I was driving home today and saw something I’ve wondered about for awhile: a sign that read:
POSTED
No Trespassing
(some small print I couldn’t read from the car)
I’ve seen signs like this before. What’s up with the word “POSTED” on the sign? Isn’t it obvious that if it’s there nailed to a signpost or stuck to the side of a building, it’s posted? Is there some legal requirement that you have to add this?
Just curious.
It means they’re not fucking around.
The sign isn’t posted, the land is posted. It means it’s privately owned, so you can’t hunt, fish, or otherwise trespass there.
It sounds as if the words “no trespassing” are neither necessary nor sufficient, legally, but are instead just a translation into plain language of the legal term “Posted”. Is that correct?
Would a sign simply stating “POSTED” have the same legal significance? Or is there more than one variety of “posting” such that a more specific description is required?
OK, explain this one then!
I think “posted” is added to no trespassing signs for legal purposes. Such signs must be posted to be binding, and adding the word ensures there is no misunderstanding. (The signs, obviously, must be placed at conspicuous places and not, for example, under a rock.)
The latter, I believe.
As I recall, where/when I grew up (New Jersey in the sixties) the POSTED - NO HUNTING signs had to be no more than a specified distance apart (and it was a ridiculously small distance) or hunters could claim that they didn’t see one when they entered the property.
I agree, the word “notice” really doesn’t need to be there.
It means you can shoot it. Yee-haw!!!
The small print is generally a citing of the local ordinance under which the trespass is illegal. Posting the land eliminates any question of illegal trespass and defines the area.
Ah, okay, thanks. I had no idea that the “posted” referred to the land and didn’t just mean “Hey, I’m posting this sign.”
We were taught in a small rural grade school that the language had something to do with legalities. Too long, I cannot recall anymore about it.
Note that the posting can specify what forms of trespass are prohibited, as for example ‘POSTED / No Hunting or Fishing’ where people may use the land for nature walks, etc., but the owner does not want hunters or fishermen using his land.
A sign that used to be common around here read, “IF YOUR LAND IS POSTED, KEEP THE HELL OFF OF MINE”. (Caps included)
This is sort of it. “Legally posted” means the tract of land complies with the applicable requirements under the local trespass signage law.
For example, in Florida, “posted” land is:
Under normal circumstances, you cannot be prosecuted for trespass unless you refuse the property owner’s order to leave.
If land is posted, unauthorized entry becomes prima facie evidence that the intruder intended to trespass. In other words, you can be prosecuted simply for being on the land; the signage is notice that you do not have license to enter the property and substitutes for the property owner’s instruction.
In Missouri, and many other states, you no longer have to post signage. All you have to do is paint purple paint on trees or fence posts along the property edge.
Makes it harder for vandals to remove or deface the signs.
There’s a sign on a tract of land in my neighborhood. This tract has a driveway leading up to a hill. You cannot see what is on that land unless you trespass and go up the hill, but there’s a sign at the entrance: “No trespassing. Violaters will be shot.” (We have a very liberal “castle” law here.)
And spelling. 
