Sign Regulations in Cary, NC (2026)
4 verified sign regulations for Cary, North Carolina, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
Cary bans all signs, including political signs, from town-maintained street rights-of-way; a political sign left there is deemed abandoned under state law and anyone may remove it without penalty.
Cary Political Signs in the Right-of-Way
Significant RestrictionsCary Code of Ordinances § 28-12
No sign may be placed within the right of way of any street located within the corporate limits of the Town of Cary and maintained by the Town of Cary unless expressly permitted by the Town of Cary Land Development Ordinance. Enforcement of this prohibition by the Town may be made through either the Land Development Ordinance or this section. If enforced pursuant to this section 28-12, the f...
Holiday Displays
Cary's Land Development Ordinance excludes holiday and seasonal decorations, including inflatable displays, from sign permitting as long as they carry no advertising.
Cary Holiday Inflatable Display Rules
Few RestrictionsCary Land Development Ordinance § 12.4
SIGN. Any device, fixture, placard or structure, that uses any color, form, graphic, illumination, symbol, or writing to advertise, attract attention, announce the purpose of, or identify the purpose of a person or entity, or to communicate information of any kind to the public. The following shall not be considered signs subject to the regulations of Chapter 9 of this Ordinance: artwork, cemet...
Digital Billboards
The Town of Cary bans off-site billboards, pole signs, and every digital or electronic message sign outright: the billboard ban even carries its own severability clause so it survives if other parts of the sign code are struck down.
Cary, NC Bans Digital Billboards
Heavy RestrictionsCary Land Development Ordinance § 9.1.4(C)
The following signs are specifically prohibited, unless specified otherwise in this Chapter: ... (9) Off site signs, billboards, and pole signs. ... (19) Electronic changeable message signs. (20) Digital signs. (21) Intermittent signs. (22) Flashing signs.
Window Signs
The Town of Cary caps window signs at 25 percent of each window pane's glass area on both business and residential property, with no separate illumination and no permit required.
Cary, NC Window Sign Coverage Limit
Some RestrictionsCary Land Development Ordinance § 9.2.5(O)
Signs shall be allowed on the inside or outside of window glass provided that they cover no more than twenty-five (25) percent of the glass area of each individual window pane and they are not separately illuminated. Signs permanently affixed to the external side of windows shall be a medium or premium grade vinyl, digital image using solvent coloring, or other similar type material and shall b...
Looking for Wake County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Cary city rules.
Sign Regulations in Wake County →