New Brunswick, NJ Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Political signs in the City of New Brunswick are handled in Section 17.06.020 of the Municipal Code, the list of signs declared exempt from the standards and regulations of the signage chapter. Subsection F sets four conditions. The sign must be temporary and non-illuminated. The display period cannot exceed thirty days. The sign cannot exceed thirty-two square feet in area. And the sign must be removed within seven days of the election to which it referred, so the clock that matters at the back end is the election date, not the day the sign went up.

The code does not print a separate fee or permit for a political sign in this subsection, because it sits in the exempt list. Nearby provisions in Section 17.06.030, the prohibited-signs list, still matter for placement. That section bars signs tacked, pasted, painted or otherwise attached to poles, posts, trees, fences, sidewalks or curbs, and it bars any sign other than official traffic control devices or street signs within or encroaching on a street right-of-way unless other ordinances authorize it. It also prohibits signs that obstruct the sight triangle at an intersection.

The exempt list says its signs are exempt from the standards set forth hereinafter, and the code does not spell out how that interacts with the prohibited list, so a campaign or resident planning a pole, fence or right-of-way placement should ask the zoning officer in the Planning, Community and Economic Development office first. The zoning officer administers Title 17 and can order removal of illegal signs.