Okaloosa County, FL Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

LDC § 6.11.04 sets the county's outdoor lighting standards, and its second numbered provision is unambiguous: 'Up-lighting of billboards or other advertising media is prohibited, regardless of whether a development order is required for the installation of the lighting.' That blanket ban catches any billboard lit from below, whether or not the sign itself needed county approval, closing off a route some jurisdictions leave open for signs that predate their lighting rules.

The same section requires every new outdoor lighting installation, not just billboards, to be designed so overspill onto an adjacent property or structure does not exceed zero footcandles, and so that the luminaire itself or its diffuser screening cannot be seen from next door. Before any outdoor lighting, including billboard lighting, goes into permanent use, LDC § 6.11.04(2) requires a letter of compliance from a registered engineer or architect (or their authorized representative) confirming the installation was field-checked and meets those standards. Fixtures carrying a 'dark sky certification' installed per the manufacturer's specifications are deemed compliant without that separate letter.

This chapter applies throughout the unincorporated area to every billboard and other advertising medium as well as to lighting tied to any development order, per LDC § 6.11.02, but it exempts lawfully installed lighting that predates the ordinance from being retrofitted, per LDC § 6.11.05, and exempts emergency lighting and temporary construction lighting for roads and public infrastructure. A lighting plan, drawn and signed by a licensed design professional and showing footcandles at the property line, must go to the growth management department with the development order application under LDC § 6.11.03.