Yuma, AZ Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Fixture mounting
- Must be top-mounted on sign structure
- Ground up-lighting
- Prohibited unless shielded to sign face
- Max upward lamp angle
- 45 degrees from horizontal
- Illumination curfew
- Off from midnight to sunrise
- Mercury vapor lamps
- Prohibited for outdoor lighting
Summary
Yuma requires billboard lighting fixtures to sit on top of the sign structure and be shielded, and bans ground-mounted up-lighting unless it is confined to the sign face at no more than a 45-degree upward angle. Outdoor advertising off-site signs, including internally lit faces, must go dark between midnight and sunrise. City Code § 154-18.02 sets these fixture and curfew rules.
(B) Top-mounted. Outdoor advertising sign lighting fixtures used to illuminate an outdoor advertising sign shall be mounted on the top of the sign structure. All such fixtures shall comply with the shielding requirements noted in this section. (C) Bottom-mounted (ground-mounted, up-lighting, feature-lighting). An outdoor advertising sign illuminated by any type of bottom-mounted outdoor lighting system or fixture, which is installed at or on the ground or the lower portion of any outdoor advertising sign or fixture shall be prohibited unless said lighting fixture is shielded to confine the light to the sign face. All such fixtures with lighting which is directed upwards shall be placed so that the angle of the lamp shall not be greater than forty-five degrees (45°) measured from a horizontal plane to a line projected through the center of the lamp. (G) Outdoor advertising off-site signs. The electrical illumination of outdoor advertising off-site signs including those internally illuminated, is prohibited between the hours of 12:00 a.m. midnight and sunrise.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-74: Current through May 20, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Article 18 of Yuma's zoning code, the outdoor lighting regulations, sets separate fixture rules for the lights that illuminate billboards. 02(B), any lighting fixture used to illuminate an outdoor advertising sign must be top-mounted on the sign structure itself and must meet the article's shielding standards. 02(C). 02(D), (K). 02(G) shuts off electrical illumination of outdoor advertising off-site signs, internally lit or not, between 12:00 midnight and sunrise. 02(L). 04(A)(3).
Violations & Fines
Installing an unshielded ground-mounted billboard light, running upward lighting beyond the 45-degree limit, or leaving an off-site sign illuminated past midnight violates § 154-18.02 and is enforced under the chapter's general penalty, § 154-999: a class 1 misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine, up to ten days in jail, or both, with each continuing day of violation treated as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a billboard have ground-level up-lighting in Yuma?
What time must an illuminated billboard shut off?
Does a billboard permit require a lighting plan?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yuma
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