Dallas, TX Holiday Decorations: Lawn Ornament Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Dallas Development Code Sec. 51A-7.102(32)
- Exemption
- 'Temporary holiday decorations' excluded from SIGN definition
- Also excluded
- Non-symbol landscape features and non-advertising works of art
- Effect
- No sign permit, size, or illumination review required
- Limit on exemption
- Glare standard, Sec. 51A-6.104, still applies to fixtures
Summary
Dallas's sign code defines 'sign' to exclude temporary holiday decorations, so seasonal yard displays, inflatables, and lighted ornaments don't need a sign permit or have to meet the size, illumination or setback standards Article 51A-7 imposes on commercial and advertising signs. Sec. 51A-7.102(32)(C) of the Dallas Development Code is the exemption.
(32) SIGN means any device, flag, light, figure, picture, letter, word, message, symbol, plaque, poster, display, design, painting, drawing, billboard, wind device, or other thing visible from outside the premise on which it is located and that is designed, intended, or used to inform or advertise to persons not on that premise. This definition does not include: (A) searchlights and landscape features that display no words or symbols; (B) works of art that are not designed, intended or used to advertise; or (C) temporary holiday decorations.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 102(32) defines SIGN broadly, covering any device, flag, light, figure, picture, letter, word, message, symbol, plaque, poster, display, design, painting, drawing, billboard, wind device, or other thing visible from outside the premise that is designed, intended, or used to inform or advertise to persons not on that premise. That definition then carves out three categories: (A) searchlights and landscape features that display no words or symbols, (B) works of art not designed or used to advertise, and (C) temporary holiday decorations. Because a lit reindeer, an inflatable snowman, or a string of holiday lights falls under (C), it is not a 'sign' at all under Article 51A-7, so none of that article's permit requirements, size limits, or illumination standards, like the luminance caps in Sec.
303, apply to it. The exemption is definitional, not a separate 'holiday decoration permit' program; the code simply removes the display from the regulated category as long as it is temporary and holiday-themed. Nothing in Sec. 102 defines how long a display can stay up before it stops being temporary, and nothing in this section overrides other citywide standards: glare or nuisance illumination that crosses a property line is still reachable under Sec. 104 even for a holiday-themed fixture.
Violations & Fines
Because temporary holiday decorations are excluded from the SIGN definition, Article 51A-7's sign-permit and enforcement machinery does not reach them; there is no citation for lacking a sign permit or exceeding sign size limits. A permanent yard display that markets a business, or one later found to function as advertising, loses the exemption and becomes subject to sign permitting and Sec. 51A-1.103 enforcement, including its per-day fine schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to put up holiday lights and lawn decorations?
Can my HOA still limit holiday decorations even though the city doesn't?
What if my holiday lights shine onto a neighbor's yard?
Are non-holiday lawn ornaments, like garden gnomes, also exempt?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dallas
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Dallas to another location·View the Texas holiday decorations overview
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