Sign Regulations in Pitt County, NC (2026)
4 rules for unincorporated Pitt County, North Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
Temporary political signs are excluded from the definition of 'outdoor advertising sign' in Pitt County Planning & Development Services Ordinance No. 7, so they are not subject to the permits, fees, size and height limits, or setbacks that Section 8 through Section 28 impose on billboards in the unincorporated county outside any municipality's corporate or extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Political Signs Are Exempt From Pitt County's Sign Ordinance
Few RestrictionsPitt County Planning & Development Services Ordinance No. 7 (Outdoor Advertising Signs), § 1, Definitions (Ord. of 5-2-88, § 12.0)
Such signs are also known as billboards or off-premises signs. On-premises business identification signs, temporary political signs, directional signs twenty (20) square feet or less in size, official signs, or highway and historic markers shall not be considered outdoor advertising signs.
Garage Sale Signs
Pitt County exempts a temporary sign, the category covering yard sales, farm auctions and similar events, from permit and fee requirements under Sign Ordinance Section 9(C), but only if it goes up no more than 30 days before the event and comes down within 10 days after, capped at 100 square feet and 8 feet tall.
Pitt County Yard Sale Sign Placement Limits
Light RestrictionsPitt County Zoning Ordinance § 9(C)(1)(i) (Exempt Signs, Temporary Signs)
i. Temporary signs shall not be placed more than 30 days prior to the event, election or grand opening and must be removed within 10 days following the event, election or grand opening. Such signs are limited to 100 square feet in area and 8 feet maximum height.
Digital Billboards
Pitt County's Sign Ordinance carves electronically controlled message signs, the county's term for digital displays, out of its flashing-sign ban, but only if the message holds still for at least two seconds and never runs continuously in travel mode; a sign that does either of those is reclassified as a prohibited flashing sign under Section 9.
Pitt County Digital and Electronic Sign Rules
Some RestrictionsPitt County Zoning Ordinance § 9(A)(1)(i)-(j) (Sign Definitions)
i. Electronically Controlled Message Sign: A sign on which the copy changes automatically on a lampbank, such that the message or display does not run continuously in the travel mode, and any message or display remains stationary for a minimum of two seconds. Any sign on which the message or display runs continuously in the travel mode and/or on which any message or display does not remain stat...
Freeway-Facing Signs
Pitt County's Outdoor Advertising Sign Ordinance flatly prohibits outdoor advertising signs, commonly called billboards, on freeways in the unincorporated county, while permitting them with size, height, spacing and setback limits along other highways within 1,000 feet of the right-of-way. The County Building Inspections Department administers the permit and enforcement process under Planning & Development Services Ordinance No. 7.
Pitt County Bans Billboards Along Freeways
Heavy RestrictionsPitt County Planning & Development Services Ordinance No. 7 (Outdoor Advertising Signs), § 22, Location (Ord. of 5-2-88, § 5.1)
Section 22. Location A. Freeways: Outdoor advertising signs are prohibited. B. All other highways: 1. Non-intersection locations: Outdoor advertising signs may be placed along the same side of the road within five hundred (500) feet of each side of any commercial or industrial activity, as defined in Section 1, which has both frontage direct and access to the highway.
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