Carver County, MN Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Carver County Code § 154.23(D)
- Definition section
- § 154.04, CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN, ELECTRONIC
- Exception
- Time and temperature signs excluded
- Off-premise digital billboards
- Also banned under § 154.23(B)
- Manual copy changes
- Permit-exempt under § 154.11(A)
Summary
Carver County outlaws digital and electronic changeable-copy signs outright. Section 154.23(D) lists 'changeable copy signs' among the county's unauthorized signs, and Chapter 154 defines an electronic changeable copy sign broadly enough to cover LED reader boards, fiber-optic displays, and projected digital messages, so no digital billboard or LED sign may be erected in unincorporated Carver County.
CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN, ELECTRONIC. A sign or portion thereof that displays electronic, non-pictorial text information in which each alphanumeric character, graphic, or symbol is defined by a small number of matrix elements using different combinations of light emitting diodes (LED's), fiber optics, light bulbs or other illumination devices within the display area. CHANGEABLE COPY SIGNS, ELECTRONIC include computer programmable, microprocessor controlled electronic displays. CHANGEABLE COPY SIGNS, ELECTRONIC do not include time and temperature signs. CHANGEABLE COPY SIGNS, ELECTRONIC include projected images or messages with these characteristics onto buildings or other objects. ... The following signs are unauthorized signs: ... (D) Changeable copy signs.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-20: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 111-2025, passed 7-25-25).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 154's definitions section spells out exactly what is banned: a CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN, ELECTRONIC is defined as a sign or portion of a sign that displays electronic, non-pictorial text in which each character, graphic, or symbol is made up of a small number of matrix elements using LEDs, fiber optics, light bulbs, or other illumination devices, and the definition specifically reaches computer programmable, microprocessor controlled electronic displays as well as projected images or messages with these characteristics onto buildings or other objects. 23, UNAUTHORIZED SIGNS, then bans the category outright: subsection (D) simply lists 'Changeable copy signs' as unauthorized, with no size, brightness, or dimming carve-out.
The only carve-out in the definition itself is for time-and-temperature signs, which the code excludes from the changeable-copy category entirely. 23(B), the digital-billboard question is foreclosed twice over in unincorporated Carver County: an off-site advertising sign is unauthorized regardless of its display technology, and any changeable electronic display, whether on-premise or off, is unauthorized under (D). 11(A).
Violations & Fines
An electronic changeable-copy sign, including an LED reader board or digital billboard, is an unauthorized sign under § 154.23(D); the county can deny or revoke the sign permit, order the sign removed under § 154.14, and prosecute continued operation as a misdemeanor under § 154.15, with each day the sign remains a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a gas station in Carver County install a digital LED price sign?
Does the changeable-copy ban cover projected digital messages, not just LED panels?
Is there any way to have changing sign copy in Carver County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Carver County
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