Porterville, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Porterville's sign chapter draws a sharp line between off-site advertising and on-site digital displays. Section 305.06(A) bans billboards outright: any sign advertising a business, service or product not offered on the same property is prohibited, and the code extends that ban to a sign promoting a brand name that is not a principal item sold on the premises, closing the loophole of a disguised billboard dressed up as a brand sign. The only carve-out is a sign specifically allowed under the California Outdoor Advertising Act, Business and Professions Code Sections 5200 through 5486, a state licensing scheme for highway advertising the city cannot override.

On-site digital signage is a separate question. Section 305.07(C), Changeable Copy, permits copy that can be changed or altered electrically, electro-mechanically, electronically or by any other artificial energy means, an electronic message center sign, to cover up to one hundred percent of a manually changeable sign face. General standards apply to every sign, illuminated or not: Section 305.07(G) requires external illumination to be shielded so it does not glare onto the street or neighboring property, and bare bulbs visible from the right-of-way are prohibited outright.

A separate exemption in Section 305.05(J) lets electronic reader boards run at public, charitable or religious institutions without a permit, so long as they skip animation or flashing and hold each message for at least three seconds. All of these standards were adopted by Ordinance 1918 on October 7, 2025.