Maricopa, AZ Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Billboards
- prohibited citywide
- Minimum message hold time
- 30 seconds static
- Animation/flashing/video
- not allowed
- Max illumination at property line
- 0.5 foot-candles
Summary
Maricopa bans billboards outright citywide, but permits electric digital signs elsewhere under strict technical limits: messages must hold static for at least 30 seconds, no animation, flashing, or video, and illumination is capped at 0.5 foot-candles at the property line.
A. Prohibited Signs. Any sign not specifically listed as permitted by this chapter is prohibited, including but not limited to the following: 1. Billboards... O. Electrical Signs. Where permitted, all electric digital signs shall comply with the following requirements: 1. Each message displayed on an electronic sign must be static or depicted for a minimum of 30 seconds... 3. Electronic signs may not contain animation or any flashing of lights, moving lights, or any type of video. 4. Lighting from the sign must not exceed an intensity of 0.5 foot-candles of light at the property line.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-10, passed April 21, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Maricopa City Code section 18.115.050(A)(1) bans billboards outright, city-wide, listing them first among signs prohibited because they are not on the chapter permitted-sign list. Away from that ban, electric digital signs are allowed but tightly engineered under section 18.115.070(O): each message must hold static for at least 30 seconds, text must read brighter than its background, no animation, flashing, moving lights, or video is permitted, and light intensity is capped at 0.5 foot-candles measured at the property line. An electric permit is required for every exterior electronic sign, and a zoning permit covers the sign itself unless exempt under section 18.115.040.
Violations & Fines
Code enforcement can order removal of a prohibited billboard or a noncompliant digital sign; the zoning administrator may deny or revoke a sign permit for violations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put up a digital billboard in Maricopa?
Are digital signs allowed at all in Maricopa?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Maricopa
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