Salt Lake County, UT Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Electronic billboard displays
- only adjacent to interstate freeway system
- Copy face changes
- limited to 1 per 24 hours
- Required structure
- mono-pole or bi-pole design
- Illumination elsewhere
- external only, confined to sign face
- Two-decked billboards
- prohibited in all zones
- Governing law
- Salt Lake County Code §19.82.185.I
Summary
Off-premises billboards in unincorporated Salt Lake County may only carry electronic message centers, outdoor video displays or internal illumination if they sit adjacent to the interstate freeway system, and even then the copy face can change no more than once every twenty-four hours. Every off-premises sign must use a mono-pole or bi-pole structure with a dark-painted back, per County Code §19.82.185.I.
Design. Off-premises signs shall utilize either the "mono-pole" or the "bi-pole" design and shall be continually maintained structurally and on the copy face. The back of the sign and the structure behind the sign shall be painted a dark color. Tri-vision sign faces shall be permitted and, if illuminated, must be externally illuminated. Internally illuminated off-premises signs, electronic display (outdoor video advertising) and electronic message centers are only allowed adjacent to the interstate freeway system and limited to no more than one change to the copy face in a twenty-four hour period. Two-decked off-premises signs are prohibited in all zones.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 49).
Full Breakdown
185, which applies only in the unincorporated county and its established townships, places like Magna, Kearns, White City, Copperton and Emigration Canyon, rather than Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Sandy or the other incorporated cities in the valley, each of which writes its own sign code. C). Subsection I sets the design standard: a billboard must be built as either a "mono-pole" or "bi-pole" structure, kept in continual repair on both the frame and the copy face, and painted a dark color on the back and support structure.
Tri-vision (rotating slat) faces are permitted, but if lit they must use external illumination only. Internally illuminated billboards, outdoor video advertising and electronic message centers are the exception: the code allows them only when the sign sits adjacent to the interstate freeway system, and even there the copy face may change no more than once in any twenty-four-hour period. Two-decked off-premises signs are banned in every zone. J).
Violations & Fines
Sign violations fall under Title 19's general zoning enforcement, Chapter 19.94. The county issues a written notice of violation with a 28-day warning period; if uncorrected, a second notice starts civil penalties running on a per-day fine schedule. Any Title 19 violation, including an unauthorized electronic billboard face, is also punishable as a Class C misdemeanor under §19.94.040(A), enforceable by injunction or abatement in addition to fines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a billboard in Salt Lake County have a digital display?
What structure must an off-premises billboard use?
Does this rule apply inside Salt Lake City or West Valley City?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salt Lake County
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