Thurston County, WA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

40. On private property, subsection (1) exempts a sign from needing a permit at all if it is under four square feet and under forty-eight inches tall; above that, a residential-zone sign is capped at five square feet per side and eight feet in height under subsection (1)(c), while a commercial or industrial-zone sign can reach thirty-two square feet per side at the same eight-foot height limit under subsection (1)(d). Every private-property sign must also stay clear of vision-clearance triangles, travel lanes, and other right-of-way safety zones, and must be kept in repair rather than left damaged or deteriorated.

Campaign signs placed in the county right-of-way instead, along a road shoulder or planting strip, fall under subsection (2), which requires the sign to use a breakaway design, stay out of the roadway clear zone, sit at least ten feet from the shoulder edge where there is no curb, and avoid attachment to any traffic sign, utility pole, or signal box. Subsection (2)(l) caps a right-of-way sign at thirty inches above grade and four square feet, smaller than the private-property allowance, and subsection (2)(k) requires event-related signs, the category political signs fall into, to come down within fifteen days after the election or event, with the sponsoring individual, committee, or organization responsible for removal. Placing a sign in the right-of-way abutting private property also requires that property owner's permission under subsection (3).