Clovis, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Changeable copy signs
- Prohibited citywide except as chapter allows
- Animated/flashing signs
- Prohibited; covers moving or scrolling displays
- Sole exception
- Approved time-and-temperature devices only
- Illumination cap
- 10 candlepower at 10 feet if allowed
- Governing section
- Municipal Code Section 9.34.070(A)(1), (B)(1)
Summary
Clovis bans digital billboards outright. Municipal Code Section 9.34.070 lists changeable copy signs and animated signs, defined to include blinking, flashing, flickering, moving text, and content that changes shape, as prohibited signs citywide. The only carve-out is an approved time-and-temperature display, so an LED or electronic reader board that scrolls advertising copy cannot be permitted anywhere in the city.
Signs having one or a combination of the following characteristics: ... Changeable copy signs. Signs designed to have changeable copy as a part or all of their copy, except as specifically provided by this chapter; ... Moving signs having one or a combination of the following characteristics: ... Animated signs. Animation (e.g., mechanical movement of parts of the sign, projections on or within the sign, or changes on the shape or content of the sign face), except that this is not intended to exclude "time and temperature" devices approved in compliance with this chapter. This shall include, but is not limited to, blinking, flashing, flickering, moving, moving textual messages, rotating signs, and frames which appear to rotate, except as allowed in this chapter;
Full Breakdown
The Signs chapter defines an 'electronic reader board sign' as one with a fixed or changing display composed of lights, and a 'billboard' as an off-premises advertising structure. Neither category appears among the sign types the City allows to be permitted. 070(B)(1) separately prohibits 'animated signs,' defined to include mechanical movement, projections onto the sign, or 'changes on the shape or content of the sign face,' expressly covering blinking, flashing, flickering, moving textual messages, and rotating displays. The only exemption from the animated-sign ban is a 'time and temperature' device approved under the chapter, the narrow use case the code anticipates for changing readouts, not a full-motion or scrolling advertising billboard.
060 covers digital or electronic message displays, an applicant cannot obtain a sign permit for a billboard-style LED display anywhere in Clovis, on-premises or off. 090(D) would still cap its brightness at ten candlepower measured ten feet from the sign's base.
Violations & Fines
A sign installed without a permit, including any electronic message or animated billboard display, is enforced by the City's Building Inspection Division and Code Enforcement as a Municipal Code violation. Under the citywide penalty schedule in Section 1.2.01, a first infraction draws a fine up to $100, escalating to $500 for a third violation within a year, or the City Attorney may pursue a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are digital billboards legal in Clovis?
Can a gas station use an electronic price sign?
What happens if someone puts up an illegal digital sign in Clovis?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clovis
California rules heatmap·Compare Clovis to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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