Chino, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Off-site billboards
- Banned citywide
- Auto mall e-message cap
- 350 of 450 SF
- Minimum message hold
- 4 seconds, no motion
- Eligible sites
- Auto malls, 10+ acre parks, fairgrounds
Summary
Chino bans off-site billboards citywide, including digital ones, and allows electronic message boards only for specific large-scale uses like auto malls, big parks, and the fairgrounds, under strict no-motion rules.
Auto Malls/Centers — One pylon sign and electronic message board located contiguous to a freeway. 450 SF per sign face, with no more than 350 SF per sign face being devoted to an electronic message display. ... Electronic message board displays shall not contain any illumination that is in motion or appears to be in motion, or changes intensity, nor shall the display expose messages for less than 4 seconds or have intervals between messages of less than one second.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 38).
Full Breakdown
Section 16.05.050(A)(4)(f) of Chino's sign code prohibits off-site signs, the code's term for billboards, everywhere in the city except for directional signs and publicly owned electronic message boards. Table 16.05-1 then lists the narrow permitted electronic message board uses: auto malls/centers along a freeway (up to 350 SF of a 450 SF pylon sign), regional parks and civic sites of 10+ acres, and the fairgrounds. Each must hold a message at least 4 seconds, cannot flash, move, or change illumination intensity, and the auto-mall version must also comply with the Caltrans Outdoor Advertising Act. Adopted by Ord. 97-12, 1997; last amended by Ord. No. 2011-08, 2011.
Violations & Fines
Off-site or unauthorized digital billboards, and electronic message boards that flash, scroll faster than the 4-second minimum hold time, or exceed their use category's size cap, are illegal signs subject to removal under Chino Municipal Code § 16.04.040.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are digital billboards allowed in Chino?
How fast can an electronic sign change its message in Chino?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chino
California rules heatmap·Compare Chino to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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