Yard Signs
Political Campaign Sign Rules in Texas
What Texas law asks of campaign yard signs: the political advertising disclosure, the right of way notice, city and HOA limits, and how to plan a print run.
Every cycle we print signs for city council, school board, county, and state races across Bexar County, and the same three questions come up on the first call. What has to be printed on the sign? Where can it legally go? How many should we order? Here is the plain-language version, with the statutes named so you can read them yourself.
We print signs rather than practice law, so treat this as a starting point and confirm the specifics with your campaign treasurer, the Texas Ethics Commission, or your attorney.
Two Lines Texas Wants on a Campaign Sign
The political advertising disclosure. Texas Election Code Section 255.001 requires political advertising that contains express advocacy to disclose that it is political advertising and to name the person, political committee, or candidate who paid for it. Campaigns usually set it in small type along the bottom edge. The statute lists exceptions, so ask your treasurer how it applies to your piece.
The right of way notice. This one surprises people. Texas Election Code Section 259.001 requires a political advertising sign to carry this exact wording: "NOTICE: IT IS A VIOLATION OF STATE LAW (CHAPTERS 392 AND 393, TRANSPORTATION CODE), TO PLACE THIS SIGN IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY OF A HIGHWAY." Leaving it off when you contract to have such signs made is a Class C misdemeanor under that section. Leave a clear strip along the bottom edge for both lines before the file goes to press, and we will flag it on your free digital proof if we do not see them.
Where a Campaign Sign Can and Cannot Go
Texas Transportation Code Chapter 393 prohibits placing a sign in the right of way of a public road unless state law authorizes it. Violating it is a Class C misdemeanor. A sheriff, a constable, or a volunteer authorized by the county commissioners court may confiscate an illegally placed sign, and the chapter allows civil penalties escalating from $1,000 for a first violation to $2,500 and then $5,000 after written notice and a failure to remove. Highway crews clear the right of way as routine work, so signs planted along a frontage road tend to disappear either way.
The safe placement is private property with the owner's permission, every time. Ask, get a yes, and keep a list. A volunteer who plants a sign in a median because it looked empty can cost the campaign real money. Brief your walkers before they load the truck.
What Cities and Homeowner Associations May Regulate
Texas Election Code Section 259.003 protects signs on private property from city ordinances. A municipal charter provision or ordinance may not prohibit a primarily political sign on private real property displayed with the owner's consent, require a permit or fee for it, restrict its size, or charge a higher removal fee than for other signs. Those protections stop at signs with an effective area greater than 36 square feet, signs more than eight feet high, illuminated signs, and signs with moving elements. A standard yard sign sits comfortably inside the protected range.
Homeowner associations are governed separately by Texas Election Code Section 259.002, which used to live at Property Code Section 202.009. An association may not enforce a covenant banning a political sign on an owner's property during the window that opens 90 days before an election and closes 10 days after it. Associations keep the right to require ground mounting, limit displays to one sign per candidate or measure, and prohibit signs larger than four feet by six feet, among other conditions in that section.
San Antonio also keeps its own sign regulations, primarily in Chapter 28 of the City Code of Ordinances. Sign codes get amended, so look up the current chapter through the City's Municode library rather than a summary, and read your HOA covenants before the first sign goes in a yard.
Planning the Print Run
The standard political sign in Texas is an 18″×24″ coroplast panel printed double sided, so it reads from both directions at a corner or a polling place approach. One sign is $29.99 double sided, and the per-sign price drops steeply with volume. Our sign and stake packs start at 10 signs for $140 with a wire H-stake for every sign, and the marketing kits that add door hangers and business cards start at $899.
A few planning notes from campaigns we have printed for:
- Quantity by race size. A single-precinct race often runs 50 to 100 signs. A citywide or district race usually lands in the several hundreds. Order about ten percent over your placement list, because signs get mowed, blown over, and taken.
- Stakes. Wire H-stakes run $3.25 each, or $4.25 for heavy duty, which is worth it in hard South Texas ground.
- Lead time. Aim to have signs in hand three to four weeks before early voting opens, plus another week for artwork revisions and proofing. Keep the print-ready file so a mid-cycle reorder is quick.
Ready to print your run? Price your campaign yard signs online, pick the size, choose double sided, set the quantity, and add stakes. Every order gets a free digital proof so you can check the disclosure line before we print.
For the product itself, see our guide to yard sign printing in San Antonio, and for the full price ladder, what yard signs cost in San Antonio. Our political signs page covers what we print for campaigns.
Inline Graphics prints political campaign signs for races across San Antonio and Bexar County, from a first school board run to a countywide ballot measure, and we will help you fit the disclosure and notice lines into the layout.
See yard sign pricing and order online, or browse the sign and stake packs for a full precinct run.
Need custom printing in San Antonio? Inline Graphics helps local businesses, churches, schools, and event organizers design and print banners, signs, decals, displays, and marketing materials that get noticed. Contact us today for a quote.