Columbus, OH Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Under Columbus City Codes § 3378.06, an automatic changeable copy billboard near residential or institutional zoning (within 500 feet) may only illuminate between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.; farther out, illumination is unrestricted. Every digital billboard needs a light-sensing dimmer, must go dark or show solid black if more than half the face malfunctions, and cannot exceed 0.3 foot-candles above ambient light measured with a Lux meter at a set distance keyed to sign size. Messages must hold static for at least 8 seconds with instant transitions -- no fades or wipes -- and auditory effects are banned outright. Billboards themselves are confined to C-3, C-4, C-5 and M zoning under § 3378.03.