Orlando, FL Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Exchange ratio
- 4:1 traditional-to-digital square footage
- Max face size
- 672 sq ft (limited-access) / 400 sq ft (arterial)
- Max height
- 65 ft above grade (limited-access roadway)
- Minimum dwell time
- 8 seconds per message
- Spacing rule
- 1,000 ft from other billboards
- Residential buffer
- 400 ft from residential zoning/use
Summary
New billboards are otherwise banned citywide, but Orlando lets an owner trade in old traditional billboard faces for a digital one at a 4:1 area ratio through the Digital Billboard Exchange Program. Approved signs max out at 672 square feet, 65 feet tall, and must hold each message for at least 8 seconds.
Off-premises digital billboard sign: a billboard sign that changes the "static" message or copy on the sign by electronic means. ... An owner of existing, legally non-conforming traditional, billboard signs...shall be eligible to receive a building permit for one off-premises digital billboard sign in exchange for the permanent removal of at least four times the amount of square feet of traditional billboard sign face to be permitted as an off-premises digital billboard sign(s). ... No message or image may be displayed for less than eight (8) seconds. ... The maximum size of the sign face...shall be 672 square feet where the sign is oriented to a limited access roadway and 400 sq. ft. when oriented to a state arterial roadway. The minimum size of the sign face...shall be 300 square feet.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 92).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 270 bars new billboards generally, and Sec. 277 creates the only exception: the Digital Billboard Exchange Program. " An owner of a legally nonconforming traditional billboard is eligible for a permit for one digital billboard "in exchange for the permanent removal of at least four times the amount of square feet of traditional billboard sign face", trading 1,600 square feet of old billboard for a 400-square-foot digital one, for example. Eligible sites are limited to specific industrial, activity-center and MU-2 zoning districts within 150 feet of a limited-access highway or state arterial right-of-way, and signs must sit at least 1,000 feet from another digital or traditional billboard, 400 feet from residential zoning or an existing residential use, 400 feet from a historic district, 400 feet from a park, school or religious institution, and 100 feet from a hotel or motel.
Maximum height is 40 feet above the crown of a limited-access roadway (65 feet above grade) or 30 feet above a state arterial (60 feet above grade); maximum face size is 672 square feet on a limited-access roadway and 400 square feet on a state arterial, with a 300-square-foot minimum. 5 seconds with no special visual effects. The Digital Billboard Exchange Program took effect 30 days after the enacting ordinance's effective date.
Violations & Fines
Any off-premises digital billboard sign operating out of compliance with the section's standards "must immediately terminate displaying an image until compliance is achieved," per Sec. 64.277(B)(1)(k). Applications and permits also expire on fixed deadlines, 14 days to apply after a planning official determination, 30 days to obtain the building permit, and 90 days to complete construction and demolish the exchanged billboards, after which the owner must start over with a new application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can new billboards be built in Orlando?
How big can an Orlando digital billboard be?
How close can a digital billboard be to a house?
How fast can the message change on an Orlando digital billboard?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Orlando
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