Huntington Beach, CA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Posting window before election
- No sooner than 50 days prior
- Removal deadline after election
- Within 10 days
- Public removal allowed
- Starting Friday after Election Day
- Private-property size cap
- 8 sq. ft. total per site
- Permit required
- No, exempt under § 233.08(O)
Summary
Non-commercial signs, including political and campaign signs, are exempt from sign permits citywide under Section 233.08(O). In public rights-of-way they may go up no more than 50 days before Election Day, must come down within 10 days after, and anyone may remove them starting the Friday after the election.
Non-commercial signs in public rights-of-way may be posted no sooner than 50 days before an Election Day and must be taken down no later than 10 days following the Election Day. Non-commercial signs in public rights-of-way may be removed by anyone beginning the Friday after Election Day.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4954605; v17 updated 2026-06-16).
Full Breakdown
08(O) of the Huntington Beach Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance exempts temporary signs from the Chapter 233 permit process, and explicitly states that this signage is not restricted by content, which covers political and campaign messages. 88, and in Commercial and Industrial zones freestanding signs must sit in landscaped areas or planters. A separate standard governs the public right-of-way: non-commercial signs there carry no maximum number, size or height limit in the code's table, but they may not be placed in street medians or dividers or affixed to trees, shrubs or landscaping.
The election-specific timing rule sits in the same table: signs in the public right-of-way may be posted no sooner than 50 days before an Election Day and must be taken down no later than 10 days after it, and beginning the Friday following Election Day, anyone, not just the City, may remove them. Temporary signs generally require the property owner's permission to be displayed on private land.
Violations & Fines
Political signs left in the public right-of-way outside the 50-day pre-election and 10-day post-election window are subject to removal, and after the Friday following Election Day the code allows any person to take them down. Signs placed in street medians, on trees or landscaping, or exceeding the 8-square-foot private-property cap can be removed by the City as unpermitted signage under Chapter 233.
Frequently Asked Questions
How early can I put up a political sign in Huntington Beach?
When do I have to take down my campaign sign?
Can I put a political sign on the median or a tree lawn?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Huntington Beach
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