# Texas HOA Flag and Political Sign Rules > Under Texas Property Code 202.012, an HOA cannot prohibit or restrict you from displaying the US flag, the Texas flag, or an official or replica flag of a US armed forces branch, except through the rules the statute allows. Its rules also cannot stop you from putting up at least one flagpole: either a pole up to 20 feet tall in your front yard, or a pole attached to a home you own that the association does not maintain. Political signs are covered by Election Code 259.002. From the 90th day before an election until the 10th day after it, the HOA cannot enforce a rule that bans signs for a candidate or ballot measure on your property. It can still require ground-mounting, one sign per candidate or measure, and a maximum size of four feet by six feet. _Source: https://hoanotes.com/hoa/texas/flags-and-political-signs/ | Last reviewed 2026-10-07_ ## Flags and flagpoles Section 202.012 protects three flags: the US flag, the Texas flag, and an official or replica flag of any branch of the armed forces. Other flags, such as a POW/MIA flag, a sports flag, or a flag for a cause, are not on the list, so the HOA's own rules decide those. The association can still set reasonable rules. It can require the flags to be flown under the federal and Texas flag codes, require poles made of permanent, long-lasting materials that suit the house, require you to follow zoning, easements, and recorded setbacks, and require a worn flag or unsafe pole to be repaired or removed. It can regulate the size of the flag, the lights on it, and noise from a halyard slapping the pole. It can also regulate the size, number, and location of flagpoles, with one floor. The rules cannot prevent at least one pole per property that is either no more than 20 feet tall and in the front yard, or attached to a part of the home you own that the association does not maintain. If you have a front yard, you pick which option. "Front yard" has a legal meaning here: the lot needs a front building setback of at least 15 feet. The HOA can keep flags and poles off property the association owns or maintains and off common property. That matters in condos and some townhome communities. Chapter 202 covers condominium regimes, but if the association maintains your building and you have no front yard, the statute may not give you a guaranteed spot for a pole. ## Political signs and the election window Election Code 259.002 used to be Property Code 202.009. The Legislature moved it in 2019, so older articles may cite the old number. The rule is the same idea: from the 90th day before an election until the 10th day after it, the HOA cannot enforce or adopt a covenant that stops you from showing signs for a candidate or ballot measure on your property. Inside that window, the association can still require signs to be ground-mounted and limit you to one sign per candidate or measure. It can ban signs larger than four feet by six feet, signs attached to trees, vehicles, or other structures, signs with balloons, lights, music, or streamers, and signs that are offensive to the ordinary person, unsafe, or unlawful. It can remove a sign that breaks one of those permitted rules. Outside the window, the statute does not protect political signs, and the HOA's sign rules apply. A federal law, the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, also bars condo, co-op, and homeowners associations from adopting or enforcing a rule that would stop you from displaying the US flag on property you own or have exclusive use of. It covers only the US flag and allows reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions that are necessary to protect a substantial interest of the association. ## What to check in the disclosure packet Read these together before you make an offer: - Any rule that bans flagpoles outright or limits flags to holidays. - Architectural guidelines on pole height, materials, and placement. - Whether the association maintains the exterior of your home, which affects the attached-pole option. - A sign rule that shortens the 90-day window or requires removal right after the election. - Board minutes or violation letters about flags or campaign signs. ## Why this matters to your offer A flag or sign dispute rarely decides a purchase. But a declaration that still bans all flags, or a rule that cuts the election window short, shows the documents have not kept up with Texas law, and the same board may be behind on other rules too. An HOA Notes brief reads the declaration, rules, and minutes together, flags restrictions that conflict with the Property Code or Election Code, and cites the page behind every finding. ## What the statute says **Texas Property Code section 202.012** (Flag display rights). An association may not prohibit or restrict an owner's display of the United States flag, the Texas flag, or an official or replica flag of any U.S. armed forces branch, and its rules may not prevent at least one flagpole per property: up to 20 feet in the front yard (subject to zoning, easements, and setbacks of record) or attached to a residential structure the owner owns and the association does not maintain. The association may adopt reasonable rules requiring display under the federal and Texas flag codes, durable pole materials, zoning compliance, and upkeep; regulate the size, number, and location of flagpoles, flag size, lighting, and halyard noise; and prohibit flags or flagpoles on association-owned, association-maintained, or commonly owned property. ## Texas HOA flag and sign rules: common questions ### Can a Texas HOA ban the American flag? No. Under Property Code 202.012 it cannot prohibit or restrict the US flag, the Texas flag, or an armed forces flag, other than through the rules the statute allows, such as flag code compliance, flag size, and lighting. ### Can my HOA stop me from putting up a flagpole? Its rules cannot prevent at least one pole per property: up to 20 feet in the front yard, or attached to a home you own that the association does not maintain. It can set material, zoning, and upkeep rules and can keep poles off common property. ### When can I put up a political sign in a Texas HOA? From the 90th day before the election until the 10th day after it, the HOA cannot enforce a ban on candidate or ballot measure signs on your property. Outside that window, the HOA's own sign rules apply. ### How big can a political sign be? The HOA may prohibit a sign larger than four feet by six feet. It can also require ground-mounting and limit you to one sign per candidate or measure. ### Is a POW/MIA flag protected in Texas? Not by Property Code 202.012. The statute lists only the US flag, the Texas flag, and official or replica armed forces flags. Bills to add more flags were filed in 2025 but did not change the statute. ## Sources (verified 2026-10-07) 1. Texas Property Code section 202.012 (flag display), Texas Legislature. Verified 2026-10-07. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.202.htm#202.012 2. Texas Election Code section 259.002 (political signs and property owners' associations), Texas Legislature. Verified 2026-10-07. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.259.htm#259.002 3. Bill analysis, H.B. 680 (83rd Legislature), flagpoles and front yards (May 17, 2013), Senate Research Center. Verified 2026-10-07. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/83R/analysis/html/HB00680S.htm 4. HOAs Cannot Prevent Political Signs, But They Can Regulate Them (February 20, 2020), CandysDirt. Verified 2026-10-07. https://candysdirt.com/2020/02/20/hoas-cannot-prevent-political-signs-but-they-can-regulate-them/ 5. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Public Law 109-243, U.S. Government Publishing Office via Congress.gov. Verified 2026-10-07. https://www.congress.gov/109/plaws/publ243/PLAW-109publ243.htm HOA Notes is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.