Sign Regulations in Oconee County, SC (2026)
4 rules for unincorporated Oconee County, South Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
Oconee County requires an encroachment permit from the county road department for any sign left in a county road right-of-way for more than seven days, but it carves out signs already regulated by state or federal law, naming political signs specifically, so those signs do not need this county permit.
Political Signs on Oconee County Roads
Few RestrictionsOconee County Code § 26-7(f)(4)
(f)Road safety.(1)All persons shall park vehicles and equipment at least three feet from the edge of the driving surface on all roads. Parked vehicles and equipment shall not block ditches and swales or in any way inhibit drainage.(2)No person shall place any type of material within three feet of the driving surface.(3)No person shall place a sign on a road in the county that will restrict visi...
Digital Billboards
Oconee County's sign ordinance bans any new billboard, electronic or static, unless it fits one of four narrow exceptions. Sec. 32-520(a) authorizes only excepted billboards in the unincorporated county, so a digital billboard proposal must qualify as government-owned, pre-existing, under 33 square feet, or visible from Interstate 85 to be built at all, and any illuminated sign forfeits the small-sign permitting exemption.
Oconee County New Billboard Ban Includes Digital
Heavy RestrictionsOconee County Code § 32-520
(a)Only excepted billboards are authorized within the unincorporated area of the county. ... (c)Maximum sign area for any billboard is 672 square feet. ... (f)Billboards less than 33 square in size feet are exempt from permitting unless illuminated or exceeding seven feet in height and/or until the aggregate size of billboards is less than 33 square feet in size exceeds 33 square feet on a give...
Window Signs
In the zoned areas of unincorporated Oconee County, window signs need no sign permit at all under Chapter 38, Appendix A. Temporary signs get the same permit exemption but carry hard size caps: six square feet on a residential parcel, 32 square feet everywhere else, and removal within seven days after the event ends.
Window Signs Need No Permit in Oconee County
Light RestrictionsOconee County Code, Ch. 38, Appendix A(b)(2)
(2)Signs allowed without a permit. The following signs require no permit. These signs are subject to all requirements of this code regarding safety, maintenance, and repair.a.Temporary/portable signs:1.Shall be displayed only for the duration of time that they remain relevant to a specific event.2.Temporary signs shall be removed within seven days following the conclusion of the specific event ...
Freeway-Facing Signs
Oconee County bans new billboards countywide except for a short list of carve-outs, and visibility from Interstate 85 is one of them. Sec. 32-519 excepts a billboard erected so its message can be read from the traveled way of I-85, as the planning director determines, from the general prohibition Sec. 32-520 otherwise imposes on new billboards in the unincorporated county.
Oconee County I-85 Billboard Exception
Significant RestrictionsOconee County Code §§ 32-519, 32-520
Excepted billboard means a billboard falling within one of the following categories that are excepted from the county's general billboard prohibition: (1)A billboard which is visible from Interstate 85 and which is erected with the purpose of its message being read from the traveled way of Interstate 85, as determined by the planning director; ... (a)Only excepted billboards are authorized with...
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