Federal Way, WA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Billboards
- Banned outright, all zones (FWRC 19.140.085)
- Nonconforming exception
- Pre-existing legal billboards only
- EMC signs
- Exempt from the flashing-sign ban
- EMC threshold
- 8+ message changes/day = EMC sign
- Removal authority
- City removes prohibited signs, owner pays
Summary
Federal Way bans billboards outright in every zone under FWRC 19.140.085(2), except for signs already legally nonconforming under FWRC 19.140.092. An on-premise electronic changeable message sign, defined at FWRC 19.05 as a sign whose content changes through electronic programming, is not a billboard and is specifically exempted from the city's separate ban on flashing signs.
“Electronic changeable message sign” means an electronically activated sign whose message content, either whole or in part, may be changed by means of electronic programming. ... The following signs or displays are prohibited in all zones within the city. Prohibited signs are subject to removal by the city at the owner’s or user’s expense pursuant to FWRC 19.140.115: ... (2) Billboards, except as allowed under FWRC 19.140.092. ... (4) Flashing signs, except electronic changeable message signs or changeable copy signs.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-1049, passed August 11, 2026).
Full Breakdown
092, meaning it was lawfully in place before the current code applied and has not since been abandoned, destroyed beyond the code's rebuild threshold, or structurally altered. No new billboard permit is available in any zone. 05 as signs whose content is changed in whole or in part through electronic programming, are a different animal from a billboard under the code and are not banned. 085(4) expressly carves out electronic changeable message signs and changeable copy signs, so an on-premise sign that changes its message electronically does not violate the flashing-sign rule.
That distinction matters for the changeable-copy definition too: a sign whose message changes more than eight times a day is classified as an electronic changeable message sign rather than an ordinary changeable copy sign. 065 sign tables, they still have to fit within that use's overall maximum sign area and height limits, and internally illuminated signs are barred in some zone categories even where electronic changeable message signs remain allowed as a stated exception.
Violations & Fines
Installing a new billboard anywhere in Federal Way violates FWRC 19.140.085(2) unless it already qualifies as legally nonconforming under FWRC 19.140.092, and the city can order it removed at the owner's or user's expense under FWRC 19.140.115. Beyond removal, sign violations are treated as Title 19 zoning violations enforced through FWRC 1.15.040's notice-and-correct process, with penalties starting at $100 for a first violation and rising to $500 for continued or repeated violations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone put up a new billboard in Federal Way?
Is a digital sign at a business the same as a billboard in Federal Way?
What happens if a prohibited sign goes up anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Federal Way
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Digital Billboards in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle digital billboards.