Hall County, GA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Hall County's sign standards for billboards, found in Sec. ' Billboards are defined in this article as off-premises advertising structures, distinguishing them from on-premises business signs, which the UDC treats differently elsewhere. By contrast, Sec. B (Gateway Corridors Overlay) permits internally illuminated on-premises signs subject to Sec. 4's illumination standard, and allows externally lit signs if fixtures are aimed downward and away from streets, using recessed or semi-cutoff luminaries. The billboard lighting ban sits inside the same section that lets an existing static billboard convert to a digital billboard under Sec.

3 foot-candles above ambient light, measured with a foot-candle meter at a distance equal to the square root of the sign area times 100, and must carry automatic dimming technology that adjusts brightness to ambient conditions. Animation, frame effects, flashing and any appearance of movement are barred outright, and a digital face must hold a static image at least ten seconds before switching. A permit is required from the county building official before any billboard, static or digital, is erected, reconstructed or converted, and the county checks digital brightness periodically to confirm compliance with these limits.