Sign Regulations in Owensboro, KY (2026)
6 verified sign regulations for Owensboro, Kentucky, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
Political signs get special treatment under the City of Owensboro's sign code. Appendix F Section 9-2 defines them as temporary on-premises signs supporting a candidate or ballot measure, and Sections 9-3(d)(1) and 9-5(f)(6) exempt them from the two-sign-per-lot cap and the 120-day display limit that apply to most other temporary signs.
Owensboro Political Sign Placement Rules
Light RestrictionsOwensboro Zoning Ordinance, Appendix F §§ 9-2, 9-3(d)(1), 9-5(f)(6)
Political sign means a temporary sign that contains a message supporting the candidacy for office or urging action on matters on the ballot of an upcoming election or referendum. For the purposes of this article, political signs shall be considered on-premises signs. ... 9-3(d)Sign Location on Property. Unless otherwise specifically provided, signs may be attached to buildings (building signs) ...
Garage Sale Signs
Owensboro Municipal Code Sec. 17-11 doesn't set a separate size or placement rule for the sign itself, but it caps the advertised garage sale it announces at three per residential area per calendar year and requires the sale to end within 48 hours of starting.
Owensboro caps garage sales at three per year
Some RestrictionsOwensboro Municipal Code § 17-11
Garage sales shall mean and include all sales entitled "garage sale," "yard sale," "lawn sale," "attic sale," "rummage sale," "flea market sale," or any similar casual sale of tangible personal property which is advertised by any means whereby the public-at-large is or can be made aware of said sale. ... (b)Limitations.(1)It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct more than three (3) garage...
Holiday Displays
Temporary holiday decorations and lighting displays are fully exempt from the City of Owensboro's sign regulations. Appendix F Section 9-1(b)(7) of the joint zoning ordinance excuses 'temporary traditional displays or decorations' tied to a holiday from every provision of the sign article, so no permit, size cap or duration limit applies the way it does to other temporary signs.
Owensboro Holiday Display Sign Exemption
Few RestrictionsOwensboro Zoning Ordinance, Appendix F §§ 9-1(b)(7), 9-3(b)(2)
9-1(b)Exempt signs. The following signs are outside the scope of this article and shall be exempt from all provisions of this article: ... (7)Temporary traditional displays or decorations, when such are clearly incidental to and customarily and commonly associated with any national, local or religious holiday, celebration or festival. ... 9-3(b)Signs Subject Only to Lighting Provisions. The fol...
Digital Billboards
A new digital or electronic off-premises billboard cannot go up anywhere within the City of Owensboro. Municipal Code Section 18-10 bans all new outdoor, commercial off-premises signs citywide, with no exception for electronic or changeable-copy technology, and directs the city to fine violators and remove any sign built in defiance of the ban.
Owensboro Bans New Digital Billboards
Heavy RestrictionsOwensboro Municipal Code § 18-10
Sec. 18-10. - New off-premises commercial billboards prohibited. ... (c)Off-Premises Commercial Signs; General Prohibition. From and after the effective date of the ordinance from which this section derives, all new outdoor, commercial off-premises signs are prohibited within the corporate limits of the city, and no sign permits shall be issued for outdoor, off-premises signs within the scope o...
Window Signs
Signs displayed inside a building's own windows are largely deregulated in the City of Owensboro. Appendix F Section 9-3(b)(5) of the joint zoning ordinance puts window signs outside the scope of the sign article, so no permit, size cap, or placement rule applies, and only the article's general lighting-shielding standard in Section 9-3(g) still reaches them.
Owensboro Window Sign Regulation Exemption
Light RestrictionsOwensboro Zoning Ordinance, Appendix F §§ 9-3(b)(5), 9-3(g)
9-3(b)Signs Subject Only to Lighting Provisions. The following signs are generally outside the scope of this article and therefore shall be required to comply only with the general provisions of this article relating to lighting: ... (5)Signs and other displays located inside a building window and intended to communicate a message or to attract the attention of people moving about public rights...
Freeway-Facing Signs
In the City of Owensboro, a shopping center on at least 15 contiguous acres zoned B-3 or B-4 may erect one freestanding consolidated sign per street frontage along a freeway, arterial or collector, up to 672 square feet per face and 80 feet tall under Zoning Ordinance Section 9-5(g).
Owensboro Freeway-Facing Shopping Center Signs
Some RestrictionsOwensboro Zoning Ordinance, Appendix F § 9-5(g)
9-5(g)Consolidated Shopping Center Signs Shall Be Permitted In General Business and Highway Business Zones subject to the following provisions for signs in this category.(1)Any retail shopping center with combined retail space zoned B-3 Highway Business or B-4 General Business containing a minimum of fifteen (15) contiguous acres shall be allowed one freestanding consolidated shopping center si...
Looking for Daviess County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Owensboro city rules.
Sign Regulations in Daviess County →