Margate, FL Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Section 40.706 of the Margate Land Development Code, the Signage article, defines a billboard as a sign on poles, benches, buses, buildings or structures, in the public right-of-way or on private property, that advertises an establishment, activity, product, service or entertainment sold, produced or furnished somewhere other than the property where the sign stands. Subsection (Q) then lists off-premises signs and billboards, including off-premises project directional signs, among the prohibited signs that cannot be installed or displayed in the city unless another section specifically permits them. Pole signs and flashing signs sit on the same prohibited list, and so do visible neon bulb, LED or other bare bulb signs and building embellishments, with a narrow exception cross-referenced to Section 40.706(I)(vii). The result is that a roadside digital billboard advertising a third party has no path to approval in Margate.

Electronic copy is treated as a form of changeable copy sign under subsection (H). Changeable copy or electronic copy is allowed only for theaters, playhouses, freestanding places of assembly, freestanding schools, drive-thru establishments, hospitals, banks, drive-thru facilities and vehicle fuel stations. Those users must follow four electronic messaging limits: no scrolling, flashing or any other animation; more than one message is allowed but with at least ninety seconds between message changes; changes must be quick shift, with fading or similar animation not permitted; and the electronic portion cannot exceed twenty-five percent of the total sign area. The code defines an animated sign as one that uses motion parts or displays flashing, oscillating or intermittent lights, so video-style displays fall outside the rules.

The practical line is on-premises versus off-premises. A bank or fuel station can run a price or message panel on its own site within those limits. A company selling advertising space on a screen along State Road 7 or Atlantic Boulevard cannot.