Cincinnati, OH Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Cincinnati Municipal Code Chapter 313 imposes an excise tax on the privilege of installing, placing, and maintaining outdoor advertising signs in the city. Section 313-3(a) sets the tax at the greater of 7% of gross receipts generated by the sign or an annual minimum amount fixed by square footage under § 313-3(b). That minimum schedule singles out electronic signs for the highest rate: $10 per square foot of sign face area for electronic outdoor advertising signs located within 660 feet of the nearest edge of an interstate or primary highway right-of-way and visible from the main traveled way, versus $5 per square foot for a non-electronic sign in the same highway-adjacent location, and $2 per square foot for any other outdoor advertising sign in the city.

'Outdoor advertising sign' carries the definition in § 895-1-O -- a sign made available to another person for a fee to display a message. Section 313-5 exempts signs not offered for rent to an advertiser during the tax year, signs exempt from the outdoor-advertising permit rules under § 895-2, and any sign of 36 square feet or less. Every advertising host must register each sign with the treasurer within 30 days under § 313-9, pay one quarter of the annual minimum tax each quarter, and true up gross-receipts tax annually by April 30 under § 313-11.