Texas Campaign Sign Rules 2026: Disclosures and Placement

What Does Section 255.001 Require for the Disclosure?

Texas Election Code Section 255.001 generally requires political advertising containing express advocacy to indicate that it is political advertising and to identify the responsible person, political committee, or candidate by full name as the section directs. The requirement concerns the message and who paid or authorized it, not merely the sign's size or material.

Do not copy a payer line from another campaign. The responsible name can differ based on who paid for or authorized the advertising. A campaign should have its treasurer or attorney confirm the wording, spelling, and responsible entity before the file is approved.

Keep the disclosure readable in the final physical size. An 18 x 24 in layout can look generous on a monitor while the lower line becomes small after reduction. Review the proof at the intended dimensions, and keep the required line away from the cut edge and any visual clutter. This is an artwork check, not a legal determination.

What Is the Texas Highway Right-of-Way Notice?

Texas Election Code Section 259.001 gives the notice that must be written on each political advertising sign covered by that section. The statute provides this wording:

Treat this notice as a separate line from the Section 255.001 political advertising disclosure. One identifies the political advertising and the responsible payer or authorizer. The other warns against highway right-of-way placement. Both should be checked against the current law before the campaign approves the artwork.

Section 259.001 defines the political advertising signs covered by the notice and contains an exception. Section 259.001(b) also makes it an offense to knowingly contract to print a covered sign without the required notice. Ask the campaign treasurer or attorney whether the section applies to the particular piece.

Where Can Texas Campaign Signs Be Placed?

Under TxDOT campaign-sign guidance, campaign signs along Texas roads can be placed on private property with the property owner's permission. Signs on or within a highway right-of-way are illegal, including signs attached to trees, telephone poles, traffic signs, and other objects there. Check city rules when the location is inside incorporated limits.

The edge of pavement is not always the legal property line. A wide shoulder, ditch, utility area, or strip of maintained ground can make a location look private when it is not. If the boundary is uncertain, do not guess. Confirm it with TxDOT, the county, the municipality, or the authority responsible for that road.

Permission and location are two checks. The owner can approve placement on the owner's land, but that approval does not move a public right-of-way boundary. Keep a placement list that records the address, owner permission, and person responsible for retrieving the sign.

What May a Texas City or HOA Regulate?

Texas Election Code Section 259.003 limits municipal regulation of a sign that contains primarily a political message and stands on private real property with the owner's consent. Those protections address prohibition, permits or fees, size restrictions, and unequal removal charges. The same section lists exceptions, including certain larger, taller, illuminated, or moving signs.

Texas Election Code Section 259.002 addresses property owners' associations. It limits enforcement of a covenant that prohibits election signs during the window stated in the section, while preserving specified association rules. Those permitted restrictions include ground mounting, one sign per candidate or measure, and a size condition.

Do not turn either section into a blanket statement that every sign is protected everywhere. Read the current statute, the current city rule, and the current covenant together. Confirm the result with the local authority, association, campaign treasurer, or attorney.

What Comes With Each Standard Yard Sign?

$3.00 buys one standard wire H-stake as a separate add-on. The standard yard sign price does not include a stake. Add one per sign or any amount you choose, so two stakes add $6.00 to a two-sign order and five add $15.00 to a five-sign order. Quantity also changes the average price per sign.

An 18" x 24" 4mm Coroplast Standard Yard Sign is $53.49. 2 signs are $64.19, which is about $32.10 a sign. Printed in the USA the next business day after artwork approval and shipped nationwide, flat $10 shipping to any US address.

Three signs are $96.29, about $32.10 each. Five signs are $106.99, about $21.40 each. The signs are UV printed and may be ordered single or double sided. Those facts come from the 18 x 24 in standard yard sign page. They do not replace the campaign's legal review.

How Should a Campaign Choose Sides, Quantity, and Placement?

Choose print sides from the viewing direction at each approved private-property location. A single-sided sign can work when every reader approaches from one direction and the back faces a wall or building. Double-sided printing can serve a corner or two-way approach. Neither choice changes the disclosure or placement duties.

Choose quantity from approved locations, not a broad estimate of how many lawns might be available. Count written permissions, decide whether each address needs one sign, and keep a small controlled reserve only if the campaign has a plan for it. The standard product page offers quantities of one, two, three, or five signs. Match that count to confirmed locations and order stakes separately when needed.

Before distribution, give volunteers the approved placement list and a copy of the boundary rule. Tell them not to improvise with medians, poles, roadside objects, or open-looking strips beside a highway. The safest unused sign is the one that stays with the campaign until an approved property is available.

How Should a Campaign Review a Sign Before Distribution?

Begin with the property owners who have given permission. Record each address and check the proposed sign location against the road boundary. When a boundary is unclear, pause placement and ask the responsible road authority instead of relying on appearance.

Next, have the campaign treasurer or attorney review the artwork under Texas Election Code Sections 255.001 and 259.001. Give the political advertising disclosure and the statutory highway right-of-way notice enough room to remain readable. Review current city rules and any HOA covenant that applies to each property.

Choose single or double sided based on the approved viewing direction. Five standard signs are $106.99, about $21.40 each, or $121.99 with a standard wire H-stake for each. This sequence covers artwork, placement, and product choices, but it remains general information rather than legal advice.

What Campaign Sign Mistakes Should Be Avoided?

Do not combine the Section 255.001 disclosure and the Section 259.001 notice into one vague line. They answer different questions. Do not shrink either line until it is functionally unreadable at the printed size. Confirm the proof at 18 x 24 in, not only as a zoomed-in screen image.

Do not assume a lawn-like strip is private property. The right-of-way can extend beyond pavement, curb, or shoulder. Do not place a sign on a pole, traffic sign, tree, or other object in the right-of-way. When the boundary is uncertain, stop and ask the responsible authority.

Do not treat owner permission as the only rule. A city, HOA, or another authority may have a current requirement that needs review within the limits of Texas law. Finally, do not assume a printer's proof is legal approval. The campaign remains responsible for confirming its wording and placement plan.

How Do You Confirm the Rules and Order the Signs?

Confirm the current Texas requirements first with the Texas Ethics Commission, TxDOT, the local authority, the HOA, the campaign treasurer, or an attorney as the issue requires. Finalize the responsible payer name, statutory notice, readable layout, approved locations, print sides, and quantity before approving the artwork.

Then order the 18 x 24 in standard yard sign. Add a standard wire H-stake for each sign at $3.00, and choose single or double-sided UV printing. Production is the next business day after artwork approval, followed by shipping. These points are general information, not legal advice.