Sign Regulations in Tuscaloosa, AL (2026)
4 verified sign regulations for Tuscaloosa, Alabama, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Political Signs
Tuscaloosa bars political advertising by posted sign or loudspeaker inside city parks unless the speaker or sign holder has a permit, under Sec. 18-29(2). The same section also bans posting any sign, placard, or advertisement on public park land or the roads adjacent to a park.
Tuscaloosa Political Signs in City Parks
Significant RestrictionsTuscaloosa City Code Sec. 18-29(2)-(3) (Code 1962, § 24-38)
It shall be unlawful for any person in the park:...(2)Advertising: To announce, advertise, or call to the public attention in any way, any article or service for sale or hire, or to engage in political advertising by posted sign or loud speaker, except under duly authorized permit for such activity.(3)Signs: To paste, glue, tack, or otherwise post, any sign, placard, advertisement, or inscripti...
Garage Sale Signs
Tuscaloosa has no sign category labeled 'garage sale,' so a yard-sale sign posted in a residential yard falls under the zoning ordinance's temporary yard sign rule. Sec. 25-183(d) caps a residential lot at three temporary yard signs at a time, each 6 square feet or smaller, set back at least 5 feet from the curb and clear of the right-of-way and city property.
Tuscaloosa Garage and Yard Sale Signs
Some RestrictionsCity of Tuscaloosa Zoning Ordinance, Sec. 25-183(d) (Temporary Yard Signs), Chapter 25, Article VI, Division 10 (Ord. No. 9572, § 2, 12-17-24)
d.Temporary yard signs. Up to three (3) temporary signs may be displayed in the yards of lots in the residential district containing uses other than multifamily dwellings or multifamily student dwellings, in accordance with the following standards:1.Each such sign shall have a display area of six (6) square feet or less; and2.Each such sign shall be set back at least five (5) feet from the curb...
Digital Billboards
Tuscaloosa lets billboard owners convert existing structures to electronic, digital, or tri-vision displays, but the zoning ordinance caps how fast the image can change and how close two digital boards can sit. Sec. 25-179(d) bars scrolling, flashing, or blinking effects and limits copy changes to once every eight seconds; Sec. 25-182(h) requires 2,000 feet of separation between digital billboards unless two older boards are removed.
Tuscaloosa Digital and Electronic Billboard Rules
Some RestrictionsCity of Tuscaloosa Zoning Ordinance, Secs. 25-179(d)(1)-(2) and 25-182(h)(8)(iii)-(iv)(a), Chapter 25, Article VI, Division 10 (Ord. No. 9572, § 2, 12-17-24)
d.Electronic, digital, and video technology (not including outdoor video displays).1.Such technology shall be programmed so that the message or image on the sign changes no more often than once every eight (8) seconds.2.There shall be no effects of movement, blinking, animation, scrolling, flashing, scintillation, or similar effects in the individual images. ... Billboards that include an elect...
Window Signs
Tuscaloosa caps window signs at twenty percent of the glass area on a building's front façade, and separately at twenty percent of the glass area on each street-level façade, under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 25-182(a). A window sign needs no sign permit, but every other sign type on the same building still must be permitted through the director of planning.
Tuscaloosa Window Sign Coverage Limits
Some RestrictionsCity of Tuscaloosa Zoning Ordinance, Sec. 25-182(a) (Window Signs), Article VI, Division 10, Signs and Billboards (Ord. No. 9572, § 2, 12-17-24)
Window signs. Window signs shall not occupy more than twenty (20) per cent of the entire glass area along the front façade or more than twenty (20) per cent of the entire glass area along each street-level façade.