Sign Regulations in Memphis, TN (2026)
6 verified sign regulations for Memphis, Tennessee, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
The joint Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code lets any temporary sign carry a lawful noncommercial message, including a political or election message, without a commercial-sign permit. Once an election or special event ends, section 4.9.9.B.5 requires the sign to come down within seven days, on top of the normal district size and setback limits.
Memphis Election Sign 7-Day Removal Rule
Some RestrictionsMemphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code §§ 4.9.9.B.5, 4.9.10
Any such sign may contain any message other than a commercial message. If a message relates to an election or special event, such sign shall be removed within seven (7) days following the conclusion of such election or other event. Noncommercial Messages Always Permitted Any sign allowed under this Chapter may contain, in lieu of any other message or copy, any lawful noncommercial message that...
Garage Sale Signs
The joint Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code treats a garage-sale sign as a temporary residential sign. In most single-family districts it must be 5 feet tall and 7 square feet or smaller, sit back 10 feet from the right-of-way and 15 feet from any other lot line, and come down within 24 hours after the sale ends.
Memphis Garage Sale Sign Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsMemphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code § 4.9.9.B.4-5
4. Limitations on Commercial Messages All such signs may bear any message that is not a commercial message. The only commercial messages permitted on such signs are messages related to commercial activity lawfully conducted on the premises, including the lawful, occasional sale of personal property (such as through a garage sale, yard sale, estate sale or auction) or the sale, rental or lease o...
Holiday Displays
Temporary holiday lights and decorations don't need a sign permit anywhere in Memphis, under the joint Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code. The exemption covers displays that celebrate a single holiday or season and carry no commercial message. Plug in lights on a house or storefront and you're covered for the electrical work alone; add a business logo or ad copy and the display becomes a regulated sign that needs a standard permit.
Memphis Holiday Sign Permit Exemption
Light RestrictionsMemphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code § 4.9.2.D(5)
The following signs or sign-like devices are allowed in all zoning districts without a sign permit and are not to be included in determination of the allowable numbers, type and area of a sign that requires a sign permit. If a sign otherwise falling under this Paragraph is electrified, it will require an electrical permit. ... 5. Temporary holiday decorations used to celebrate a single holiday ...
Digital Billboards
Within the Central Business Improvement District, Memphis flatly bans changeable-copy ground signs of any type, including digital cabinets on pole signs and portable electronic readerboards. The ban sits inside the district's ground-sign standards, which also cap pole and monument sign height and size.
Memphis Bans Digital Changeable Ground Signs
Heavy RestrictionsMemphis Code of Ordinances § 12-36-6.G.3
G. Ground signs... Any activity that is set back from the street or public right-of-way by at least 35 feet may display one ground sign within the allowable size limits set forth below: 1. Pole signs shall be no taller than 20 feet... The size of the sign cabinet on top of the pole shall not exceed 45 square feet. 2. Monument signs shall not exceed 35 square feet... 3. Changeable copy signs of ...
Window Signs
In Memphis's Central Business Improvement District, permanent window signs can cover no more than 25 percent of the window they're on, and temporary window signs are capped at 15 percent. The limits sit inside the district's broader sign-design standards for storefronts.
Memphis Caps Downtown Window Sign Coverage
Some RestrictionsMemphis Code of Ordinances § 12-36-6.M
M. Window signs. Permanent window signs shall be affixed to the window and limited to 25 percent of the total area of the window in which they are displayed. Temporary window signs shall be limited to 15 percent of the total window area.
Freeway-Facing Signs
Billboards facing Interstate 40, 55 or 240 in Memphis are capped at 672 square feet and can only go up in Commercial Mixed Use-3, Central Business, Employment or Heavy Industrial zones within 300 feet of the interstate. The Unified Development Code spaces them at least 1,000 feet apart along the same road, doubling to 2,000 feet where more than 11 percent of the face is digital changeable copy, and measures height from the interstate's own roadway grade, not the frontage street.
Memphis Freeway Billboard Standards
Some RestrictionsMemphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code § 4.9.8.A, B, D, E
A. Where Permitted Permanent, off-premise signs are declared to be a principal use of the property on which they are located and are therefore allowed on sites which are legal lots ... and are: 1. Located in the Commercial Mixed Use-3 (CMU-3), Central Business District (CBD), Employment (EMP), or Heavy Industrial (IH) zoning district; 2. Located within 300 feet of an U.S. Interstate highway... ...
Looking for Shelby County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Memphis city rules.
Sign Regulations in Shelby County →