Clayton County, GA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Clayton County allows digital billboards, styled 'Electronic Multiple Message Signs,' under Sec. § 32-6-75(c)(1) sets for LED changeable-copy signs. Every message on the display has to hold for ten seconds before switching, and the transition itself can take no more than two seconds, so scrolling, fading or other continuous-motion copy is not permitted. 30 foot-candles above the ambient light level, measured from a distance keyed to the sign's face area: 150 feet out for a display under 300 square feet, 200 feet out for one between 300 and 400 square feet, and 250 feet out for anything larger than 400 square feet.

Each sign must carry a light-sensing device that dims or brightens the display automatically as daylight changes, and the owner has to give the county a representative reachable 24 hours a day, seven days a week, who can shut the sign off immediately if it malfunctions; a malfunctioning sign must default to a single frozen image rather than continuing to cycle. No electronic sign may stand within 5,000 feet of another electronic sign oriented toward, and on the same side of, the same roadway. Sec.

20(B) also requires the applicant to accept a permit condition making the display available to Clayton County law enforcement for Amber Alerts, evacuation guidance, or other emergency messaging on request, worked into the normal ad rotation as soon as practicable and displayed for 24 hours or until the county says it can come down. Sec. 20(C) confines these displays to ground signs only, and every board must also satisfy Georgia Department of Transportation rules on top of the county's own conditions.