Jackson, MS Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Section 102-33(b) of the General Code's sign article sets the city's lighting standard for all signs: they cannot be erected or maintained unless shielded so no beam or ray of direct or reflected light hits the street or roadway, and none may have such intensity or brilliance that it causes glare or impairs a driver's vision. For digital electronic signs, including outdoor advertising billboards converted to digital faces, subsection (b)(1) sets a hard numeric ceiling of 5,000 NITS (candelas per square meter) during daylight hours and 1,000 NITS from sunset to sunrise, measured at the sign face's maximum brightness.

Subsection (b)(2) requires every digital electronic sign to carry an automatic dimmer that steps illumination down for the sunset-to-sunrise period and continuously adjusts brightness as ambient light changes with weather or time of day. A related but separate provision, Section 102-32(10), bars any illuminated sign generally from exceeding the illumination levels in the IES Lighting Handbook and prohibits laying electrical wiring for an illuminated sign on the ground surface. Enforcement of both runs through the building official under Section 102-33(c)-(d), who can order correction within 30 days of written notice and removal within 90 days if uncorrected.