Columbia, SC Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Columbia's Changeable Copy standard in Sec. 10(c)(3) is what actually governs a digital billboard's electronic face: any sign using LEDs, incandescent or low-voltage lamps, or cathode ray tubes must include automatic brightness compensation that adjusts for sun angle and ambient light so the display is visible but not necessarily radiant, with luminance capped at 1,500 candelas per square meter in daylight and 150 candelas per square meter at all other times, maintained through automatic dimming at all times. Copy has to remain fixed for a minimum of six seconds between changes, and when the copy does change by LED, bulb, CRT, or another light source, the transition itself must be instantaneous rather than a fade or wipe; if the sign changes copy mechanically instead, such as rotating panels, slats, or discs, that transition has two seconds to complete.

A billboard-format digital sign is also an outdoor advertising (billboard) sign under Sec. 4, so it has to be freestanding, can't sit on a lot with existing nonconforming signage, and must clear buffers of 1,000 feet from any river, 750 feet from a historic district or historic property, and 200 to 300 feet from a residential district depending on street orientation. 5 then caps its size and height by road class: up to 248 square feet and 25 feet tall facing a collector street, 380 square feet and 35 feet facing an arterial, or 672 square feet and 50 feet facing an interstate or freeway, with spacing from other billboards ranging from 200 to 1,000 feet.

No variance from any of these standards is available for a billboard oriented toward a collector or arterial street; only a height variance is possible for one oriented toward an interstate or freeway.