefore hold two signs at the full eight square feet, and anything beyond that total has to be smaller. Subsection 2(12) sets the clock: signs announcing candidates seeking political office and other pertinent data must be removed within seven days after the election for which they were made. The section prints no earlier start date, so the deadline is tied to the end of the campaign, not the beginning. Subsection 2(6) covers the public side: no sign can be located on or over a public right-of-way without approval of the Department of Transportation and Public Works.

The permit exemption does not waive the zoning district's standards. The introduction to subsection 4 states that setback and height requirements for all structures stay in accord with the regulations of the particular zoning district. A sign larger than the eight square foot cap falls outside the exemption written in subsection 4(6) and meets the general rule in subsection 5(1): no sign is erected, posted or maintained until the Department of Transportation and Public Works issues a permit.

Area is measured the way subsection 6 describes. The outline area of a freestanding sign counts the lettering plus any frame or background material that forms part of the display, and leaves out supports that do not extend above the sign. For a double-faced sign only one side counts, and when the two faces differ, the larger face sets the area. A two-sided yard sign is therefore measured once, not twice.

Lighting limits also reach every sign in every district. Subsection 2(11) bars intermittent light sources, and subsection 2(10) ties illumination levels to Section 1003.167 of the Zoning Ordinance.