Sign Regulations in Union County, NC (2026)
5 rules for unincorporated Union County, North Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
In unincorporated Union County, temporary campaign and election signs are exempt from the sign permit requirement under UDO Section 50.030-K. Each individual sign may not exceed 32 square feet, and every sign must come down within 15 days after the election is decided or the vote concludes. The exemption sits inside Article 50's list of signs allowed without a permit, alongside real estate and construction signs, and applies only outside Union County's towns and their extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Union County, NC Political Sign Rules
Light RestrictionsUnion County Unified Development Ordinance § 50.030-K
Temporary campaign or election signs, provided that: 1. Individual signs may not exceed 32 square feet in area; and 2. All signs must be removed within 15 days following the elected or conclusion of the vote;
Garage Sale Signs
Union County has no separate garage-sale or yard-sale sign category. In unincorporated areas, a garage sale sign is regulated as a general temporary sign under UDO Section 50.030-P: one sign per lot, no larger than 4 square feet, displayed no more than 10 consecutive days and no more than 20 days total in a calendar year, all without a sign permit.
Union County, NC Garage Sale Sign Rule
Light RestrictionsUnion County Unified Development Ordinance § 50.030-P
Temporary signs not covered in §50.030-K, §50.030-L, §50.030-M, §50.030-N, or §50.030-O, so long as such temporary signs comply with the following restrictions: 1. Not more than one such sign may be located on any lot. 2. No such sign may exceed 4 square feet in surface area. 3. Such sign may not be displayed for longer than 10 consecutive days or more than 20 days in any calendar year.
Holiday Displays
In unincorporated Union County, temporary holiday light displays are fully exempt from the county's outdoor lighting standards, meaning no shielding, spillover cap, or zoning permit applies to seasonal decorative lighting.
Union County Holiday Light Display Exemption
Few RestrictionsUnion County Unified Development Ordinance § 55.130-A
Applicability and Exemptions The outdoor lighting regulations of this section apply to all outdoor lighting installed after the effective date specified in Section 1.030, except that they do not apply to any of the following: 1. Outdoor lighting on lots occupied by residential buildings containing fewer than 4 dwelling units; 2. Street lights on public or private streets; 3. Airport runway and ...
Digital Billboards
Electronic message centers, digital display signs and video signs are banned outright in unincorporated Union County. Section 50.020 of the Unified Development Ordinance lists them among the prohibited sign characteristics, alongside animated display boards, banners and propellers, with a narrow carve-out for non-commercial digital displays that only show the time, date or weather.
Union County Digital Billboard Sign Ban
Heavy RestrictionsUnion County Unified Development Ordinance § 50.020
Prohibited Signs and Sign Characteristics The following signs and sign characteristics are prohibited except as otherwise expressly stated: ... Signs that revolve or are animated or that utilize movement or apparent movement to attract attention of the public, including banners, streamers, animated display boards, electronic message centers, digital display signs, video signs, pennants, and pro...
Freeway-Facing Signs
In unincorporated Union County, off-premise signs, the freeway billboards along local highways, are allowed only in the HC (Highway Commercial) zoning district under UDO Section 50.060, and only on lots fronting Highway 74. A billboard must sit within 1,000 feet of a nonresidential building, stay at least 500 feet from an occupied dwelling it does not share ownership with, and keep 1,000 feet from any other billboard.
Union County, NC Highway Billboard Rule
Significant RestrictionsUnion County Unified Development Ordinance § 50.060
Off-premises signs are allowed only in the HC zoning district and only if and to the extent that such signs: 1. Comply with all applicable requirements of this ordinance; 2. Are located on lots with frontage on Highway 74; 3. Are located within a 1,000 foot radius of a principal building used for nonresidential purposes; and 4. Are not located within a 500-foot radius of an existing dwelling un...
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