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Minneapolis, MN Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

New billboards
None allowed after 12/1/2025
Digital conversion
Banned citywide except one district
Exception zone
Downtown West Entertainment Billboard District
Governing table
Table 560-7 district standards

Summary

Minneapolis bars new digital or electronic elements on off-premises billboards citywide, with one narrow exception carved out for the Downtown West Entertainment Billboard District.

No new off-premises sign shall be constructed or established within the billboard districts. ... Alterations to existing, permitted off-premises signs shall be permitted, but shall not include electronic elements or conversion to a flashing or animated off-premises sign. ... in the Downtown West Entertainment Billboard District shall be permitted to include electronic elements or conversion to a flashing or animated off-premises sign, subject to the provisions of Table 560-7.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 72).

Full Breakdown

Under the zoning code's off-premises sign rules, alterations to an existing billboard "shall not include electronic elements or conversion to a flashing or animated off-premises sign" anywhere in the city. The single carve-out is the Downtown West Entertainment Billboard District, where a billboard may be converted from static to digital, subject to Table 560-7's district standards and any future revenue-share or tax terms the city adopts for that conversion. No new off-premises sign of any kind may be built within the billboard districts after December 1, 2025.

Violations & Fines

Converting an existing billboard to digital or adding flashing/animated elements outside the Downtown West Entertainment Billboard District without approval is a zoning violation, enforced by the zoning administrator through the standard sign-permit and code-compliance process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an existing Minneapolis billboard be converted to a digital display?
Only if it sits in the Downtown West Entertainment Billboard District; everywhere else, alterations "shall not include electronic elements or conversion to a flashing or animated off-premises sign."
Can a brand-new digital billboard be built in Minneapolis?
No. No new off-premises sign of any kind may be constructed or established within the city's billboard districts as of December 1, 2025.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Minneapolis

Noise Ordinances: Construction HoursSome RestrictionsWindow SignsSome RestrictionsFreeway-Facing SignsSignificant RestrictionsPolitical SignsFew RestrictionsParking Rules: Towing & Impound RightsSignificant RestrictionsParking Rules: Loading ZonesSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Preferential Parking DistrictsSome RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: Bird ProtectionHeavy RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic ZoningSome Restrictions

All Minneapolis rules

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