Shasta County, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Code Section 17.84.064(B)
- Rule
- Changeable-copy signs prohibited countywide
- Covers
- Electronic message boards, TV/projector screens
- Also covers
- Electronic time and temperature units
- Cure available
- None; prohibited, not permit-eligible
Summary
Shasta County bans changeable-copy signs outright, a category that expressly includes electronic message boards, large television or projector screens used as signage, and electronic time-and-temperature displays. Any sign whose copy changes within a 24-hour period by lamp bank or mechanical means is prohibited countywide.
B.Changeable Copy Signs. Signs on which the copy changes during any twenty-four hour period using but not limited to, a lamp bank, or through mechanical means. This includes but is not limited to electronic message boards, large television or projector screens, and electrical or electronic time and temperature units.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code: Supplement 22).
Full Breakdown
064 lists prohibited signs and sign materials that cannot be permitted anywhere in the unincorporated county. " That sweeps in digital billboards and LED message centers regardless of zone district, alongside other prohibited categories in the same section: animated signs with moving, rotating or flashing components (subsection A), signs simulating traffic signals or using words like "STOP" or "DANGER" (subsection C), any illuminated freestanding sign within 50 feet of a residential district (subsection H), and roof signs in any zone (subsection K). 065's table, not banned. 062(B)(6)), but that exemption does not reach general-purpose electronic message boards or digital billboard displays.
Violations & Fines
Installing or operating a changeable-copy sign, including an electronic message board or digital display, without conforming to Section 17.84.064 is treated as an illegal sign under the county's sign permitting scheme; since it is a prohibited sign type rather than merely an unpermitted one, no use permit can cure it and the county's code enforcement process requires removal, with continued operation exposing the owner to citation as a zoning violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business install a digital LED sign in unincorporated Shasta County?
Is there any zone in Shasta County where digital billboards are allowed?
Are gas station price signs with rotating digits allowed under this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Shasta County
California rules heatmap·Compare Shasta County to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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