Beloit, WI Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 30.17, Outdoor Sign Ordinance
- Permit
- Sign permit and fee required before installation
- Max size
- 75 sq ft (150 sq ft in CBD)
- Max height
- 4 feet
- Message change rate
- No faster than once every 5 seconds
- Night hours near homes
- 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. only
- Enforcement
- Director of Planning and Building Services
Summary
Beloit's Outdoor Sign Ordinance regulates digital billboards as "electronically variable-message (EVM) signs" under Beloit Code of Ordinances § 30.17. A sign permit is required, and general EVM signs may only run as secondary, on-premises signs in commercial and PLI districts, capped at 75 square feet (150 in the Central Business District), 4 feet tall, and limited to one message change every 5 seconds.
(1)DEFINITIONS.(a)ELECTRONICALLY VARIABLE-MESSAGE (EVM) Sign. An electronically variable-message (EVM) sign is a permanent, outdoor, secondary, on-premises sign that is part of a primary, on-premises sign and is programmed electronically to change its message automatically. An EVM sign is also known as a "changing sign." ... (b)EVM signs that do not display time, temperature and/or date shall:1.Require a sign permit and permit fee. ... 2.Be permitted in C-2, C-3, CBD and PLI zoning districts as secondary, on-premises signs. ... 3.Not exceed maximum allowable sign area as follows: ... Zoning District Maximum EVM Sign Area C-2, C-3, & PLI 75 sq. ft. CBD 150 sq. ft. ... 4.Not exceed 4' in height. ... 7.Not be subject to time limits, except that EVM signs shall:a.Operate only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. if the establishment at which they are located abuts or is directly across the street from a residential zoning district. ... b.Not change sign face more than every 5 seconds.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Update 01 - 05-2026).
Full Breakdown
" EVM signs cannot serve as a multiple-family dwelling sign or as a primary, on-premises sign; they only exist as an add-on to another sign. Signs limited to displaying time, temperature or date may go in any commercial zoning district, capped at 32 square feet unless a sign-area bonus applies, are folded into the site's overall maximum sign area, must sit at least 15 feet from the lot line, and cannot change more than once every 4 seconds. General digital message signs, the kind most people mean by "digital billboard," are confined to the C-2, C-3, CBD and PLI zoning districts as secondary on-premises signs only.
They top out at 75 square feet in C-2, C-3 and PLI, 150 square feet in the Central Business District, and 4 feet in height. Only one is allowed per premises, and it must sit outside any vision triangle set by § 8-400 of the Zoning Code. m. 09. A sign permit and fee, reviewed by the Director of Planning and Building Services, is required before installation.
Violations & Fines
Erecting or operating an EVM sign without a permit, or outside its size, height, hour or spacing limits, is a violation of Chapter 30, with penalties set under § 30.50 tied to the general forfeiture schedule in § 25.04 of the Municipal Code. The Director of Planning and Building Services, who administers sign permits under § 30.06, can require an unlawful sign's removal, and a sign installed contrary to this chapter does not qualify as a legal nonconforming sign.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business put up a digital billboard anywhere in Beloit?
How big can Beloit's digital signs be?
How fast can the message on a digital sign change?
Are there nighttime restrictions on digital signs near homes?
What happens if a digital sign violates the ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Beloit
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