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

Section 45-713 of the Putnam County Code sets the illumination standards that apply to every sign article-wide, and because section 45-732(5) requires billboards to meet the same design and construction standards as other signs, this section is the governing billboard-lighting rule in the unincorporated county. The baseline test in subsection (a) is functional rather than numeric: a sign's light cannot be of such intensity or brilliance that it causes glare or impairs the vision of a motorist, cyclist, or pedestrian on a public way, or becomes a hazard or nuisance to occupants of nearby property.

Subsection (b) then bars two specific illumination methods outright, a sign cannot direct beams of light at any residential-use property, and it cannot be bright enough to impair a driver's vision or interfere with the safe operation of a vehicle. Subsection (c) adds a shielding rule aimed squarely at billboards and other large faces: illumination must be shielded so no beam or ray is directed into the traveled right-of-way, and so a driver cannot see the sign's actual point light source, not just its reflected glow.

The top-lighting rule in subsection (d) is the county's default fixture-placement standard: any sign is required to be top-lighted with the point light source shielded and aimed downward, unless it clears an exception for very small, low signs under eight feet tall and 64 square feet, or for marquees. Subsection (g) closes the section with a public-safety backstop: illumination that could reasonably be confused with or mistaken for a traffic control device is prohibited outright, regardless of how the rest of the sign otherwise complies.