Sign Regulations in Johnston County, NC (2026)
5 rules for unincorporated Johnston County, North Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
Political signs in unincorporated Johnston County cannot go up more than 60 days before an election and must come down within seven days after it. Sec. 14-504(12) caps them at 48 square feet and eight feet tall, and bans them from rights-of-way, sight triangles, trees, and utility poles.
Johnston County Political Sign Rules
Light RestrictionsJohnston County Code § 14-504(12)
Political signs advertising candidates or issues, provided such signs are not erected prior to 60 days before the date of the appropriate election, and are removed within seven days after the election. Such political signs shall be mounted on poles and stakes and shall not be erected and located within any public right-of-way or within any sight distance triangle easement of intersections. Such...
Garage Sale Signs
Johnston County exempts yard and garage sale signs from a sign permit, but only within firm limits: four square feet per face, four feet tall if freestanding, and removed within seven days of the sale under Sec. 14-504(8) of the Land Development Code.
Johnston County Garage Sale Sign Rules
Light RestrictionsJohnston County Code § 14-504(8)
Yard or garage sale signs announcing yard or garage sales, provided such signs are removed within seven days of the sale. Such signs shall not exceed four square feet in area per display face or four feet in height if freestanding.
Digital Billboards
Johnston County bans changing-message billboards outright: any outdoor advertising sign along U.S. 70 or I-95 that is replaced or substantially repaired may not use rotating slats, a changing billboard face, or any other method that creates a movable message display. Land Development Code § 14-514(b)(9) sets the ban, enforced by the planning department alongside the county's outdoor-advertising permit process.
Johnston County Digital Billboard Ban
Heavy RestrictionsJohnston County Code § 14-514(b)(9)
Sec. 14-514. - Outdoor advertising signs. ... (b) Standards. All outdoor advertising signs replaced or substantially replaced or repaired to more than 50 percent of the sign's current assessed value shall meet the following provisions: ... (9) Signs shall not contain any changing billboards, rotating slats or other means of creating a movable message display.
Window Signs
In Johnston County's OI, GB, CB, I-1, I-2 and IHI zoning districts and shopping centers, window signs can't cover more than 25 percent of any single pane of glass. Signs may not project more than one inch off the glass, and LED lighting, changeable copy, flashing or motion are banned outright. Planning & Zoning enforces the standard under Land Development Code § 14-509(b)(3).
Johnston County Window Sign Coverage Limit
Some RestrictionsJohnston County Code § 14-509(b)(3)
(3) Window sign. Window signs shall comply with the following: a. Size. Within any given pane of glass, window signs shall cover no more than 25 percent of the glass area. b. Number. More than one window sign may be placed on, in front of, or behind any given pane of glass. c. Projection/clearance. No window sign may project more than one inch from any given pane of glass. d. Illumination. Wind...
Freeway-Facing Signs
Outdoor advertising signs in Johnston County are permitted only along U.S. 70, excluding the Clayton bypass segment, and Interstate 95 within the county's planning jurisdiction. They're barred entirely along I-40 and that U.S. 70 bypass section, and every qualifying sign needs both a county planning permit and a state DOT outdoor-advertising permit. Land Development Code § 14-514(a) sets the corridors.
Johnston County Freeway Billboard Corridors
Significant RestrictionsJohnston County Code § 14-514(a)
(a) Where permitted. Outdoor advertising signs are permitted only along U.S. 70 (except the Clayton bypass section of U.S. 70 from the Wake County line to the U.S. 70/U.S. 70 business split at Cole Road) and Interstate 95 in the county's planning jurisdiction, provided that: ... (2) No outdoor advertising sign shall be so located along, or visible from, Interstate 40 or the Clayton bypass secti...
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