Baltimore County, MD Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Digital/video billboards
- Prohibited outright
- Only exception
- Mechanical tri-vision sign
- Tri-vision countywide cap
- 7 signs
- Tri-vision siting
- Only at pre-1997 existing billboard sites
- Rotation speed limit
- No faster than every 10 seconds
Summary
Baltimore County bans video and digital display on outdoor advertising signs outright under BCZR § 450.7.C.7. The only rotating-message billboard the county allows is the mechanical tri-vision format, capped at seven signs countywide, and even that format cannot rotate faster than once every ten seconds.
6.Outdoor advertising signs with tri-vision may be erected, subject to the following limitations:a.An outdoor advertising sign with tri-vision may not be erected until after the removal of:(1)Two lawfully erected outdoor advertising signs; or(2)Legally nonconforming on-premises signs equal to twice the area of the tri-vision sign.c.There shall be a maximum of seven outdoor advertising signs with tri-vision within the county.d.An outdoor advertising sign with tri-vision shall be erected only where an existing, lawfully erected outdoor advertising sign is located as of July 1, 1997.e.An outdoor advertising sign with tri-vision may not be larger than the outdoor advertising sign it is replacing.f.An outdoor advertising sign with tri-vision may not rotate from one sign face to another less than every ten seconds. The actual rotation process must be completed in a least four seconds.7.Except for an outdoor advertising sign with tri-vision as regulated by Section 450.7.C.6, an outdoor advertising sign may not display animation, video, flashing, blinking, strobing or scrolling.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 29 | Zoning Regulations: Supplement 10).
Full Breakdown
7 prohibits any outdoor advertising sign, meaning a commercial billboard that calls attention to a business or product located on a different premises, from displaying animation, video, flashing, blinking, strobing or scrolling, a blanket rule that rules out an LED digital billboard entirely. 6. Even that legacy format is tightly rationed: the county caps tri-vision billboards at seven signs countywide, a new one can only go up after the removal of two lawfully erected outdoor advertising signs (or nonconforming on-premises signs equal to twice its area), and it may only be erected where an existing, lawfully erected outdoor advertising sign already stood as of July 1, 1997, meaning no new billboard locations qualify.
A tri-vision sign also cannot be larger than the sign it replaces, and its slats may not rotate from one face to the next more often than every ten seconds, with the physical rotation itself required to finish within at least four seconds. 1, the practical inventory of sites where even a tri-vision billboard could ever be added is small, and a true digital, video-capable billboard has no path to approval anywhere in the county.
Violations & Fines
Erecting or converting an outdoor advertising sign to display video, animation, flashing or scrolling content violates § 450.7.C.7 and is treated as an illegal sign under § 450.8.C.1.b, subject to the county's abatement and removal process. A tri-vision sign erected without the required special exception, without removing the qualifying lawfully erected signs first, or in a location other than an existing lawfully erected billboard site as of July 1, 1997, is likewise nonconforming and can be ordered removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a digital LED billboard be built in Baltimore County?
Is there any rotating-message billboard allowed?
How fast can a tri-vision billboard change its message?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Baltimore County
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