Mobile, AL Holiday Decorations: Holiday Light Rules (2026)

Mobile does not regulate residential holiday light installation, removal dates, or brightness through municipal code. Decorative lighting is permitted year-round on private property at single-family and multi-family residences. The city noise ordinance in Code of Ordinances Chapter 39, Article IV applies to amplified music or audio in holiday displays: residential daytime noise is capped at 85 dBA (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and nighttime noise at 50 dBA (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) measured at the receiving property line. Amplified holiday music that exceeds those limits can be cited by Mobile Police. Mobile has no city-wide dark-sky ordinance, but neighbors can pursue private-nuisance complaints when light is directed into bedroom windows. Alabama has no statewide holiday-display preemption comparable to California Civil Code §4710. Homeowners' association covenants in master-planned communities frequently impose removal deadlines and aesthetic limits - typically a Nov 1 to Jan 15 display window. Power consumption is governed only by the property owner's contract with Alabama Power; there is no city restriction on lighting wattage. Decorations cannot block sidewalks, encroach into the public right-of-way, or obstruct corner-visibility triangles at intersections under the Mobile Unified Development Code. Properties in Mobile's locally designated historic districts must use lighting consistent with Architectural Review Board guidelines for permanent or visible fixtures.