Johnston County, NC Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Posting window
- No earlier than 60 days before the election
- Removal deadline
- Within 7 days after the election
- Size limit
- 48 square feet per display face
- Height limit
- 8 feet if freestanding
- Placement ban
- No right-of-way, sight triangle, trees, utility poles
Summary
Political signs in unincorporated Johnston County cannot go up more than 60 days before an election and must come down within seven days after it. Sec. 14-504(12) caps them at 48 square feet and eight feet tall, and bans them from rights-of-way, sight triangles, trees, and utility poles.
Political signs advertising candidates or issues, provided such signs are not erected prior to 60 days before the date of the appropriate election, and are removed within seven days after the election. Such political signs shall be mounted on poles and stakes and shall not be erected and located within any public right-of-way or within any sight distance triangle easement of intersections. Such signs shall not be placed on trees or utility poles. Such signs shall not exceed 48 square feet in area per display face or eight feet in height if freestanding. Nothing in this subsection is intended to preempt any applicable state law regarding political campaign signs. All signs placed in rights of way controlled and maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation shall comply with the requirements of G.S. 136-32.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 14-504(12) exempts political signs 'advertising candidates or issues' from the county's sign permit process, but only inside a specific timing and placement window. Signs cannot be erected more than 60 days before the relevant election and must be removed within seven days after it. They must be mounted on poles or stakes, and the code bars them outright from any public right-of-way, from any sight distance triangle easement at an intersection, and from being placed on trees or utility poles. Size is capped at 48 square feet per display face or eight feet in height if freestanding, larger than the four-square-foot garage sale exemption but still enforceable under the same removal process.
S. 136-32. Like every other exempt sign, a political sign remains subject to the general limitations in Sec. 14-505 and Sec. 14-506: no flashing, no illumination visible from a residential district, and no placement that could be confused with a traffic control device.
Violations & Fines
A political sign erected earlier than 60 days before the election, left standing more than seven days afterward, oversized past 48 square feet or eight feet tall, or placed in a right-of-way, sight triangle, tree, or utility pole loses its Sec. 14-504(12) exemption. Sec. 14-504 authorizes the county to remove any sign 'not permitted by this article or not removed in a timely manner' and assess the removal cost to the property owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
How early can I put out political signs in Johnston County?
How big can a political sign be on my property?
Can I put a campaign sign in the road right-of-way?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Johnston County
Compare Johnston County to another location·View the North Carolina sign regulations overview
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