Honolulu County, HI Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Article 7 of Chapter 21, the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu's Land Use Ordinance, regulates every sign erected anywhere on Oahu, since Honolulu is the sole zoning authority for the island. § 21-7.20's definitions section sweeps broadly: a 'Flashing Sign' is any sign that attracts attention through 'a flashing, changing, revolving, or flickering light source or a change of light intensity,' and the definition specifically folds in 'any sign involving electronically generated or controlled images, such as an electronic programmable message sign, digital sign, plasma or LED sign, or video or holographic display.' That single definition captures digital billboards, LED reader boards, and video walls, whether displaying a static image or full motion.

§ 21-7.30 then lists what's unlawful to erect or maintain under the LUO, and subsection (e) is a flat, one-line ban: 'Flashing signs.' There is no permit path, brightness cap, or dimming schedule that lets a digital billboard operate lawfully in Honolulu; the sign type itself is prohibited, unlike jurisdictions that regulate digital signs through dwell-time or luminance limits. The same section separately bars any sign advertising an activity not conducted on the premises, and any sign that by its 'size, location, movement, content, coloring, or manner of illumination' creates a traffic hazard.

Because a flashing or digital sign is unlawful under § 21-7.30(e), no permit is issued for one in the first place: § 21-7.60(a) makes it 'unlawful for any person to install, construct, erect, alter, relocate, reconstruct' any sign 'without first having obtained a permit,' and the director cannot lawfully issue a permit for a sign type Article 7 prohibits outright. If one goes up anyway, § 21-7.70 lets the director issue a written notice ordering removal within a stated deadline of no more than 30 days, then remove it at the owner's expense if the deadline passes.