San Rafael, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Electronic message signs
- Prohibited citywide, narrow exceptions
- Billboards
- Prohibited outright, §14.19.080(D)
- City exception
- 48 sq ft community service signs only
- Enforcement
- Removal order; misdemeanor for noncompliance
Summary
San Rafael bans electronic message and animated signs citywide, including digital billboards, with narrow exceptions for time-temperature displays and city-installed multilingual community service signs; off-site billboard advertising is separately prohibited under the sign ordinance.
C.Animated and Moving Signs. Animated and moving signs include:1.Electronic message display, blinking, flashing, change in light intensity, or moving signs, except time and temperature signs and community service signs as permitted by Section 14.19.030.I.,2.Windblown devices such as balloons, inflatable objects, pennants, ribbons, streamers,3.Signs producing smoke, sound and other substances;D.Billboards and Similar Off-Site Advertising. Billboards and similar off-site advertising including temporary signs that are placed on or suspended from a vehicle but not including signs painted on or permanently affixed to the body of the vehicle;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 37).
Full Breakdown
San Rafael's sign ordinance (SRMC Title 14, Chapter 14.19) classifies any electronic message display, or a sign with blinking, flashing, or changing light intensity, as a prohibited 'animated and moving sign' under Section 14.19.080(C), with narrow carve-outs for time-and-temperature displays and city-owned multilingual community service signs. Section 14.19.080(D) separately bars billboards and other off-site advertising signs outright, citywide, regardless of illumination type. Digital billboards and LED message boards for private businesses are not permitted in any zoning district; a business wanting a changing-image sign must instead use a static sign face or seek a sign program exception under Chapter 14.19.
Violations & Fines
Prohibited sign is subject to a removal/abatement order from the community development director after written notice; failure to comply is a violation of Chapter 14.19, punishable under the city's code enforcement chapters (1.40-1.46).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business in San Rafael install a digital billboard or LED sign?
Are changeable copy signs allowed anywhere in San Rafael?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Rafael
California rules heatmap·Compare San Rafael to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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