Stockton, CA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

040(D)(4)(a) exempts temporary political signs from the sign-permit process entirely and, unlike most temporary signs in the chapter, sets no maximum size. They are allowed on private property in any zoning district with the owner's permission, but the code draws several hard lines: no placement in a public right-of-way, easement, or on other government property dedicated to public use, and no attaching a sign to a utility or telephone pole. A sign fastened to a wall, fence, or structure cannot project more than six inches from it.

Once a political sign exceeds five square feet, the sponsor must file a statement of responsibility with the City Clerk's office, on City-prepared forms, naming the person who will take the sign down and reimburse the City for any removal cost the City incurs. Timing is the other hard limit: signs cannot go up earlier than 90 days before the scheduled election and must come down within seven days after it, tying the display window directly to the election calendar rather than to a fixed calendar date.

Because the exemption covers only placement and timing, not content, the chapter separately states elsewhere that it will not give commercial signs greater protection than noncommercial ones, meaning campaign and issue signs are treated even-handedly across the sign code.