WisDOT sending letters to owners of outdoor advertising signs with delinquent fees

July 24, 2009

Owners of outdoor advertising signs in Wisconsin who are delinquent in the payment of required fees can expect a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).  The letter asks sign owners to either pay the required fee, explain why they should be exempted, or face removal of their signs.

"The vast majority of outdoor advertising sign owners are abiding by the law and paying the required fees," said David Vieth, director of WisDOT’s Bureau of Highway Operations. "However, some sign owners remain delinquent despite numerous efforts to contact them.  In fairness to all those who are abiding by the law, we’re giving fee-delinquent sign owners another chance to pay the fees due."  Notices are being sent today to the 763 owners of some 1,277 signs for which fees currently remain unpaid. 

Wisconsin first issued permits for outdoor advertising signs in 1956.  Today, such signs continue to be regulated through local, state, and federal laws.  A state administrative rule that took effect in 2001 set a one-time permit application fee of $175 for most outdoor advertising signs.  In addition, the rule calls for a $35 annual fee for most signs, and a $50 annual fee for nonconforming, grandfathered and directional signs.  WisDOT maintains an inventory of some 11,000 regulated signs along Wisconsin’s approximately 12,000-mile state highway system. 

WisDOT enforces laws that prohibit signs in highway right-of-way, and regulate the placement of signs on private property that are viewable from state and federal highways.  "The purpose of these federal, state and local laws is to help control the size, location and the number of outdoor advertising signs along our roadways," Vieth said.  "The fee structure Wisconsin follows was put in place after looking at collection practices in other states."   

Since 2001, all sign owners that maintain a mailing address with the department, as required by law, have been sent fee notices.  The fees apply to all "off property" signs on private lands along the state highway system.  "Off property" refers to signs located off the site from the business being advertised.  Local ordinances typically regulate signs located on a business’s property.  These on-premise signs are not subject to the annual fee. 

Several types of off-property signs that require permits are exempt from the fees, including service club and religious signs of eight square feet or less, farm signs, real estate signs on the property for sale, and official signs erected by public officers or agencies.  Other signs frequently seen along the state highway system are covered under separate fee programs – such as the blue-background Specific Information Signs (typically seen along freeways to assist motorists in finding fuel, food, lodging, and attractions), the smaller Tourist Oriented Directional Signs that display businesses and tourist attractions along state highways, and the six-foot long, white directional arrow board signs that help motorists get to their destinations.

More information regarding outdoor advertising signs, along with a list of regional sign coordinators can be found on the WisDOT Web site at: www.dot.wisconsin.gov/business/rules/property.htm.

For more information, contact:
Deb Brucaya, WisDOT Outdoor Advertising Signs Coordinator
(608) 266-3813, deborah.brucaya@dot.wi.gov