Bloomington, IN Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

100(g)(3). That permitting section then sets the only path a digital message board can take in the City of Bloomington. First, an electronic reader board must be incorporated into permanent signage; a freestanding digital board that is not part of a permitted permanent sign structure does not qualify. Second, the reader board portion is capped at thirty square feet or forty percent of the total area of the sign face on which it sits, whichever number is smaller, so a large sign face does not automatically buy a large digital component.

Third, the ordinance treats changeable copy areas, meaning non-electronic sections that can be manually swapped, the same as reader board area for a combined limit: together they cannot exceed forty percent of the sign face, and whatever the reader board displays must hold each message for at least twenty seconds before changing, which rules out fast-scrolling or video-style content. Fourth, and most restrictive for large-format advertising, electronic reader boards are barred entirely from any sign face larger than one hundred twenty-five square feet, which keeps digital displays off Bloomington's biggest freestanding and wall signs regardless of what percentage they would occupy. 100(i)(7). A sign permit from the Planning and Transportation Department is required before any qualifying reader board can be installed.