Prince William County, VA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Digital and electronic billboard-style signage is governed by Sec. 27(6), part of the county's Division 2 sign regulations rebuilt in full by Ord. No. 19-68 in December 2019. Unlike most sign types in the ordinance, electronic message boards are not tied to a particular zoning district's by-right or special-use list; instead, the code requires a Special Use Permit or a rezoning/proffer amendment approved by the Board of County Supervisors before one can be installed in any zoning district in the county. Once approved, the display itself is tightly constrained: it may only be part of a freestanding sign, never a facade sign, and its message content is restricted to static images or text changed through subtle transitions that do not look like moving, scrolling, or traveling text.

Each message must stay on screen for a minimum of five seconds before the next transition. The code also targets malfunctions and nighttime glare directly: every electronic message board must contain a default mechanism that reverts the display to a black screen if it malfunctions, its background may not be white, off-white or yellow, and it must include a photo cell that automatically dims the display's brightness at sunset. These standards sit alongside the general prohibition, in Sec. 24, on signs that flash, scroll, rotate or otherwise use motion to attract attention, which the electronic message board rule carves an exception into for the permitted static-transition displays only.