Sign permits — Sebastian, Florida

In Sebastian, every new or replaced sign and sign face needs a Building Department permit unless the Land Development Code lists it as exempt.

The starting rule is broad. Section 54-3-16.7 of the Sebastian Land Development Code makes it unlawful to post, display or install any sign or advertising display in the city without first having obtained a permit, except as provided in Section 54-3-16.3, the exempt list. The City of Sebastian building FAQ lists Signs and Sign Faces, New or replaced among the zoning related activities that need a permit (City of Sebastian), so swapping the panels on an existing pole sign on US 1 counts as permit work.

Permits run through the Sebastian Building Department, phone 772-589-5537 (City of Sebastian). The city posts a Sign Permit Application on its Building Forms page alongside the standard permit forms.

Zoning sets the size limits. The code groups Sebastian into residential districts (RE-40, RS-20, RS-10, RM-8 and R-MH) and nonresidential districts (CL, C-512, CG, CR, CWR, IN and AI), each with its own sign allowances (Land Development Code). On single-family homes and duplexes, no signs other than home address, nameplates, flags, decorative flags and instructional signs not exceeding two square feet each are permitted, and those need no permit.

Sebastian exempts address signs, nameplates, flags, real estate and open house signs, election season signs, construction signs, holiday displays and one garage sale sign from permitting, within set limits.

Section 54-3-16.3 of the Sebastian code opens: Signs exempt from permitting. The following types of signs do not require a permit, provided they do not break the prohibited sign rules (Land Development Code). The limits are specific. Address signs not exceeding four square feet shall be permitted, and home nameplates up to two square feet are allowed on single-family homes and duplexes. Holiday displays shall not be installed more than 60 days before the holiday and come down within 30 days after it.

Construction and sale signs have their own clocks. A construction sign is allowed only while construction is actually in progress, may not exceed 16 square feet, and must be at least 20 feet from neighboring property lines and five feet from any right-of-way. For a garage sale in the Sebastian Highlands, the code allows only one sign, not exceeding four square feet located on the property of the residence, and an off-site garage sale sign appears on the prohibited list (Land Development Code).

Murals are a Sebastian special case. They are allowable in the Riverfront and Triangle Overlay Zoning Districts on commercial property only and need approval by the city and the Sebastian River Area Public Mural Program Committee. Murals using more than one wall must stay in an approved category such as Fishing/Fishing Village and Beach/Indian River Lagoon/Lakes/Rivers, and a mural judged to be advertising counts as a sign (Land Development Code).

A Sebastian real estate sign needs no permit but is limited to one per street frontage, six square feet in a residential district, and must come down within 30 days after closing.

The Land Development Code allows only one real estate sign per street frontage on each parcel, no larger than six square feet in a residential district and, in the code's wording, 16 feet in a commercial, industrial or institutional district, and requires removal within 30 days after the closing of the sale (Land Development Code). A corner lot in Sebastian, with two street frontages, can therefore carry two.

Directional open house signs away from a Sebastian listing are allowed under tighter terms. Each must not exceed four square feet in sign area, must sit at least five feet from the adjacent road and no more than three feet above the crown of the road, and must be metal, plastic, wood or another weather resistant material, since paper or cardboard signs are prohibited. Each sign shall not be installed off-premise before 9:00 a.m. and must be removed each day by 8:00 p.m., and the city may remove a sign that breaks those limits without notice (Land Development Code).

Sebastian allows election season signs no more than 75 days before an election and requires them down within five days after it, on private property only.

The Land Development Code defines election season signs as temporary signs installed not more than 75 days before an election and remaining not more than five days after an election (Land Development Code). They shall not be posted on or over any public property or right-of-way. In residential districts each sign may be no larger than 16 square feet and no taller than five feet; in Sebastian's nonresidential districts the limits are 20 square feet and ten feet. Every election sign must be freestanding, unlit, wholly on private property, at least five feet from all rights-of-way and sidewalks, and not placed on or attached to any tree or utility post.

Enforcement is quick. The Sebastian code enforcement division orders immediate removal of an illegal political sign, and if the sign is not removed within two days, the code enforcement division shall remove it. A fine of $25.00 per sign may be imposed on the person who posted it or on the candidate named on it for missing the five-day removal deadline or for placing signs on public property, trees or utility poles, and the candidate or committee must reimburse the city for removal costs (Land Development Code).

State law is looser, and the city rule controls inside Sebastian. Section 106.1435 of the Florida Statutes asks each candidate for federal, state, county or district office to make a good faith effort to remove campaign advertisements within 30 days after withdrawing, being eliminated or being elected, bars them on any state or county road right-of-way, and states that it does not preclude municipalities from imposing additional or more stringent requirements (Florida Statutes). Sebastian's five day removal window is one of those stricter local rules.

Sebastian bans snipe, swinging, revolving and roof signs, most portable signs and banners, sidewalk A-frames unless otherwise allowed, right-of-way signs other than public and open house signs, and unauthorized signs on city property.

Section 54-3-16.4 lists the sign types prohibited in Sebastian: any swinging sign, any snipe sign, any banner excepting approved special event signs, signs that block doors or fire escapes or could be confused with a traffic signal, any sidewalk, A-frame or sandwich sign unless otherwise allowed, animated signs other than changeable copy, time and temperature and barber signs, portable signs, revolving signs, roof signs and off-site garage sale signs (Land Development Code). Unauthorized signs on city property are on the same list.

A second Sebastian ordinance covers the poles and trees. Section 6-1 of the Code of Ordinances makes it unlawful to attach any temporary sign, placard, poster, handbill or painted sign on any public property or to any tree, telephone or other utility post or building on public property, and lets the city remove such signs without notifying anyone (Sebastian Code of Ordinances). It applies citywide, from Barber Street to Indian River Drive.

Short-term promotions by Sebastian businesses have a separate track. Other temporary signs need city approval and may be permitted up to seven days at a time and up to three times in a calendar year, with a total of 32 square feet on lots under 100 feet of frontage and 64 square feet on larger frontages (Land Development Code).

A Sebastian sign permit is filed with the Building Department on city forms with scaled drawings, and costs $45 per non-electrical sign or $90 per electrical sign as of October 2026.

Section 54-3-16.7 says applications are filed in the building department, upon forms to be furnished by said department, and must list the applicant, sign owner and installing contractor, the location, purpose and estimated value of the sign, its position relative to lot lines and rights-of-way, the type and materials, a wiring statement and the colors, plus three copies of detailed scaled drawings showing height, area, supports and anchoring (Land Development Code). Projecting signs over 24 square feet in area and monument signs over 40 square feet in area must be designed by an engineer. The contractor or owner calls the Sebastian Building Department for an inspection during installation, before any concrete is poured, and for a final inspection.

The fee schedule counts signs by the unit. The City of Sebastian lists Electrical Signs at $90 per unit plus $60 each additional unit, Non-Electrical Signs at $45 per unit plus $30 each additional unit, and Sign Re-facing at $45 per sign (City of Sebastian). Freestanding signs in the nonresidential districts must be of a wide-based monument style, and pole signs are discouraged unless the supports are screened with landscaping or berms (Land Development Code).

Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the City of Sebastian website.