Jefferson County, WI Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Sec. 22-703(b), the general provisions article for Chapter 22's sign code, lists absolute rules that apply to every sign in the county regardless of size or district: signs may not be designed to imitate or simulate a highway marker, signal, or traffic control sign; they may not obscure the vision of one of those devices; and, critically for digital displays, signs shall not have any flashing or rotating lights. Because a true digital or LED billboard depends on changing, scrolling, or animated images, this flat prohibition on flashing and rotating lights functions as the county's rule against that format, rather than a separate digital-sign ordinance.

Any billboard that is otherwise allowed still has to fit inside Sec. 22-704's advertising and billboard standards: a maximum sign area of 300 square feet, trim area capped at 25 percent of that, a 35-foot height limit measured from the adjacent highway's centerline grade, a 300-foot buffer from any intersection, and 300 feet of separation between sign faces, all limited to the B business and I industrial zoning districts. A sign permit from the zoning administrator is required before erecting any billboard, and Sec. 22-703(c)(3) doubles the fee if construction starts before the permit is obtained.