St. Joseph County, IN Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Area cap
- 40% of sign surface area, one EMC per establishment
- Residential curfew
- Dark 11:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m. within 200 feet of residential
- Message hold time
- Static display minimum eight seconds
- Motion
- Full motion video and animated transitions prohibited
- Luminance cap
- 750 nits maximum for illuminated signs
- Permit
- Sign permit required before installation, § 154.372(A)
Summary
St. Joseph County allows electronic message center signs as part of a freestanding or building sign, capped at 40 percent of that sign's surface area, under Zoning Ordinance § 154.372(H). Signs within 200 feet of a residential parcel must go dark between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., messages must hold static for at least eight seconds, and full-motion video is banned.
(H)Changeable copy signs. ... Only one changeable copy sign is allowed per establishment.(2)The changeable copy portion of an on-premise sign shall not exceed 40 percent of the sign surface area of any permitted sign type.(3)Electronic message centers (EMC). An electronic message center is a changeable copy sign that uses computer generated graphics or other electronic means of changing messages. EMCs...shall also comply with the following regulations:(a)EMC signs shall have automatic dimming controls, either by photocell or via software settings, in order to bring EMC lighting level at night into compliance with this section;(b)EMC signs located within 200 feet of a parcel used for residential purposes shall not be illuminated between the hours of 11:00 pm and 6:00 am;(c)All message shall be static and displayed for a minimum of eight seconds;(d)Any change in an electronic message must be instantaneous without fading in, dropping in, spinning, rotating, or similar moving copy changes;(e)Full motion video or film display...is prohibited; and(f)Any EMC sign that is malfunctioning must be turned off.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 3).
Full Breakdown
372(H) treats an electronic message center (EMC) as a type of changeable copy sign, the broader category covering any sign whose message changes electrically or by manually swapping letters on a track panel. Only one changeable copy sign is permitted per establishment, and its area cannot exceed 40 percent of the surface of the freestanding or building sign it is part of. 372(G)(3), which also requires compliance beginning one half-hour before sunset and ending at sunrise as determined by NOAA. m. Every displayed message must remain static for a minimum of eight seconds, and any change from one message to the next must be instantaneous, with no fading, dropping, spinning or rotating transition effects.
Full-motion video or streamed film content on an EMC is prohibited outright, and any EMC that malfunctions must be shut off rather than left running. 380(C). 372(A) before installation, alteration or relocation.
Violations & Fines
Erecting or altering an EMC without the required sign permit, or exceeding its 40-percent area cap, static-display or curfew limits, exposes the owner to a removal order for noncompliance; the county may order removal of any sign that becomes unsafe or violates this subchapter, and unpermitted or nonconforming signs are enforced as zoning violations under § 154.999, carrying a fine set in the county's schedule of fines and fees and repeated for each day the violation continues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business in St. Joseph County install a digital billboard?
How late can an electronic message sign stay lit near a home?
Can the message scroll or fade between ads?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Joseph County
Compare St. Joseph County to another location·View the Indiana sign regulations overview
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