Paulding County, GA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Chapter 67 defines an electronic sign at § 67-4 as "a sign whose message may be changed at intervals by computer controller, microprocessor controller, or by remote control, and whose message is displayed through the use of LED, LCD, plasma, or other similar type panels or screens, including devices known as commercial electronic message signs and similar devices." That definition covers LED billboards, gas-station price boards and any other screen-based sign.

Section 67-17, the prohibited-signs list, sets the two numeric limits that govern digital displays. Paragraph (20) makes it unlawful to install an "electronic sign with a sign face over 120 square feet," the same 120-square-foot ceiling the code uses to separate a monument sign from a billboard. Paragraph (15) separately bans "changeable copy signs which change more than once per 20 seconds within 150 feet of a road right-of-way," so a compliant board within that band must hold each message for at least 20 seconds. Flashing signs, defined in § 67-4 as signs whose illumination "exhibits marked changes in lighting effects," are banned outright under § 67-17(16), and animated signs are banned under § 67-17(14), closing off strobing or scrolling effects regardless of size.

Any electronic or LED sign still needs an approved Sign Review Application under § 67-6 and, since it incorporates electricity, an electrical permit under § 67-8(9) before installation. The director of the Department of Community Development administers Chapter 67 with the assistance of the Paulding County Marshal's Office, which issues citations under § 67-18.