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Glenn County, CA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Governing section
Glenn County Code § 15.62.070
Permit required
Conditional use permit
Allowed zones
RZ, AE, AP, M only
Directional sign cap on highways
2 per business per highway
State filing required
Outdoor Advertising Act zoning compliance certificate

Summary

An off-premises advertising structure, the kind of freeway-facing billboard that promotes a business not located on the sign's own parcel, needs a conditional use permit in unincorporated Glenn County and is only allowed at all in the RZ, AE, AP and M zones under Code Section 15.62.070. Outside those four zoning districts, no off-premises billboard is permitted.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Glenn County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

Off-premises advertising structures may be permitted in the RZ, AE, AP C, and M zones only if a conditional use permit has first been secured.

Full Breakdown

070 confines off-premises advertising structures, meaning billboards advertising a business or product not sold on the site where the sign stands, to four zoning districts: the Recreation Zone (RZ), the Exclusive Agricultural Zone (AE), the Agricultural Preserve Zone (AP) and the Industrial Zone (M), the districts most likely to run along Glenn County's rural highway corridors. 020 requires the property owner's written consent filed with the planning authority and, for any use already requiring a use permit, planning commission review. 050's directional-sign rules cap the number of roadside signs a single business may place along a county select-arterial road or state highway at two, reflecting the same concern about clutter along heavily traveled corridors that drives the off-premises structure limit.

Applicants must also file for a certificate of zoning compliance required under California's Outdoor Advertising Act once a sign is installed, and submit a photograph of the completed sign to the planning authority. 080, which requires signs tied to a discontinued use for more than six months to be removed or painted out.

Violations & Fines

Erecting an off-premises advertising structure, including a freeway-facing billboard, without first securing a conditional use permit, or placing one outside the RZ, AE, AP or M zones, violates Section 15.62.070 and is enforced like any other code violation: an infraction on first offense, escalating to a misdemeanor with up to a $5,000 fine or a year in county jail for a third violation of the same rule within 12 months under Sections 1.12.010 and 1.13.010.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a billboard advertising an off-site business go up along a Glenn County highway?
Only with a conditional use permit and only in the Recreation, Exclusive Agricultural, Agricultural Preserve or Industrial zones under Section 15.62.070. Placing an off-premises advertising structure anywhere else in the unincorporated county is not permitted.
Does a Glenn County billboard permit require any state paperwork?
Yes. After installation, Section 15.62.050 requires the applicant to obtain a certificate of zoning compliance under California's Outdoor Advertising Act from the planning authority, along with a photograph of the completed sign for the county's files.
Can an approved highway billboard in Glenn County have a digital or flashing face?
No. Section 15.62.040 bans flashing, rotating and animated sign components countywide, and that ban applies to off-premises advertising structures approved under Section 15.62.070 just as it does to any other sign in the county.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Glenn County

All Glenn County rules

California rules heatmap·Compare Glenn County to another location·View the California sign regulations overview

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