Anchorage, AK Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Off-premise/billboard signs
- Prohibited outright, no exceptions
- LED luminance cap (day)
- 5,000 candelas per square meter
- LED luminance cap (night)
- 800 candelas per square meter
- Ban effective
- AO 2012-124(S), Feb. 2013
- Governing code
- AMC § 21.12.080B
Summary
Anchorage's sign code prohibits billboards and other off-premise advertising signs entirely, so no illuminated billboard structure, digital or static, may be built or operated anywhere within municipal limits.
Billboards and other off-premise signs. Signs may not be used to display commercial messages relating to products and services that are not offered on the property.
C. Any sign or display within 660 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way and visible from the main-traveled way of an interstate, primary, or secondary highway, or any sign or display beyond 660 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of the main traveled way of an interstate, primary, or secondary highway erected or maintained with the purpose of the message displayed being read from that travel way, that would conflict with the provisions of AS 19.25.075—19.25.180.
D. Portable signs.
E. Flashing, moving, animated, coursing, blinker, racer-type, intermittent, moving or revolving signs and/or devices except as allowed in compliance with section 21.12.090E, whirligig devices, inflatable signs and oversize tethered balloons, spinners, and other similar types of attention-getting devices except for pennants, ribbons, streamers, and latex balloons not exceeding 16 inches in diameter, when maintained in an "as new condition". Pennants, ribbons, streamers, and latex balloons not maintained in "as new condition" shall be deemed unsightly and subject to enforcement under subsection 15.20.020B.11. Changeable copy signs are not prohibited when in compliance with the applicable regulations in this chapter.
F.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 5010260; v11 updated 2026-09-01).
Full Breakdown
Anchorage Municipal Code § 21.12.080B prohibits billboards and other off-premise signs outright: any sign displaying a commercial message for products or services not offered on the property where it stands is banned citywide, regardless of whether it is lit. The ban has been in place since AO 2012-124(S), effective February 2013. Where the code does allow illuminated signage, § 21.12.090A.3.d caps LED luminance at 5,000 candelas per square meter between sunrise and sunset and 800 candelas per square meter at all other times, and § 21.13.070 required any legal-nonconforming illuminated sign to meet that luminance cap by November 30, 2005.
Violations & Fines
An off-premise billboard is banned outright regardless of lighting; the municipality can order it removed as a prohibited sign, and any illuminated sign exceeding the LED luminance cap must be altered or removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put up a billboard in Anchorage?
What's the brightness limit for the electronic signs Anchorage does allow?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Anchorage
Compare Anchorage to another location·View the Alaska outdoor lighting overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.