Outdoor Lighting in Orlando, FL (2026)
3 verified outdoor lighting rules for Orlando, Florida, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Dark Sky Rules
Orlando requires every outdoor fixture covered by its lighting code, including security lights, to be a "cutoff fixture" that keeps almost all light below the horizontal. Sag lenses, drop lenses and most floodlighting are banned outright, and the City has an alternative Dark-Sky compliance path.
Orlando Cutoff Fixture & Dark-Sky Rules
Some RestrictionsOrlando City Code § 63.402; § 63.405(b)
Cutoff fixture means an outdoor light fixture that provides a cutoff (shielding) of the emitted light. The light distribution may not be greater than 2.5% of the luminaire's lumen output at or above 90 degrees vertical from the nadir and not more than 10% of a luminaire's lumen output at or above 80 degrees vertical from nadir. // All fixtures, including security lighting, must be cutoff fixtur...
Light Trespass & Shielding
Orlando requires every outdoor light fixture, including security lighting, to be a cutoff fixture under City Code § 63.405(b)(1), and caps illumination at 0.5 footcandles at a property line bordering a residential use (1.0 footcandle elsewhere). Fixtures can't tilt toward neighbors, sag or convex lenses are banned, and floodlighting is prohibited outside limited industrial sites. Most commercial and multifamily projects also need City lighting-plan approval before installing fixtures.
Orlando Security & Outdoor Lighting Shielding Rules
Some RestrictionsOrlando City Code § 63.405(a)-(b)(1)
(a)Illumination levels. Illumination levels may not exceed 0.5 footcandles at the property line where the neighboring property is a residential use or is zoned for a residential use. For all other uses, illumination levels may not exceed 1.0 footcandles at the property line. To avoid glare and light spilling onto neighboring properties, fixtures must be installed with shields and reflectors.(b)...
Billboard Lighting
Orlando's digital billboard rule bans flashing, rotating or intensity-varying illumination and caps brightness at 0.3 footcandles above ambient light, measured 150 to 250 feet from the sign depending on its size. Signs must also default to off or full black if they malfunction.
Orlando Digital Billboard Brightness Limits
Some RestrictionsOrlando City Code § 64.277(B)(3)(a),(f),(h)
There shall be no display of flashing or rotating lighting or the varying of light intensity during the static message. Off-premises digital billboard signs may be internally or externally illuminated. Off-premises digital billboard signs shall not be illuminated in such a manner so as to cause glare or to impair the vision of motorists... The illumination of an off-premises digital billboard s...
Looking for Orange County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Orlando city rules.
Outdoor Lighting in Orange County →