Bessemer, AL Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Electronic sign approval
- Special exception, zoning board of adjustment
- Allowed districts
- Non-residential districts only
- Signs per lot
- One changeable/electronic sign maximum
- Standard detached sign height cap
- 18 feet (24 feet hotels/hospitals)
- Off-premises electronic billboard cap
- 672 sq ft, 40 feet high
- General penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 6 months
Summary
Bessemer's zoning code bans flashing or moving-light signs citywide, but Sec. 11.8 carves out an exception for electronic message signs: they need special-exception approval from the zoning board of adjustment, are limited to non-residential districts, and a lot may carry only one changeable or electronic message sign.
(10)No sign shall display flashing, intermittent, rotating, or moving lights, or lights of changing degrees of intensity, which are visible from the right-of-way of a public street or highway, or from any other vehicular travel way open to the public. An exception is an electronic message which may be allowed in all non-residential districts upon approval by the zoning board of adjustments.(11)Changeable message signs may be permitted in all non-residential districts as a special exception. This shall include manually changeable message boards provided the sign panel matches the overall sign color in lieu of white. Electronic changeable signs shall be allowed if all other sign standards are met. Only one such changeable sign may be allowed per lot.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Republication).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 8, the general sign regulations in Appendix B (Zoning), starts from a blanket ban: no sign in the city may display "flashing, intermittent, rotating, or moving lights, or lights of changing degrees of intensity" if it is visible from a public street or travel way. Subsection (10) then carves out one exception, an electronic message sign, but only if the zoning board of adjustment approves it and only in a non-residential district; residential-district digital signage stays banned outright. Subsection (11) folds electronic changeable signs into the broader "changeable message sign" category alongside manually changeable letter boards, and treats both the same way: a special exception from the board, non-residential districts only, and no more than one such sign per lot regardless of how many other signs the property already has.
" Those other standards still stack on top of the special-exception process: a detached electronic sign in most districts tops out at 18 feet (24 feet for hotels, hospitals or an approved planned development) under Sec. 8(1)(b), and it can never exceed the height of the principal building on the lot. Off-premises electronic billboards face a separate, larger envelope under Sec. 15, up to 672 square feet a side and 40 feet high, but still need the same non-residential location and board approval that Sec. 8 requires for any electronic display.
Violations & Fines
Sign permit denials, including a refusal to grant the special exception an electronic sign needs, can be appealed to the board of adjustment under Sec. 11.7(4). Absent an appeal, operating an unapproved electronic or changeable sign is a Code violation under the citywide general penalty in Sec. 1-8: conviction carries a fine of up to $500.00, imprisonment or hard labor for up to six months, or both, and the building inspection officer can order an unlawful sign removed at the owner's expense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business in Bessemer install a digital billboard?
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What if the city denies my electronic sign application?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bessemer
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