Floyd County, GA Holiday Decorations: Lawn Ornament Rules (2026)

The ULDC's Article 5 sign standards list five categories of "Exempt Signs" allowed in every zoning district without triggering the Article's permit, size or placement rules: official government signs, private warning and no-trespassing signs, property address signs, agricultural production signs, and holiday decorations. The holiday decorations exemption covers displays erected on a seasonal basis in observance of religious, national or state holidays, provided the display is not intended to be permanent and contains no advertising material. That means the standard nativity scene, string of lights, inflatable snowman or seasonal yard figure a homeowner puts up in unincorporated Floyd County falls outside the sign code entirely and does not need a Building Inspection Department permit or sticker.

The exemption has real limits, though: a display that stays up year-round loses its "seasonal" character, and one that promotes a business or product loses the "no advertising material" qualification, either of which would push it back into the code's general sign standards, including the article's ban on animated signs (motion, flashing lights, wind-activated devices) and portable signs not affixed to the ground. Freestanding inflatable displays outside of a genuine holiday context are separately restricted: the code allows an inflatable sign only in association with a special event permitted under Article 3. Any lawn ornament dispute in the unincorporated county is handled by the joint Rome-Floyd County Building Inspection Department, which enforces the ULDC.