Hall County, GA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- New billboards
- Banned under Sec. 8.6.18
- Conversion ratio
- 2 sq ft static removed per 1 sq ft digital
- Size rule
- Digital no larger than static replaced
- Brightness cap
- 0.3 foot-candles above ambient
- Image dwell time
- Minimum 10 seconds
- Malfunction rule
- Shut off if 30%+ lights fail
Summary
New billboards are banned outright in unincorporated Hall County under UDC Sec. 8.6.18, but Sec. 8.6.19.C allows converting an existing legal static billboard to digital only if two square feet of static billboard face are removed countywide for every one square foot of new digital face, and the digital sign is no larger than the static one it replaces.
Any legally erected billboard may be converted to a digital billboard so long as it meets the following limitations:1.Replacing a static billboard with a digital billboarda.Two square feet of existing static billboard display must be removed within the county limits for each one square foot of digital billboard display area, either newly constructed or installed as a modification and/or conversion of an existing static billboard. ... d.Digital billboards shall be the same size or smaller than the static billboard being replaced. ... 3.Digital billboard operational standardsa.Digital billboards must display static images for a period of at least ten seconds before instantaneously transitioning to another static image. ... d.No digital billboard may exceed a brightness level of 0.3 foot-candles above ambient light as measured using a foot-candle meter at a preset distance depending on sign area.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
Sec. A confirms no billboard may be erected or reconstructed without a county permit, and no new billboard permits are issued at all except as federal or state law requires or as the reduction program in Sec. C allows. To convert, an applicant must file a complete current inventory of every billboard it owns in the county, listing each structure's coordinates, size, number of faces, and illumination type, and a conversion replacing a nonconforming static billboard needs separate approval from the Board of Commissioners; building an entirely new digital structure in a fresh location, after banking the required 2:1 removal credit, also needs Board of Commissioners approval of the site.
3 foot-candles above ambient light, measured with a foot-candle meter at a distance equal to the square root of the sign's area times 100. Owners must give the county a 24-hour contact able to shut the sign off, and if more than 30 percent of a digital sign's lights malfunction, the owner must turn the display off until it is repaired. Sec. 4 also requires permit holders to carry emergency messages like Amber Alerts when directed by the issuing agency or the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 8.6.19.C.3.e provides that if a digital billboard's owner fails to control brightness within the 0.3 foot-candle limit, the county revokes the sign permit, the sign must be shut off immediately, and it must stay off until re-permitted, which requires reapplying and paying new permit fees. A billboard erected or converted without the required permit, inventory filing, or Board approval is also a UDC violation under Sec. 11.4.3 and 11.4.4, a misdemeanor punishable under Sec. 1.50.020 by up to a $1,000 fine or 60 days in jail, with each day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a company put up a brand-new billboard in unincorporated Hall County?
How does converting a static billboard to digital work in Hall County?
How bright can a digital billboard be in Hall County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hall County
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