Minneapolis, MN Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Daytime cap
- 7,000 nits (6am–9pm)
- Nighttime cap
- 500 nits (9pm–6am)
- Applies in
- General Billboard District
- Animated/flashing signs
- Prohibited in this district
- Facing rule
- Not toward residential districts
Summary
Off-premises billboards in Minneapolis's General Billboard District are lighting-capped at 7,000 nits from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and 500 nits overnight, with animated and flashing displays banned outright.
Lighted sign Permitted subject to luminance regulation; not facing urban neighborhood or residential mixed-use districts. Luminance: Maximum of seven thousand (7,000) nits from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; and maximum of five hundred (500) nits from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 72).
Full Breakdown
Minneapolis Code of Ordinances Table 560-5 sets a hard luminance ceiling for lighted off-premises signs (billboards) in the General Billboard District: a maximum of 7,000 nits between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., dropping to 500 nits between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Lighted billboards are permitted only where they don't face an urban neighborhood or residential mixed-use district. The same table bars animated and flashing off-premises signs in the General Billboard District entirely, those effects are reserved for the separate Opportunity and Downtown Entertainment billboard districts under Tables 560-6 and 560-7, which carry identical nits caps but different animation rules.
Violations & Fines
A billboard exceeding the nits cap or displaying animation/flashing in the General Billboard District is a Chapter 560 zoning violation, enforceable by the zoning administrator through removal or compliance orders.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the luminance limit for a lighted billboard in Minneapolis?
Can flashing or animated billboards be used in Minneapolis?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Minneapolis
Compare Minneapolis to another location·View the Minnesota outdoor lighting overview
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