D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 24, § 108

Signs, Posters, and Placards

Effective Mar 10, 202370 DCR 003090Authority: Sections 5(a)(3)(E), 9j, 9k, and 11e(a) and (b) of the Department of Transportation Establishment Act of 2002, effective May 21, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-137; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-921.04(a)(3)(E), 50-921.18, 50-921.19 and 50-921.35(a) and (b)), Section 8 of the Bicycle Commuter and Parking Expansion Act of 2007, effective February 2, 2008 (D.C. Law 17-103; D.C. Official Code § 50-1641.07), Mayor’s Order 2011-149, dated September 6, 2011, (delegating that authority to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT)), Section 604 of the Fiscal Year 1997 Budget Support Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-198; D.C. Official Code § 10-1141.04) (establishing the District authority to regulate transportation and public space) , Mayor’s Order 96-175, dated December 9, 1996, (delegating that authority to the Department of Public Works (DPW)), Section 7 of the DDOT Establishment Act, D.C. Official Code § 50-921.06) (subsequently transferring that authority from the Director of DPW to the Director of DDOT), Section 104 of the Urban Forest Preservation Act of 2002, effective June 12, 2003 (D.C. Law 14-309; D.C. Official Code § 8-651.04), Mayor’s Order 2003-173, dated December 1, 2003 (delegating that authority to DDOT) and Mayor’s Order 2016-005, dated January 12, 2016, amending Mayor’s Order 2004-46 dated March 22, 2004, (expanding DDOT’s authority to regulate public space). Source: Article 20, §2, Article 22, §3, Article 25, §12 of the Police Regulations (May 1981); as amended by §2 of the Street Sign Regulation Amendment Act of 1979, D.C. Law 3-50, 26 DCR 2733 (December 21, 1979); by §2 of the Crime Prevention Sign Posting Act of 1980, D.C. Law 3-148, 27 DCR 4883 (November 7, 1980); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 57 DCR 528 (January 8, 2010); as amended by Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking published at 58 DCR 7688 (August 26, 2011)[EXPIRED]; as amended by Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking published at 58 DCR 8410 (September 30, 2011)[EXPIRED]; as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 273 (January 20, 2012); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 70 DCR 003090 (March 10, 2023).District of Columbia, Office of the Secretary

108.1 No person shall affix a sign, advertisement, or poster to any public lamppost or appurtenances of a lamppost, except as provided in accordance with this section.

108.2 [REPEALED.]

108.3 No poster or placard shall be publicly displayed or exhibited if it is lewd, indecent, or vulgar, or if it pictorially represents the commission of or the attempt to commit any crime.

108.4 Any sign, advertisement, or poster that does not relate to the sale of goods or services may be affixed on public lampposts or appurtenances of a lamppost, subject to the restrictions set forth in this section.

108.5 A sign, advertisement, or poster shall be affixed for no more than one hundred eighty (180) days.

108.6 A sign, advertisement, or poster related to a specific event shall be removed no later than thirty (30) days following the event to which it is related. This subsection does not extend the time limit in subsection 108.5.

108.7 Each sign, advertisement, or poster shall contain the date upon which it was initially affixed to a lamppost.

108.8 Each sign, advertisement, or poster shall be affixed securely to avoid being torn or disengaged by normal weather conditions.

108.9 Signs, advertisements, and posters shall not be affixed by adhesives that prevent their complete removal from the fixture, or that do damage to the fixture.

108.10 No more than three (3) versions or copies of each sign, advertisement, or poster shall be affixed on one (1) side of a street within one (1) block.

108.11 Within twenty-four (24) hours of posting each sign, advertisement, or poster, two (2) copies of the material shall be filed with an agent of the District of Columbia so designated by the Mayor. The filing shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the originator of the sign, advertisement, or poster, and if the sign is for an event, the date of the event.

108.12 For purposes of this section, a "public lamppost" is any public post erected for the purpose of supporting electric wires.

108.13 For purposes of this section, the term "event" refers to an occurrence, happening,

activity or series of activities, specific to an identifiable time and place, if referenced on the poster itself or reasonably determined from all circumstances by the inspector.

108.14 It shall be unlawful to display material on any tree or in any tree box space on public space except where such a display is necessary to serve a government function, such as Emergency No Parking or Reserved Parking signs.

108.15 Notwithstanding subsection 108.14, no government-issued temporary road work signs may be displayed on any tree or in any tree box space on public space.

108.16 Any sign displayed on a tree in accordance with § 108.14 shall be affixed in a manner that does not puncture, strip, or otherwise harm the bark of the tree. Nailing, stapling, tacking, pasting, or similarly affixing a sign to a tree on public space is prohibited. The use of flagging ribbon or tape is permissible.

SOURCE: Article 20, §2, Article 22, §3, Article 25, §12 of the Police Regulations (May 1981); as amended by §2 of the Street Sign Regulation Amendment Act of 1979, D.C. Law 3-50, 26 DCR 2733 (December 21, 1979); by §2 of the Crime Prevention Sign Posting Act of 1980, D.C. Law 3-148, 27 DCR 4883 (November 7, 1980); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 57 DCR 528 (January 8, 2010); as amended by Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking published at 58 DCR 7688 (August 26, 2011)[EXPIRED]; as amended by Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking published at 58 DCR 8410 (September 30, 2011)[EXPIRED]; as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 273 (January 20, 2012); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 70 DCR 003090 (March 10, 2023).