New Castle County, DE Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Where allowed
- Only I-95, I-295, I-495, US-13 NB
- Brightness cap
- 7,500 nits day / 1,000 nits night
- Spacing
- 2,500 ft from another digital billboard
- Trade-in rule
- 1 static billboard removed per new sign
- Historic overlay
- Digital billboards banned outright
Summary
New Castle County limits digital billboards to the I-95, I-295, I-495 and US-13 corridors, caps their brightness, and requires an old static billboard to come down before a new digital one goes up.
EVM off-premises advertising signs shall only be located on and be oriented to interstate highways: I-95, I-295 and I-495; and state highway US-13 NB between SR-273 and US-40. EVM off-premises advertising signs along the same roadway and facing the same direction of travel shall not be located within two thousand five hundred (2,500) feet of another EVM off-premises advertising sign or within five hundred (500) feet of a static off-premise advertising sign, as measured along the centerline of the roadway.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 5).
Full Breakdown
The Unified Development Code restricts electronic message billboards (EVM off-premises advertising signs) to interstate highways I-95, I-295 and I-495 and to US-13 northbound between SR-273 and US-40 -- no digital billboards anywhere else in the county. New signs must sit at least 2,500 feet from another digital billboard and 500 feet from a static one, stay 1,000 feet from interchanges and intersections, and skip designated scenic byways entirely. Brightness is capped at 7,500 nits by day and 1,000 nits at night, with a mandatory photocell dimmer, and each message must hold for at least ten seconds. An applicant must also remove one existing static billboard in the unincorporated county before a new digital one is permitted. Historic overlay districts ban digital billboards outright.
Violations & Fines
Violating EVMS certification or timing standards draws a $50 citation that doubles if unpaid within 30 days, plus $50 per day it continues; the County can also confiscate a noncompliant sign outright.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a digital billboard go up anywhere in New Castle County?
Do digital billboards inside Wilmington or Newark follow this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Castle County
Compare New Castle County to another location·View the Delaware sign regulations overview
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