Sign Regulations in Novi, MI (2026)
4 verified sign regulations for Novi, Michigan, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
Novi treats political yard signs as protected noncommercial speech rather than a separately licensed sign category. City Code Section 28-9 lets any permitted permanent sign carry a lawful noncommercial message and allows temporary noncommercial signs in the public right-of-way, while Section 28-6 raises the citywide temporary-sign area cap to 64 square feet for 60 days before through 3 days after any election with a ballot item.
Novi Political and Noncommercial Sign Rules
Light RestrictionsNovi City Code §§ 28-6(a), 28-9
(a)In recognition that there is a need for additional expression of speech prior to a scheduled election, the following applies for a period of sixty (60) days prior to until three (3) days after a city-designated election day on which there is at least one ballot item: the maximum allowable area of temporary signs shall be increased to sixty-four (64) square feet in all districts. ... Anything...
Holiday Displays
The City of Novi exempts holiday decorations from its sign permit rules, but only for a limited run. City Code Section 28-1 excludes decorative displays tied to a recognized holiday from the definition of a regulated sign as long as the display stays up 75 days or less.
Novi Holiday Lighting Display Duration Limit
Some RestrictionsNovi City Code §§ 28-1, 28-10(b)(3)
This definition of sign shall not include: ... (3)Decorative displays in connection with a recognized holiday, provided that the display does not exceed 75 days. ... String lights, including installed lighting that attracts attention to a nonresidential use wherein a source or sources of light are arranged to be visible from the exterior of a building or structure including, but not limited to,...
Digital Billboards
Novi allows digital and changeable-copy signage only under tight technical limits. City Code Section 28-5(g) caps message changes at four times a minute and bans animation-style transitions, while Section 28-8(a) bars any highway sign from flashing, scrolling, dimming, or otherwise simulating movement.
Novi Digital and Changeable Copy Sign Rules
Significant RestrictionsNovi City Code §§ 28-5(g)(6), 28-8(a)(6)
(6)The images and messages displayed electronically on the sign must be static, and the transition from one (1) static display to another must be instantaneous without any special effects. A sign on which the message changes more than four (4) times per minute (once every fifteen (15) seconds) shall be considered an animated sign. ... (6)Lighting shall comply with all applicable provisions of t...
Freeway-Facing Signs
Novi allows freeway-facing billboard-style signs only inside a narrow highway sign zone along I-96. City Code Section 28-8 caps ground-pole signs at 672 square feet and 30 feet tall within 50 feet of the I-96 right-of-way, in the I-2 and EXO districts only, and keeps signs at least 1,200 feet apart.
Novi Freeway-Facing Highway Sign Rules
Significant RestrictionsNovi City Code § 28-8(a)
This section authorizes such signs when adjacent to highways within two (2) separate areas, or zones. In the area located along the I-96, signs are allowed within certain zoning districts subject to regulations as to height, size, and location and by permit as provided in section 28-3. ... (a)I-96 Corridor Zone.(1)In the I-2 District and EXO District, a highway sign zone is hereby established w...
Looking for Oakland County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Novi city rules.
Sign Regulations in Oakland County →