# Sign Regulations in Ellisville, Missouri

Sign permit rules, size and height limits, setbacks, and ordinance citations for Ellisville, Missouri, compiled by PermitPal from the jurisdiction's published municipal code.

- **Jurisdiction:** Ellisville, Missouri (MO)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/missouri/ellisville
- **Data last verified:** 2025-05-22
- **Source:** [ecode360 municipal code](https://ecode360.com/27657312#27657312)

## At a glance

Ellisville, Missouri regulates 27 sign types across 3 zoning districts. Billboard (Interstate)s in the Commercial Zoning Districts (C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5), Light Industrial Zoning District - (M-1) zoning district are capped at 35 ft above highway grade or 50 ft above surrounding grade (whichever lower) tall, 288 sq ft per face (within 660 ft of interstate); 128 sq ft per face (within 660 ft of primary highway), and Vertical: 30 ft, Horizontal: 60 ft wide, with a 100 ft road/property/building, 1000 ft residential/public use, 250 ft from other on-premises sign, 90 ft from power lines setback (Sec. Sections 410.190-410.230). Most commercial signs in Ellisville require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (3 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Residential Zoning Districts (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5) | 4 | 10 ft from grade to highest point | 144 sq in (1 sq ft) | — |
| Commercial Zoning Districts (C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5), Light Industrial Zoning District - (M-1) | 9 | 35 ft above highway grade or 50 ft above surrounding grade (whichever lower) | 288 sq ft per face (within 660 ft of interstate); 128 sq ft per face (within 660 ft of primary highway) | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 14 | Wind sail: 11 ft | 100 sq ft max; 15% of wall surface | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements

### Residential Zoning Districts (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Subdivision Identification / Institutional Sign (Wall or Monument) | 10 ft from grade to highest point | 32 sq ft per face, max 2 faces | — | Minimum 5 ft from street right-of-way | 1 per premises frontage or 2 per entrance | Ground or mounted on the face of a retaining or other wall; minimum 5 ft setback from street right-of-way | — | Section 410.120(B) |
| Home Occupation Sign | — | 144 sq in (1 sq ft) | — | — | 1 per residence | Wall-mounted | — | Section 410.120(C) |
| Flag | — | 5 ft x 8 ft (each) | — | Pole: setback equal to height from property line | 3 flags per pole, 1 pole per premises (additional poles ARB approval) | One pole per premises, pole set back a minimum distance equal to pole height from property line | — | Section 410.120(D) |
| Ornamental Flag | — | — | — | — | Up to 3 per premises | Building facade or yard | — | Section 410.120(D)(5) |

### Commercial Zoning Districts (C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5), Light Industrial Zoning District - (M-1)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | — | 200 sq ft | — | — | Per street frontage | Building wall with street frontage | — | Section 410.140(B) |
| Wall Sign (Mini-Shop) | — | 30 sq ft | — | — | 1 per mini-shop | Front facade of building wall | — | Section 410.150(A) |
| Monument Sign | 10 ft (standard); 15 ft (large retail) | 150 sq ft (standard); 400 sq ft (large retail) (each: 35% of lot frontage, not less than 80 sq ft) | — | 5 ft min from right-of-way, 20 ft min from road edge; 25 ft clearance at intersections | 1 per premises/development | Minimum 5 ft from street right-of-way and 20 ft from road edge | — | Section 410.140(E); 410.150(B) |
| Price Sign (Gasoline/Oil Service Stations) | 4 ft | 2 ft x 4 ft per sign face, may be double-sided | — | — | 1 per street frontage | Attached to building or monument sign serving property and street frontage | — | Section 410.150(C) |
| Monument Sign (New Motor Vehicle Sales Facilities) | 10 ft | Single franchise: 130 sq ft (65 sq ft/side); multiple franchises: 160 sq ft (80 sq ft/side) | — | Min 70 ft from other franchise signs, 50 ft from side property line | 1 per franchise at business address | — | — | Section 410.150(D) |
| Wall Sign (Adult Entertainment Business) | 8 ft from ground; may not extend above roofline | 50 sq ft | — | — | 1 per premises | Wall-mounted on front facade facing street | — | Section 410.150(E) |
| Directional Sign | 3.5 ft for ground-mounted (min 12 in above ground) | 6 sq ft per face, may be double-faced | — | 3 ft from sidewalk, 15 ft from road edge (no sidewalk) | As allowed by Code Enforcement Officer | Ground- or wall-mounted, min 3 ft from sidewalk or 15 ft from road edge if sidewalk not present | — | Section 410.150(H) |
| Billboard (Interstate) | 35 ft above highway grade or 50 ft above surrounding grade (whichever lower) | 288 sq ft per face (within 660 ft of interstate); 128 sq ft per face (within 660 ft of primary highway) | Vertical: 30 ft, Horizontal: 60 ft | 100 ft road/property/building, 1000 ft residential/public use, 250 ft from other on-premises sign, 90 ft from power lines | One sign per direction per highway; back-to-back allowed | Within areas zoned light industrial or commercial, within 660 ft of nearest edge of right-of-way of interstate or primary highway | — | Sections 410.190-410.230 |

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Construction/Development Sign (Temporary) | 8 ft (ground); 12 ft (trailer) | 32 sq ft per face | — | 10 ft from right-of-way, 25 ft from road edge | 1 per development entry | Ground, wall, or trailer-mounted (construction trailer); min 10 ft from right-of-way, 25 ft from road edge | — | Section 410.170(A) |
| Subdivision Real Estate Sign (Temporary) | 8 ft (ground); 12 ft (trailer) | 32 sq ft per face | — | 10 ft from right-of-way, 25 ft from road edge | 1 per development entry | Ground, wall, or trailer-mounted (construction trailer); min 10 ft from right-of-way, 25 ft from road edge | — | Section 410.170(A) |
| Advisory Sign | 3.5 ft (ground/fence), 6 ft (wall) | 2 sq ft per face, double-faced allowed | — | — | 4 per premises, 1 per side | Ground-, wall-, or fence-mounted | — | Section 410.180(B) |
| Garage Sale Sign | 3.5 ft above finished grade | 6 sq ft per face, double-faced allowed | — | — | 1 per premises | Ground-mounted | — | Section 410.180(C) |
| Personal Special Event Sign | 3.5 ft above finished grade | 6 sq ft per face, double-faced allowed | — | — | 1 per premises per event | Ground-mounted on property hosting event | — | Section 410.180(D) |
| Site-Specific Construction Sign | 3.5 ft | 6 sq ft per face, double-faced allowed | — | — | 1 per premises | Ground- or wall-mounted; only at premises where work performed; remove upon completion | — | Section 410.180(E) |
| Political Sign | 3.5 ft | 6 sq ft per face, double-faced allowed | — | 10 ft from roadway | 1 per candidate or issue per lot/premises | In window or ground-mounted not less than 10 ft from roadway on private property | — | Section 410.180(F) |
| Non-Commercial Sign | 3.5 ft | 6 sq ft per face, double-faced allowed | — | 10 ft from roadway | 1 per message/cause/org, max 3 per lot/premises | In window or ground-mounted not less than 10 ft from roadway | — | Section 410.180(G) |

## Prohibited signs in Ellisville

- Electronic message boards, except as provided in the code.
- Any sign not permitted by this Code.
- Off-site signs, except as may be otherwise allowed by the code.
- Pole signs.
- Portable signs, except as provided in the code.
- Any sign constituting a traffic hazard, including those that obstruct or interfere with official traffic signals/signs/devices, conflict with or may be confused with authorized traffic signs/signals/devices, obstruct a motor vehicle operator's view, produce glare or interfere with vision, or use words/symbols that mislead or confuse traffic.
- Any sign that due to inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, location, size, or obsolescence, creates a hazard to public health, safety or welfare.
- Any sign that directs attention toward a business, product, commodity, service, or entertainment by means of wind-operated mechanisms, flashing lights, revolving sign, searchlight, fluttering, mechanical movement, or any person/animal used for such purpose.
- Any sign using lighting that is not constant and fixed or on which colors change.
- Any sign that is unpleasant, offensive or unattractive, including any pornographic, obscene or lewd sign that would offend the senses of a reasonable person.
- Any sign with light levels exceeding those needed for the task and resulting in glare and indirect glare, where illuminated objects are too bright compared to their surroundings.
- Any sign which physically projects more than eighteen (18) inches beyond the plane of the wall or structure on which it is erected or attached.
- Any flashing, fading, moving sign (only fixed, non-moving, non-animated letters, characters may be utilized).
- Any sign painted directly on a wall, window or structure.
- Signs on public lands or rights-of-way.
- Living signs.
- Vehicles displaying signage (vehicle signs) may not be parked in parking areas nearest to the street or in a manner where the vehicle(s) serve(s) as a de facto advertisement or signage. Vehicles with vehicle signs should generally be parked behind the building not visible from the street except for brief loading and unloading.

## Signs exempt from permit in Ellisville

- Numbers depicting the official address of a building as determined by the U.S. Post Office and the Metro West Fire Protection District are permitted, provided business addresses are not greater than four (4) square feet in size and residential addresses are compatible with neighboring residences and follow Metro West Fire Protection District guidelines.
- The City of Ellisville or its authorized agents may erect signage for the public health, safety or welfare, including, but not limited to, corporate boundary and population signs, traffic and parking regulation signs, warning signs, promotional signs and public information signs.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- Permits are required for all signs identified in the district regulations.
- An application for a sign permit shall be accompanied by plans and specifications as required by the Code Enforcement Officer, which may include a scale drawing, site plan, fully dimensioned architectural elevations, detailed sign drawings, method of illumination, and any information deemed relevant.
- Permit requests often require a site plan illustrating the location of the sign within the project site, dimensions, setback, landscape areas, right-of-way lines, and easements.
- Sign permits may require detailed architectural elevations and placement of proposed and existing signs.
- Permit applications may require the signature of the property owner providing permission, right of entry, hold-harmless, and acknowledgment that the agreement binds successors.
- Appeals of code enforcement decisions regarding signs may be made to the Architectural Review Board, which may grant variances.
- For billboards, prior to permit issuance, an applicant must submit and receive approval of a lighting and landscape plan from the City Engineer, reviewed by a third-party landscape architect.
- Permit applications for billboards require a certified outboundary survey, detailed lighting/landscape plan, and certifications from licensed engineers for soil, electrical, and structural strength.
- Non-conforming signs losing their lawful status must comply with the code.
- For many signage types (especially illuminated or changeable character signs), approval from the Architectural Review Board for design, materials, and colors may be required.

## Full detail

Complete sign requirements for Ellisville, including every field PermitPal tracks for each sign type, are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Ellisville+MO&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-ellisville

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