Navajo County, AZ Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Zoning districts allowed
- C-R, IND-1, IND-2 only
- Interstate billboard max size
- 640 sq ft per side
- Non-interstate billboard max size
- 320 sq ft per side
- Spacing from other billboards
- 1,000 ft, same side of road
- Buffer from incorporated town limits
- 1/2 mile (post-Jan. 9, 2001)
- Governing section
- § 1706.1
Summary
Billboards facing I-40 or another state highway in unincorporated Navajo County must sit in a Commercial-Residential, IND-1, or IND-2 zone, carry an ADOT Highway Beautification Act permit where applicable, and keep required spacing from other billboards, all under Section 1706 of the county's own sign regulations.
Outdoor Advertising Signs (Billboards) are required to be permitted, regardless of whether the billboard will be located in an area regulated by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), pursuant to the Highway Beautification Act, A.R.S. § 28-7901 et. seq. 1. Billboards shall: a. Be located either: i. In the Commercial-Residential (C-R), IND-1 or IND-2 Zoning Districts along a highway which is part of the Interstate, Primary, or Secondary System, as evidenced by a permit issued by ADOT. ... b. Either: ... i. Meet the ADOT spacing requirements, if located along a highway that is part of the interstate system. ii. Be located at least one thousand feet (1000’) from any other billboard on the same side of the road and at least one-hundred feet (100’) from any freestanding on-premise sign, unless the sign is attached to the same supporting structure as the billboard.
Full Breakdown
§ 28-7901. 1(a), a billboard can only go up in the Commercial-Residential, IND-1, or IND-2 zoning districts, and only along a highway that is part of the Interstate, Primary, or Secondary System with an ADOT permit, or along a road the Board of Supervisors has designated a County Highway. 1(b) layers on spacing: along the interstate system the billboard must meet ADOT's own spacing rules, and everywhere else it must sit at least 1,000 feet from another billboard on the same side of the road and 100 feet from any freestanding on-premise sign.
Later items in the same list add a half-mile buffer from any incorporated town's limits for billboards approved after January 9, 2001, a 26-foot height cap above road grade, a 320-square-foot size cap per side (640 square feet if the billboard faces an Interstate highway), a 1,000-foot buffer from any park, and a 10-foot vertical clearance. Because Navajo County's incorporated towns, Holbrook, Winslow, Show Low, Snowflake, Taylor, and Pinetop-Lakeside, zone their own frontage, this county rule governs only the unincorporated stretches of I-40, US-60, and US-180 outside those town limits and outside the Navajo Nation, Hopi, and Fort Apache reservations.
Violations & Fines
A billboard that falls out of compliance faces revocation, not just a citation: the Director must deliver or mail the property owner a 30-day notice of noncompliance before recommending revocation to the Board of Supervisors, and if the violation isn't cured in that window, the billboard must come down within 30 days of the revocation taking effect, or the Director can pursue enforcement under Article 21 or Article 22.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I put up a billboard along I-40 in unincorporated Navajo County?
How close can two billboards be to each other?
What happens if a billboard doesn't meet the county's requirements?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Navajo County
Compare Navajo County to another location·View the Arizona sign regulations overview
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