Rialto, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- RMC 18.102.020(B)(6), 18.102.050(B)
- Flashing signs
- Prohibited citywide, all zones
- Sole exception
- Time-and-temperature signs
- Time/temp sign cap
- 12 sq ft / 8 ft height
- Enforcing agency
- Police chief / code enforcement
Summary
Rialto prohibits flashing signs citywide, defined as any sign illuminated by lights that are intermittently on and off, that change intensity, or that create the illusion of motion, with the sole exception of time-and-temperature displays.
6.Flashing Sign. Any sign which contains or is illuminated by lights which are intermittently on and off, which change intensity, or which create the illusion of motion in any manner... B.Prohibited Signs. All signs not expressly permitted are prohibited in all zones, including, but not limited to, the following:1.Roof signs;2.Flashing signs, except in time and temperature signs;3.Revolving signs;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 39).
Full Breakdown
020(B)(6) defines a 'flashing sign' as any sign which contains or is illuminated by lights which are intermittently on and off, which change intensity, or which create the illusion of motion in any manner. 050(B), the general prohibited-signs list for all zones citywide: flashing signs are banned outright, with a single carve-out for time-and-temperature signs. 050(A)(15), capped at twelve square feet in area or eight feet in height, and limited to displaying time and temperature only, not advertising. Because 'flashing' is defined broadly to include changing light intensity and the illusion of motion, the prohibition reaches electronic message displays and digital billboard-style screens that cycle content or brightness, not just traditional blinking bulbs.
060(J), capped at three hundred square feet per face and twenty-five feet in height, but even a permitted billboard in those zones remains subject to the citywide flashing-sign ban. 050(E), including summary abatement of illegal signs in the public right-of-way.
Violations & Fines
Displaying a flashing, intermittent, changing-intensity or illusion-of-motion sign anywhere in the city outside the narrow time-and-temperature exception violates Section 18.102.050(B) and is enforced as a zoning violation under the sign chapter's enforcement provisions in Section 18.102.050(E); illegal signs in the public right-of-way may be summarily abated and impounded pending payment of storage and removal charges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business in Rialto install a digital sign that changes brightness or scrolls?
Is there any exception to Rialto's flashing sign ban?
Where are billboards allowed in Rialto, and does the flashing ban still apply?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rialto
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