Nampa, ID Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Dwell time (LED billboard)
- 8 seconds minimum
- Dwell time (reader board)
- 1.5 seconds minimum
- Daytime brightness cap
- 7,000 nits (7am-11pm)
- Nighttime brightness cap
- 2,500 nits (11pm-7am)
- Excluded zone
- DH (downtown historic)
Summary
Digital billboards are allowed in Nampa's commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential zones, but LED billboard displays must hold each message for at least eight seconds and cap brightness at 7,000 nits by day and 2,500 nits at night.
The display of a changing LED type billboard sign shall remain static for at least eight seconds... Full color LED billboards featuring full color display shall not exceed 7,000 nits between 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and 2,500 nits from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 16 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Nampa's sign code (title 10, chapter 23) permits electronic message centers and full-color LED billboards in commercial, industrial, residential-professional and university zones, on church, school and office sites -- but bars them from the DH (downtown historic) zone. Displays cannot flash, pulse, simulate motion, or scroll from more than one direction, and each LED billboard message must hold static for at least eight seconds (1.5 seconds for reader boards). Brightness is capped at 7,000 nits from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and 2,500 nits overnight, with mandatory ambient-light dimming sensors. Separate freestanding billboard structures cap out at 312 square feet per street frontage, or 672 square feet on lots abutting Interstate 84.
Violations & Fines
Planning department enforces via the sign permit process; applicants must certify the sign will operate in compliance and prove it on request. Noncompliant electronic signs can be denied a permit or ordered brought into conformance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a digital billboard flash or animate in Nampa?
Are digital billboards allowed downtown in Nampa?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Nampa
Compare Nampa to another location·View the Idaho sign regulations overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.