Cass County, MO Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- General LED/flashing cap
- 12 sq ft per face, § 400.750(E)(3)
- Billboard flashing/moving light
- Banned unless approved in the Special Use Permit
- Billboard base rule
- Every billboard requires a Special Use Permit
- Traffic-signal-like signs
- Not permitted under any circumstance
- Time/temp exception
- Changes allowed no more than every 15 seconds
- Enforcement
- Zoning Officer, § 400.030(22), up to $1,000/day
Summary
Cass County caps electronic message and LED signs with moving or variable light at twelve square feet per face under Section 400.750(E)(3), and billboards specifically may not use any flashing, intermittent, or moving lighting at all unless the County's Special Use Permit for that billboard specifically allows it, per Section 400.800(C)(6)(b).
Flashing Signs. ... Signs on which the artificial light is variable or moving, such as light emitting diode signs with moving messages, or giving the impression of movement are limited to a maximum of twelve (12) sf on any single sign face. ... Billboards shall not include any flashing, intermittent, or moving lighting or lights, unless specifically accepted by the County in the Special Use Permit.
Full Breakdown
The Zoning Order treats digital or animated signage under two layered rules. 750(E)(3) defines a flashing sign broadly to include 'light emitting diode signs with moving messages, or giving the impression of movement' and caps any such sign 'to a maximum of twelve (12) sf on any single sign face,' regardless of zoning district. 750(E)(3)(b) carves out a narrow exception for time-and-temperature displays, which are not treated as flashing signs if the numerals change no more than once every fifteen seconds and nothing else on the sign changes.
800(B). 800(C)(7). Outside the billboard rule, any other business or identification sign that uses moving or variable LED lighting is capped at twelve square feet under the general flashing-sign rule.
Violations & Fines
An LED or flashing sign built over the twelve-square-foot cap, or a billboard lit with flashing or moving lights without Special Use Permit authorization, is a Zoning Order violation enforced under Section 400.030(22): the Zoning Officer issues written notice, the owner has 10 days to correct it, and an uncorrected violation can be referred to court, where a misdemeanor conviction carries fines up to $1,000 per day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put up a digital or LED sign in unincorporated Cass County?
Are digital billboards allowed along Cass County highways?
Are time-and-temperature signs treated as flashing signs?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cass County
Compare Cass County to another location·View the Missouri sign regulations overview
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