Sign Regulations in Midwest City, OK

Every city handles sign regulations a little differently. In Midwest City, Oklahoma, there are 5 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Holiday Displays

Midwest City's zoning code bans bare light bulbs over 15 watts and unshielded light strings citywide, but exempts temporary holiday lighting from that ban for up to 45 days each year.

Key details: Duration limit: 45 days per year. Underlying ban: bare bulbs over 15 watts. Section: Zoning Ordinance § 5.11.3(C)(2). Enforced by: Community Development Director.

Holiday lighting kept up past the 45-day window loses its exemption and falls under the code's general ban on bare bulbs over 15 watts and unshielded light strings, enforced by the Community Development Director.

Midwest City is more permissive than most cities when it comes to holiday displays. That said, there are still limits.

Garage Sale Signs

Midwest City requires garage-sale signs to come down within 24 hours after the sale ends and to stay at least 12 feet from the curb line, and only city-issued signs are allowed.

Key details: Removal deadline: 24 hours after sale ends. Curb setback: At least 12 feet from curb. Sign source: Only city-issued signs allowed. Permit fee: $10 includes 3 signs.

Leaving a sign up past the 24-hour deadline, placing one within 12 feet of the curb, or using a non-city-issued sign violates § 32-73; § 32-75 makes each violation date a separate offense.

Political Signs

Midwest City limits political signs to one per frontage per candidate or issue, requires removal within three days after the election, and caps size at 8 to 32 square feet.

Key details: Sign limit: 1 per frontage per candidate/issue. Removal deadline: 3 days after election day. Arterial setback: 12 feet from curb. Max size: 32 sq ft arterial / 8 sq ft nonarterial. Reclaim window: 10 days; $5 + $1 fees.

Noncompliant signs are removed by the city and held until after the election; owners owe a $5 per-sign removal fee plus a $1 per-sign storage fee to reclaim them within 10 days, or the signs are discarded as trash.

Freeway-Facing Signs

Freestanding signs in Midwest City are normally capped at 20 feet, but signs within 100 feet of the Interstate 40 right-of-way can get an unlimited height waiver from city council, limited only by the airport zoning ordinance.

Key details: Standard freestanding height cap: 20 feet above street level. I-40 waiver zone: within 100 feet of I-40 ROW. Height waiver application fee: $60 to city council. Highway Advertising Control Act cap: 1,000 sq ft per face. Violation penalty: $100–$200 fine per day.

Noncompliant signs draw a fine of $100 to $200 plus costs per offense, and each day a sign stays out of compliance counts as a separate offense under § 9-397.

Digital Billboards

Midwest City lets an existing billboard add a digital sign component without a new structural permit, so long as the sign's overall structural design isn't altered.

Key details: Digital retrofit: Allowed if structure unaltered. New billboard permit fee: $300 (§ 9-384(c)). Not a banned "flashing sign": Excluded under § 9-385(v)(3). Violation fine: $100-$200 per day.

Altering a billboard's overall structural design while adding digital components, or erecting a new digital billboard without the $300 permit, exposes the sign to nonconforming-sign removal and the article's $100-$200 per day fine under § 9-397.

The rules around digital billboards in Midwest City lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

The Bottom Line

Compared to many U.S. cities, Midwest City gives residents more room on sign regulations. 2 of the 5 rules here are rated permissive. But permissive does not mean unregulated. There are still requirements, and the city does enforce them when violations are reported.

Keep in mind that Midwest City can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.