Yuma, AZ Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)
Key Facts
- Holiday decorations
- Exempt from sign permit requirements
- Electrical permit
- Still required for illuminated displays
- Duration limit
- None stated, unlike 15-day banner cap
- Old Town rule
- Light bulb strings/bunting allowed only as holiday decor
- Enforcement
- Zoning Administrator and Building Official
Summary
Yuma's citywide sign code exempts holiday decorations outright from sign permit and design requirements, but that exemption does not excuse an illuminated display from needing an electrical permit or meeting applicable building code requirements.
(B) Exempt signage. The following types of sign installations shall be exempt from the requirements of this chapter: (1) Flags; (2) Government signs for street names, traffic control or other regulatory purpose of the government; (3) Holiday decorations; and (4) Signage located within the interior of any building or other enclosure, and not visible from any public right-of-way or adjoining property, provided, however, this provision shall not exempt such installations from the requirement for any electrical permit, such as an illuminated sign within an enclosed mall, any structural permit or other requirement of an applicable building code or other regulation adopted by the city.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-74: Current through May 20, 2026).
Full Breakdown
06(B) of the Yuma City Code lists sign installations exempt from the chapter's requirements, and holiday decorations are named outright at (B)(3), alongside flags, government regulatory signage, and interior signage not visible from the right-of-way. Because the exemption is unconditional, the citywide sign code sets no permit, coverage percentage, or removal deadline for holiday lighting the way it does for other temporary displays. 06(A)(7) caps at a maximum 15-day display period when identifying a special event: holiday decorations carry no comparable time limit. The exemption comes with one guardrail, though: subsection (B)(4)'s proviso, which by its terms extends to the exempt-signage list, makes clear that exemption from the sign chapter does not exempt an installation from the requirement for an electrical permit, such as for an illuminated display, or from any structural permit or other building code requirement.
03(C) goes further and specifically carves holiday decorations out of otherwise prohibited categories, allowing light bulb strings and pennants, streamers, and bunting only when used as holiday decorations, while banning them for other uses. 07.
Violations & Fines
Holiday decorations themselves face no permit violation since they are exempt from Chapter 154's sign requirements, but an illuminated holiday display installed without a required electrical permit, or in violation of applicable building code provisions, remains subject to enforcement and the class 1 misdemeanor penalty in Section 154-999: up to a $1,000 fine, up to 10 days in jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a sign permit for holiday lights in Yuma?
Is there a deadline to take down holiday lights in Yuma?
Do holiday lights still need any permit at all?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yuma
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