# Colorado HOA Flag and Sign Rules (2026) > Under Colorado Revised Statutes 38-33.3-106.5, an HOA or condo association cannot prohibit you from displaying a flag on your property, in a window, or on a balcony next to your unit. It also cannot prohibit a sign on your property or in your window. And it cannot ban or regulate a flag or sign because of what it says. The one content exception is commercial messages, which the association may ban. What it can do is adopt reasonable, content-neutral rules on how many flags or signs you have, where they go, and how big they are. Political signs fall under the same rule. The old Colorado limit that let an HOA ban campaign signs outside a window around each election was repealed in 2021. _Source: https://hoanotes.com/hoa/colorado/flags-and-political-signs/ | Last reviewed 2026-10-07_ ## Flags: any message, neutral limits Before September 2021, Colorado protected only the American flag, flown according to the federal flag code, plus service flags. House Bill 21-1310 replaced that list. Now the association cannot prohibit a flag on your property, in a window of your unit, or on a balcony attached to it, and it cannot prohibit or regulate flags based on their subject matter, message, or content. A state flag, a pride flag, a sports flag and a Thin Blue Line flag all get the same treatment. Flags with commercial messages are the exception. The association may ban those. The association may adopt reasonable, content-neutral rules on the number, location and size of flags and flagpoles. It cannot prohibit installing a flag or flagpole. So a rule that caps the number of flags and the height of poles can be valid, while a rule allowing only the American flag is not. ## Yard signs, window signs and political signs The sign rule works the same way. An owner or an occupant, which includes a tenant, can display a sign on property within the boundaries of the unit or in a window. The association cannot prohibit or regulate window signs or yard signs based on their subject matter, message or content, and it may ban signs with commercial messages. It may set reasonable, content-neutral rules based on number, placement, size, or other objective factors. Political signs no longer have a section of their own. Before 2021, an HOA could ban political signs earlier than 45 days before an election and later than 7 days after it. That window is gone. The statute now treats a campaign sign like any other noncommercial sign, so a rule written only for political signs regulates them by subject matter, which the statute does not allow. The statute also sets no removal deadline after an election. ## Condos, townhomes and older communities The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act covers condominiums, cooperatives and planned communities, and section 106.5 does not treat them differently. The flag rule names windows and balconies, which matters most in a condo building. Section 38-33.3-117 makes 106.5 apply to communities created before July 1, 1992, too. The protection reaches your property, your windows and, for flags, an adjoining balcony. Hallways, lobbies, clubhouses and other common elements are outside it, so the association's general rules govern there. Religious items on your front door follow a separate rule with its own limits. See the Colorado religious display page linked below. ## What to check in the disclosure packet Older Colorado rulebooks often still carry the pre-2021 language. Look for: - A list of approved flags, such as only the US and Colorado flags. Since 2021 that is regulation by content. - A political sign window such as 45 days before and 7 days after an election. The statute no longer allows it. - Any rule letting the board reject a flag or sign because it finds the message offensive. - A ban on flagpoles, or on flags in windows or on balconies. - Neutral limits on number, size and placement. These are allowed, so note them if you plan to display something. - Board minutes or violation letters about flags or signs. ## Why this matters to your offer Colorado changed this law five years ago, and many communities have not rewritten their rules since. A rulebook that still restricts political signs to an election window is a sign the board has not reviewed its documents against current law. That tends to show up in other places too. An HOA Notes brief reads the declaration and the rules against 38-33.3-106.5, flags a restriction the statute overrides, and cites the page behind every finding. ## What the statute says **Colorado Revised Statutes section 38-33.3-106.5(1)(a)** (Flag display rights). An association cannot prohibit a unit owner from displaying a flag on the owner's property, in a window of the unit, or on a balcony adjoining the unit, cannot prohibit or regulate flags based on their subject matter, message, or content, and cannot prohibit installing a flag or flagpole. The association may prohibit flags bearing commercial messages and may adopt reasonable, content-neutral rules on the number, location, and size of flags and flagpoles; the statute does not protect flags on common elements outside the unit, its windows, or an adjoining balcony. ## Colorado HOA flag and sign rules: common questions ### Can a Colorado HOA ban a flag because of what it says? No. Since September 7, 2021, an association cannot prohibit or regulate flags based on their subject matter, message or content. It can ban flags with commercial messages. ### Can my HOA limit how many flags I fly? Yes, through reasonable, content-neutral rules on the number, location and size of flags and flagpoles. It cannot prohibit a flag or flagpole outright. ### Can a Colorado HOA limit political signs to the weeks before an election? The statute no longer allows that. The 45-day and 7-day election window was repealed in 2021. Political signs now fall under the general rule: no regulation by content, only neutral limits on number, placement and size. ### Do these rules apply to condos and renters? Yes. The law covers condominiums as well as HOAs, the flag rule names windows and balconies, and the sign rule protects an occupant as well as an owner. ## Sources (verified 2026-10-07) 1. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 38 (section 38-33.3-106.5 at pp. 416-423), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Verified 2026-10-07. https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-38.pdf 2. House Bill 21-1310, as signed (flags and signs in common interest communities), Colorado General Assembly. Verified 2026-10-07. https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2021a_1310_signed.pdf 3. Colorado House bill prohibits HOAs from banning signs and flags based on their message, Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition. Verified 2026-10-07. https://coloradofoic.org/colorado-house-bill-prohibits-hoas-from-banning-signs-and-flags-based-on-their-message/ 4. HB21-1310: Homeowners' Association Regulation of Flags and Signs, ACLU of Colorado. Verified 2026-10-07. https://www.aclu-co.org/legislation/hb21-1310-homeowners-association-regulation-flags-and-signs/ HOA Notes is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.