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

Effingham County's zoning ordinance regulates changeable copy signs, including digital and electronic billboards, under Appendix C § 3.38.6.J. An animated or changing display must still meet every other billboard standard in § 3.38.6: a uniform panel 12 feet high by 25 feet long, placement only on commercial or industrial land with at least 200 feet of state or federal highway frontage, and spacing of at least 500 feet from the nearest billboard, with no more than three billboards per mile on the same side of a road.

Billboards that move, flash, or simulate movement are banned outright. On an electronic display, each message must remain static for at least ten seconds after the previous message finishes transitioning, and the change itself must be substantially instantaneous, two seconds or less, without fading, rolling, window shading, or dissolving effects. Every electronic or digital display must carry an ambient light monitor that automatically adjusts brightness, and maximum brightness cannot exceed the surrounding ambient light level by more than 0.3 foot candles, day or night. If a video billboard malfunctions and starts moving, flashing, or producing similar unintended effects, the owner or operator has 48 hours to repair or disconnect it, and the display must be built so the county can turn it off during that malfunction.

The county may also post emergency notices on electronic billboards with 24 hours' notice. Converting an existing static billboard into an automatic changeable-copy or video billboard is allowed only if the modified structure still meets every height, size, location, and other standard elsewhere in § 3.38.6.