Wayne County, IN Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Wayne County's sign ordinance treats electronic and digital advertising signs as a distinct, more restricted category of off-premises advertising sign. Section 156.431(A) permits ordinary, non-electronic advertising signs in the A-1 Agriculture district and in C-2, C-3, M-1, and M-2 districts, with C-1 available only as a special exception under Sections 156.505 through 156.509. Section 156.431(B) then narrows electronic and digital advertising signs specifically to C-2 Community Business, C-3 General Business, M-1 Light Industrial, M-2 General Industrial, and M-3 Rural Industrial districts, again allowing C-1 only by special exception.

Setback requirements at Section 156.431(C) apply on top of the district limits: in the A-1 district, a sign next to an interstate or federal-aid primary route must sit 660 feet from the right-of-way, or 50 feet from the right-of-way if adjacent to any other road, and every A-1 sign structure must stand at least 20 feet from adjoining property lines. In Commercial and Industrial districts, the minimum setback from right-of-way and adjoining property lines must match whatever setback applies to a principal building in that district.

Section 156.431(D) adds spacing rules: no advertising sign may sit within 300 feet of a residence or residential district, within 500 feet of a park entrance, school, library, or church, or within 500 feet of another sign or an interchange along the interstate. Section 156.431(F) bars flashing, intermittent, or moving lights on any advertising sign, with a narrow exception for public-service displays of time, date, temperature, or weather. The Zoning Inspector enforces these limits under Section 156.555, and an unpermitted or noncompliant digital billboard is subject to the Section 156.999 penalty of $25 to $2,500 per violation, per day, with appeal rights to the Board of Zoning Appeals.