Washington County, OR Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)

Section 414-8 of the Community Development Code, titled Prohibited Signs, opens with 'Signs or lights which:' and then lists six disqualifying characteristics. 6). G, which allows outdoor signs and digital billboards only in the General Commercial (GC) District, capped at 300 square feet per face, 25 feet in length and 12 feet in height, with minimum spacing of 500 feet from a freeway interchange and 1,000 feet between signs on the same side of a Limited Access highway. 5's outright prohibition on any sign oriented toward freeway traffic itself.

6 defines an 'Integral' sign, embedded or carved into a building facade, and states there 'are no restrictions on sign orientation including whether it is freeway-oriented' for that sign type, capped at 72 square feet per facade and externally illuminated only. Outside that carve-out, a business cannot erect a billboard, monument, or freestanding sign designed to be read by drivers on I-5, US-26, or any other freeway passing through unincorporated Washington County. All signs otherwise permitted still require a development permit processed through the county's Type I procedure under Section 414-9. This rule applies only in the unincorporated area; Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard and the county's other incorporated cities administer their own separate sign codes.