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Florida law (primarily § 106.143, Florida Statutes) sets the core disclaimer requirements for political advertisements, including candidate campaign signs. These apply statewide, including in the Village of Indiantown (Martin County). Local governments may regulate size, placement, timing, and removal more stringently, but they cannot override or weaken the state disclaimer rules.

Violations of the disclaimer requirements are enforceable by the Florida Elections Commission (civil penalties under § 106.265) and can also draw code-enforcement attention locally.

Required Disclaimer Language for Candidate-Paid Signs

Under § 106.143(1), any political advertisement paid for by a candidate (except a write-in candidate) that is published, displayed, or circulated before or on election day must prominently include one of these exact statements (verbatim language is required; variations are prohibited):

• “Political advertisement paid for and approved by (name of candidate), (party affiliation), for (office sought)” or
• “Paid by (name of candidate), (party affiliation), for (office sought).”

Write-in candidates use parallel language that inserts “write-in candidate” in place of party affiliation.

Key nuances and related rules:

• Party affiliation: Required for partisan offices. If the candidate is running with no party affiliation, the ad must state that fact. For nonpartisan offices (Village of Indiantown elections are nonpartisan under its Charter), the candidate may not state political party affiliation in the disclaimer or the body of the advertisement. Partisan-related experience may still be mentioned.
• Incumbency language: Non-incumbents may not use the word “re-elect.” The advertisement must include the word “for” between the candidate’s name and the office sought so that incumbency is not implied. (This does not apply to bumper stickers or items designed to be worn.)
• Prominence: The disclaimer must be clear and conspicuous so a reasonable viewer can notice and read it. For typical yard signs, this usually means legible type size relative to the sign face (common practice is at least 10–12-point equivalent or larger depending on overall sign size, though the statute does not prescribe an exact point size for all printed materials).
• Other payers: Ads not paid for by the candidate (party, committee, or independent expenditure) have different required language and often require candidate pre-approval plus a statement of who paid and whether the candidate approved it. Independent expenditures must state they were paid independently of any candidate or committee and that no candidate approved the ad.

Exceptions to the Disclaimer Requirement

§ 106.143 does not apply to:

• Novelty items with a retail value of $10 or less that support (but do not oppose) a candidate or issue.
• Campaign messages or ads designed to be worn by a person (T-shirts, hats, buttons, etc.).
• Certain limited online/tech formats (short paid links, certain graphics, unpaid social profiles where the source is clear, etc.).

Yard signs, roadside signs, and most printed campaign signs are not exempt and must carry the disclaimer.

Additional State Rules Relevant to Signs

• Removal (§ 106.1435): Candidates must make a good-faith effort to remove their political campaign advertisements within 30 days after withdrawing, being eliminated, or being elected. Local governments may impose stricter timelines and can remove non-compliant signs and charge the candidate the actual cost. Signs on motor vehicles and wearable messages are generally exempt from this removal duty. Municipalities may adopt additional or more stringent usage/removal rules.
• Right-of-way: Political campaign advertisements may not be placed on or above state or county road rights-of-way (§ 106.1435 and Chapter 479). Local codes typically extend similar prohibitions to municipal rights-of-way, medians, utility poles, etc.
• Generative AI content (§ 106.145): If a political advertisement uses generative AI to depict a real person doing something that did not occur, and it was created with intent to injure a candidate or deceive about a ballot issue, an additional disclaimer is required: “Created in whole or in part with the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).” For printed materials this must be in bold font of at least 12 points. This is additive to the regular political-advertisement disclaimer.

Local Rules in the Village of Indiantown

Indiantown’s Land Development Regulations (LDRs, especially Sec. 3-4.15 on Signage) regulate the physical aspects of signs (size, height, location, permitting for many temporary signs, prohibited types, etc.) while expressly allowing noncommercial messages and treating them equivalently to commercial signs for regulatory purposes. Political/campaign signs fall under temporary or noncommercial sign rules.

Specific findings from available Village materials:

• No unique Indiantown-only disclaimer language appears in the LDRs; the state § 106.143 requirements control the content of the disclaimer itself.
• Size, placement, and permitting rules apply (check current Sec. 3-4.15 and any temporary-sign provisions for exact dimensional limits, setbacks, and whether a permit is needed for typical yard signs). Noncommercial signs may be substituted for otherwise permitted signs subject to the same size/type/conditions.
• Signs generally may not be placed in rights-of-way or on public property without authorization; private-property placement requires owner permission.
• Special-event or temporary signage has additional time and location limits.
• Martin County (unincorporated areas) historically limited political signs to a maximum of 16 square feet and required registration/agreements with growth management in some older provisions, but Indiantown, as an incorporated municipality, applies its own LDRs. Size/placement enforcement is handled by Village code compliance rather than the Supervisor of Elections (whose authority is mainly limited to the 150-foot no-solicitation zone around polling places under § 102.031).

Practical implications for Indiantown candidates:

• Always include the exact state-required disclaimer on yard signs, larger campaign signs, and most printed materials.
• For Village Council or other local nonpartisan races, omit party affiliation from the disclaimer.
• Confirm current dimensional and placement limits with the Village Planning/Community Development office (or review the latest LDR Sec. 3-4.15) before printing large quantities, because local code can affect enforceability of placement even if the disclaimer is correct.
• Remove signs promptly after the election (or earlier if required by local rules) to avoid removal fees or complaints.
• Complaints about missing or incorrect disclaimers go to the Florida Elections Commission; placement/size violations are typically handled by Village code enforcement.

Because local ordinances and handbook guidance can be updated, candidates should also consult the Martin County Supervisor of Elections office, the Florida Division of Elections candidate resources, and the Village of Indiantown planning/code staff for the most current application of these rules to a specific race. The state disclaimer language itself is statutory and must be followed exactly.