Election Signs
ELECTION SIGNS
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy campaign schedule to learn about the rules and regulations
regarding the placement of election signs within the City of Miami Beach. There are different regulations for
public property, private property, and for your Miami Beach campaign headquarter(s). We urge you to review
these rules with your campaign volunteers.
Public Property
The Miami Beach City Code strictly prohibits the placing of signs on public property. Section 138-134 (e) reads:
“It shall be unlawful for any person to paste, glue, print, paint or to affix or attach by any means whatsoever to
the surface of any public street, sidewalk, way or curb or to any property of any governmental body or public
utility any political sign, poster, placard or automobile bumper strip designed or intended to advocate or oppose
the nomination or election of any candidate or the adoption or rejection of any political measure.” Code
Compliance Officers, whenever possible, will attempt to contact the adjacent property owner and request that
the illegally placed sign be moved to a permitted location. If that is not possible, signs placed in violation of the
City Code will be picked up and brought to the Code Compliance Department. Illegally placed signs collected
by Code Compliance Officers will be available for retrieval from the Code Compliance office, located at 555 17
Street.
Private Property
Sign Area - Signs on private property must meet the sign area limitations pursuant to Section 138 -134 of the
Miami Beach City Code. The sign area in single-family residential districts shall be the same as for construction
signs (Section 138-133) which is four (4) square feet (e.g., 2 feet by 2 feet; 1 foot by 4 feet). The sign area for
commercial or industrial district locations shall have the same requirements as for construction signs or real
estate signs (Section 138-136), whichever is larger. All other zoning districts shall not exceed one square foot
per three linear feet of street frontage, with a maximum sign area of not more than 75 square feet. Owners of
properties that have election signs that exceed the maximum allowed area will first be issued warning no tices.
Failure to reduce the sign area to the allowable amount will result in a citation and the case being forwarded to
the Special Master for a hearing. The Special Master may impose fines of up to $1,000 per day, per violation or
in the case of a repeat violation, up to $5,000 per day, per violation.
Number of Signs – In a commercial district or industrial district the number of signs is limited only by sign area
regulations. In residential districts, there shall be no more than one sign per residential building or lot.
Campaign Headquarters
The sign area in commercial or industrial districts for campaign headquarters shall not have a sign area
limitation. Each candidate may have four campaign headquarters, which shall be registered with the City Clerk.
See Section 138-134 (c) of the Miami Beach City Code.
Removal of Election Signs
Election signs shall be removed seven days following the election to which they are applicable. See Section
138-134 (d) of the Miami Beach City Code.
Thank you for your attention in this matter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the
Code Compliance Department at 305.673.7555.