Sign Regulations in El Paso, TX (2026)
5 verified sign regulations for El Paso, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
Texas Election Code Chapter 259 broadly protects the right to display political signs on private property. El Paso's sign regulations under Title 20, Chapter 20.18 must conform to these state protections. HOAs are limited by Texas Election Code Section 259.002 and cannot prohibit political signs except within narrow time limits. Signs may generally be displayed from 90 days before an election through 10 days after. El Paso cannot restrict political signs on private property based on content under First Amendment protections.
El Paso Political Sign Rules & Display Periods
Few RestrictionsTex. Elec. Code § 259.002 (Regulation of Display of Political Signs by Property Owners' Association)
REGULATION OF DISPLAY OF POLITICAL SIGNS BY PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATION. (a) In this section, "property owners' association" has the meaning assigned by Section 202.001, Property Code. (b) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a property owners' association may not enforce or adopt a restrictive covenant that prohibits a property owner from displaying on the owner's property one or mor...
Garage Sale Signs
El Paso regulates temporary signs including garage sale signs under Title 20, Chapter 20.18 of the Municipal Code. Signs placed in the public right-of-way are prohibited and subject to removal. Garage sale signs on private property must comply with general temporary sign provisions. Signs may not be attached to utility poles, traffic signs, or city property. Directional signs for garage sales should be placed on the property where the sale occurs or with permission of adjacent property owners.
El Paso Garage Sale Sign Rules
Light RestrictionsTexas Transportation Code Sec. 394.001 (Rural Roads — Outdoor Sign Definitions)
Sec. 394.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:(1) "On-premise sign" means a freestanding sign identifying or advertising a business, person, or activity, and installed and maintained on the same premises as the business, person, or activity.(2) "Off-premise sign" means a sign displaying advertising that pertains to a business, person, organization, activity, event, place, service, or product n...
Holiday Displays
El Paso's Outdoor Lighting Code exempts seasonal decorations outright: strings of unshielded, low-wattage incandescent bulbs of fifteen watts or less don't count toward the chapter's lumen caps or shielding rules. The one catch is lasers and searchlights strung up for the holidays, which still need a temporary exemption permit from the building official.
El Paso Holiday Lighting Exemption Rules
Few RestrictionsEl Paso City Code §§ 18.18.060, 18.18.345 (Seasonal decorations)
"Seasonal decorations" means temporary outdoor light displays consisting of unshielded low-wattage incandescent lamps of fifteen watts or less. ... 18.18.345 - Seasonal decorations. Seasonal decorations are exempt from all requirements of this chapter. Except that laser source lights or searchlights used in conjunction with seasonal decorations shall require a temporary exemption permit issued ...
Digital Billboards
El Paso bans new billboards citywide and across its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Digital billboards, defined as CEVM signs using LED or electronic displays, are allowed only by permanently removing existing static billboards under the Chapter 20.18 sign ordinance. No permit issues for a brand-new structure.
El Paso Digital Billboard Rules. New Billboards Banned
Significant RestrictionsEl Paso City Code §§ 20.18.140(A), 20.18.200(A)
§ 20.18.140: "The following sign types are prohibited: A. New static or CEVM billboards except as provided herein." § 20.18.200.A: "no new billboards may be constructed, erected, installed or modified within the corporate limits of the city, or within its extraterritorial jurisdiction … except as authorized by this article."
Freeway-Facing Signs
New billboards facing Interstate Highway 10 face some of El Paso's tightest sign standards: in C-3, C-4, M-1, M-2, and M-3 zones along I-10, a static or digital billboard can rise no higher than sixty feet and display no more than 672 square feet, and must still clear a 350- to 500-foot setback from any residential district under City Code §§ 20.18.220 and 20.18.230.
El Paso Billboard Rules Along I-10
Significant RestrictionsEl Paso City Code §§ 20.18.220(A), 20.18.230(A)-(B)
A.In zoning districts C-3, C-4, M-1, M-2, and M-3 districts on Interstate Highway 10, new static and new-CEVM may have operational display faces up to six hundred seventy-two square feet in display area, with the new static or new-CEVM being no higher than sixty feet, excluding a cutout that extends above the rectangular border of the sign, measured: 1.From the grade level of the centerline of ...
Looking for El Paso County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement El Paso city rules.
Sign Regulations in El Paso County →