Naperville, IL Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Chapter 16 (Signs) defines a 'CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN' as 'a component of a sign that features changeable text, characters, and/or illustrations that allows the sign's display to be amended, updated or otherwise modified,' expressly noting that 'electronic message boards are a type of changeable copy sign' (section 6-16-2). 3 limits it to no more than 50 percent of that sign's maximum permitted area, restricts the display to changing 'no more than once every ten (10) seconds,' and requires that the sign 'only contain static displays'; any faster-changing or animated display requires a variance under section 6-3-6.

2, which cap the number of monument signs at one per property with at least 100 feet of frontage (two if the frontage reaches 500 feet, spaced at least 200 feet apart) and set a 10-foot height limit. Section 6-16-3 goes further for downtown: item 11 of the Prohibited Signs list bars 'changeable-copy signs and electronic message boards, as defined in this Chapter, in the Downtown Central Business District' entirely, alongside a companion ban on ground signs generally in that district (item 12). Every changeable-copy or electronic ground sign still needs a sign permit under section 6-16-9, including a scaled drawing, an electrical contractor's certification, and design that withstands 30 pounds-per-square-foot wind pressure; the permit lapses if the work is not completed within six months of issuance.