Sign Regulations in Iowa (2026)

Iowa Code 68A.405 and 68A.406 set uniform statewide rules for political sign attribution statements, placement, and…

Ames, Iowa has no separate ordinance for political or campaign signs: they are regulated as temporary and/or portable…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, temporary political campaign signs may go up no more than 12 months before an election and…

Political signs in the City of Dubuque are capped at thirty-two (32) square feet and exempt from the sign permit…

Sioux City caps election signs at 16 to 32 square feet cumulative depending on the district, bars them within 300 feet…

Polk County lets temporary political signs go up without a sign permit, but only starting 70 days before the election…

Black Hawk County, Iowa's zoning sign chapter exempts political signs on private property from the county's own permit…

Davenport treats political and campaign signs as noncommercial-message signs, allowed in every zoning district with no…

Cities and the county regulate signs through zoning codes, not a countywide rule. Since Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015)…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, every sign needs a building-official permit before it goes up, except one category…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, garage sale signs may go up for no more than three days per sale under § 195.03(12), stay…

A Davenport garage sale may post one non-illuminated sign, no larger than four square feet, on the sale property. It…

Unincorporated Linn County treats garage sale signs as temporary signs: 32 square feet max, under 12 feet tall, and…

The Zoning Ordinance has no garage-sale-sign-specific rule. Small temporary/portable signs are treated as portable…

Unincorporated Black Hawk County, Iowa exempts 'For Sale' and 'garage sale' signs under six square feet from its zoning…

Cedar Rapids restricts signs advertising a Garage, Yard, or Estate Sale to the seller's own parcel: Cedar Rapids…

Sioux City lets individual garage sales run without a permit, but sale signage still can't be placed in the public…

Holiday light displays and decorations count as "decorative signs" under Sioux City's zoning code and don't need a sign…

Davenport allows holiday decorations on private property freely: the zoning sign code specifically exempts temporary…

West Des Moines does not allow digital or electronic billboards. City Code section 9-18-15(D)(7)(h) states flatly that…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, digital billboard displays, called Digital Displays in the Ames Municipal Code, are confined…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, new off-premises advertising billboards are banned outright under § 195.07(5)(A). An…

Sioux City requires digital billboards sit at least 500 feet from residential and sensitive uses, bars animation, and…

In the City of Dubuque, electronic message signs may not show scrolling video or multiple screens on one sign face, and…

Linn County permits digital billboards in HC, GC and I districts, but requires each message to hold for at least one…

Polk County allows LED electronic displays on off-site billboards, but only under the standards of Iowa Administrative…

Waterloo has no ordinance written for digital billboards by name, but City Code § 9-6B-11 governs the electric and…

In the City of Dubuque, window signs fall under the sign code's exempt-signs list. Nonilluminated window signs need no…

Sioux City caps window signs at 15 to 30 percent of a window's glass area, depending on the zoning district, and allows…

West Des Moines caps window signage under City Code section 9-18-16(B)(4)(f). Permanent window signs on non-residential…

Cedar Rapids bars any billboard oriented toward and meant to be viewed from Interstate 380 between Wilson Avenue SW and…

Dubuque regulates freeway-facing signs through the SOD Freeway 61/151 Corridor Signage Overlay District under City Code…

Within 660 feet of a primary highway or Interstate 29, Sioux City hands sign regulation to the Iowa DOT, requiring an…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, ground signs are limited to 50 feet under Ames Municipal Code Sec. 21.122(2)(a), but the…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, pylon signs are only considered for sites with interstate frontage, under the sign…

A legally nonconforming sign within 1,000 feet of an interstate highway right-of-way in Iowa City can swap or replace…

No sign may stand in the right-of-way of a county road, state highway, or interstate highway anywhere in unincorporated…

Off-site billboards in unincorporated Polk County are capped at 50 feet of height, must sit outside 100 feet of…

West Des Moines regulates freeway-facing signage through its 'Interstate Sign' provisions at City Code section…