# Sign Regulations in Murphy, Texas

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Murphy, Texas (TX)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/texas/murphy
- **Data last verified:** 2025-04-09

## At a glance

Murphy, Texas regulates 8 sign types across 9 zoning districts. Monument Signs in the Business Zoning Districts zoning district are capped at 7 feet tall and 50 square feet, with a Minimum setback of 5 feet from public right-of-way. setback (Sec. § 26.02.023). Most commercial signs in Murphy require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (9 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business Zoning Districts | 2 | 7 feet | 50 square feet | — |
| Residential Zoning Districts | 1 | 25 feet | 50 square feet | — |
| Public/Semi-Public District | 1 | 50 feet | 60 square feet per flagpole | — |
| Public Park/Open Space District | 1 | 50 feet | 60 square feet per flagpole | — |
| Commercial Districts | 1 | Maximum building height permitted in respective zoning district | 60 square feet per flagpole | — |
| Single-Family-Estate District | 1 | 30 feet | 40 square feet per flagpole | — |
| Single-Family-20 District | 1 | 30 feet | 40 square feet per flagpole | — |
| Private Park District | 1 | 30 feet | 40 square feet per flagpole | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 5 | 8 feet | 36 square feet | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 9 zones)

### Business Zoning Districts

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monument Sign | 7 feet | 50 square feet | — | Minimum setback of 5 feet from public right-of-way. | One monument sign per thoroughfare frontage, not to exceed two signs per site. | Thoroughfare frontage | — | § 26.02.023 |
| Attached Sign | — | — | — | — | Two attached signs per tenant space. | First story of multi-story building or above first story as per regulations. | — | § 26.02.024 |

### Residential Zoning Districts

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monument Sign | 25 feet | 50 square feet | — | Minimum setback of 5 feet; 10 feet for signs exceeding 10 square feet or 15 feet in height; 20 feet for signs exceeding 20 square feet or 20 feet in height. | One monument sign per 500 feet of frontage, not to exceed two signs per site. | Multifamily and nonresidential sites | — | § 26.02.028 |

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Political Sign | 8 feet | 36 square feet | — | — | Unlimited number per private property. | Private property with permission | — | § 26.02.012 |
| Portable Sign | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | § 26.02.011 |
| Floating Sign | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | § 26.02.010 |
| Vehicular Sign | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | § 26.02.017 |
| Changeable Electronic Variable Message Sign (CEVMS) | — | — | — | Not less than 150 feet from a single-family residential structure. | — | Type A major arterial on property zoned public/semi-public | — | § 26.02.009 |

## Prohibited signs in Murphy

- Do not create a hazard due to collapse, fire, collision, decay or abandonment.
- Do not obstruct firefighting or police surveillance.
- Do not create traffic hazards by confusing or distracting motorists, or by impairing the driver’s ability to see pedestrians, obstacles or other vehicles, or to read traffic signs.
- No sign shall be erected, maintained, placed or otherwise situated in such a manner so as to obstruct or interfere with the minimum sight line standards.
- Time and temperature informational signs and electronic reader boards oriented to be read from public ways are prohibited except as provided in section 26.02.009(c).
- Pole signs are prohibited.
- No person shall cause to be erected or maintained any sign using any combination of forms, words, colors or lights which imitate standard public traffic regulatory or emergency signs or signals.
- No sign shall project above the roofline or be attached to a roof of a building.
- Except as specifically authorized in this article, no person shall attach any sign, paper, or other material or paint, stencil, or write any name or number or otherwise mark any sidewalk, curb, gutter, street, tree, utility pole, traffic sign, traffic light standard, public building, public fence, or public structure.
- Except as specifically authorized in this article, no sign shall be erected or affixed within or project over any public right-of-way or across the public right-of-way line extended across a railroad right-of-way.
- Changeable electronic variable message sign(s) (CEVMS) are expressly prohibited within the city limits and the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city.
- Signs consisting of lighter-than-air or floating devices are prohibited.
- Portable signs are prohibited.
- Vehicular signs are prohibited.
- Off-premises signs are prohibited.

## Signs exempt from permit in Murphy

- Traffic-control signs.
- Traffic flow informational signs.
- Directional signs.
- Temporary signs operated by or on behalf of a governmental entity.
- Safety control signs.
- Memorial signs or tablets, names of buildings and date of erection when cut into any masonry surface or when constructed of bronze or other incombustible materials.
- Government signs such as flags, insignia, legal notices or informational, directional or traffic signs which are legally required or necessary to the essential functions of government agencies.
- Special-purpose political signs.
- Non-illuminated temporary construction signs.
- Signs painted directly on internal or external window surfaces.
- Non-illuminated movement control signs not exceeding six square feet in effective area, or three feet in height.
- Non-illuminated freestanding protective signs not exceeding 100 square inches in effective area, or two feet in height.
- Non-illuminated on-premises signs advertising the sale or lease of a non-business property not exceeding eight square feet in effective area or five feet in height.
- Non-illuminated on-premises freestanding signs advertising the sale or lease of a business property.
- Homeowners’ association and crime watch meeting and alert signs.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- The planning and zoning commission may permit the erection of signs on any legally erected structure in any single-family and patio home residential subdivisions.
- The planning and zoning commission may, for a particular site, recommend variances and exceptions with respect to the provisions of this article.
- When the commission is ready to act upon the variance or exception request, it may recommend approval of the request as it was submitted by the applicant, approval of the request subject to certain conditions or denial of the request.
- If the commission’s recommendation is to approve the request, either as submitted or with additional conditions, then the request will be automatically forwarded to the city council for a second public hearing thereon.
- When the planning and zoning commission denies a request for a variation or exception to the standards set forth in this article, a hearing before the city council shall be set only if a written appeal is filed by the applicant with the city manager or his/her designee within 15 days of the date of the denial.

## Full detail

This page publishes an overview of every zoning district plus a sample of 3 districts in full. Complete zone-by-zone requirements for all 9 zoning districts in Murphy — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Murphy+TX&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-murphy

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