Sign Regulations in Arapahoe County, CO (2026)
5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 2 cities in Arapahoe County, Colorado.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
Arapahoe County's Land Development Code treats political and campaign signs the same as any other temporary sign: no separate category or content review exists. On residential land, a temporary sign can stay up 90 consecutive days a year, capped at six square feet and four feet tall, with no permit required.
Arapahoe County Temporary Yard Sign Rules
Light RestrictionsArapahoe County Land Development Code § 4-1.7.C.6
Any temporary sign erected for a period not to exceed 90 consecutive days in a calendar year, that does not exceed six square feet in size and does not exceed four feet in height on any lot or property where the primary use is a single-, two-, or multi-family residential structure. These temporary signs shall not be required to meet the minimum yard setback requirements of the districts in whic...
Holiday Displays
Arapahoe County's Land Development Code bans exposed 'light bulb strings and exposed tubing', festoons, strings of bulbs, and neon or gaseous light tubing, as exterior lighting fixtures, but the same definition carves out temporary decorative holiday lighting. In unincorporated Arapahoe County, that means seasonal string-light displays on a house, yard or business are not swept into the prohibition that otherwise applies to permanent bulb-string or neon displays.
Arapahoe County Holiday Lighting Exemption
Light RestrictionsArapahoe County Land Development Code § 7-2, Definitions, "Light Bulb Strings and Exposed Tubing"
External displays, other than temporary decorative holiday lighting, which consist of light bulbs, festoons, or strings, and neon or gaseous light tubing, whether open or enclosed within transparent or translucent cabinets, are prohibited.
Digital Billboards
Billboards are banned outright in every zoning district of unincorporated Arapahoe County, and that ban extends to digital versions: the Land Development Code specifically bars Electronic Message Boards from being used as billboards. Smaller electronic message signs are allowed only on other permitted sign types in commercial and industrial districts.
Arapahoe County Digital Billboard & EMB Rules
Significant RestrictionsArapahoe County Land Development Code § 4-1.7.F.6
iii. No electronic message board may exceed a brightness level of 0.3 foot-candles above ambient light... iv. Electronic Message Boards are not permitted for Billboards. v. The area of a permitted sign face that may be an Electronic Message Board shall not exceed: 1. Up to 50 percent or each permitted sign face on a Freestanding Sign; and 2. Up to 25 percent of each permitted sign face on a Wal...
Window Signs
In unincorporated Arapahoe County, signs placed in or on a window or the glass part of a door don't need a sign permit, but all such signage together can't cover more than 25 percent of the glass surface it's mounted in or on, per the Land Development Code's sign regulations.
Arapahoe County Window Sign Coverage Limit
Light RestrictionsArapahoe County Land Development Code § 4-1.7.C.3
Any signs placed in or on a window or the glass portion of a door and intended to be visible from a public right-of-way or adjacent property, provided that such all such signage, measured together, do not exceed 25 percent of the glass surface on or in which it is located.
Freeway-Facing Signs
In unincorporated Arapahoe County, a freestanding sign facing an Arterial/Freeway frontage is capped at one sign per right-of-way access point on parcels under 10 acres, rising to two signs on parcels of 10 to 100 acres, under Land Development Code § 4-1.7.F.2. Every freestanding sign must sit at least five feet back from the road right-of-way and side or rear lot lines, and may only serve a non-residential use.
Freeway-Facing Sign Rules in Arapahoe County
Some RestrictionsArapahoe County Land Development Code § 4-1.7.F.2
i. Freestanding signs at access points to a public right-of-way shall be permitted for each lot or parcel, or for contiguous lots or parcels under common ownership or control, provided that the primary use of the property is institutional, commercial, or industrial, or a combination of such uses, as shown in the table below. ... ii. Permanent freestanding signs must be set back a minimum distan...
Sign Regulations by City in Arapahoe County
2 cities in Arapahoe County have their own sign regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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