Sign Regulations in King County, WA (2026)

3 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 7 cities in King County, Washington.

Verified from official government sources

Note: These county rules apply to unincorporated areas of King County. If you live within an incorporated city, that city's own rules apply: see the city list below.

Political Signs

Political signs on private property need the owner's written consent, and unincorporated King County requires them removed within ten days after the election under County Code chapter 12.74.

King County Political Sign Removal Deadline

Some Restrictions

King County Code § 12.74.020

Any such sign, poster or bill shall be removed within ten days following election. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to have the signs, posters or bills removed. (Ord. 915 § 2, 1971).

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Digital Billboards

Unincorporated King County limits electronic changing-message signs to commercial and industrial zones and freezes the total count of billboard faces at 1988 levels, so a new digital billboard generally requires replacing an existing one.

King County Digital Billboard Rules

Significant Restrictions

King County Code § 21A.20.060(D)

Changing message center signs, and time and temperature signs, which can be a wall or freestanding sign, shall not exceed the size permitted for a wall or freestanding sign. Changing message center signs shall be permitted for all uses only in the NB, CB, RB, O and I zones and only for elementary, middle, junior, secondary and high schools and colleges and universities in the RA zone. Changin...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Freeway-Facing Signs

In unincorporated King County, billboards facing traffic corridors may only sit on CB, RB, or I zoned land, must be within 100 feet of the adjacent arterial, and are capped at five faces per direction of travel within a mile.

King County Billboard Placement Near Highways

Some Restrictions

King County Code § 21A.20.130

A. All billboard alterations or relocations shall comply with the following location and design standards: 1. Billboards shall only be located on sites zoned CB, RB or I; 2. No more than five billboard faces shall be oriented toward and visible from the same direction of travel within one mile of the proposed relocation site as measured along the adjacent roadway...7. No billboard shall be loca...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗