Queen Anne's County, MD Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Section 18:1-81A(13) permits electronic signs, including light-emitting diode (LED) signs, as freestanding signs only, under a list of limits. No electronic sign can exceed 60 square feet of the maximum freestanding sign surface area otherwise permitted under § 18:1-81A(10)(b)[1]. That table covers the UC, TC, SC, SI, SIBE, LIHS, VC, GVC, SHVC, GNC, and GGMC Districts and sets the freestanding maximum at 150, 200, or 250 square feet depending on the development site's gross floor area or road frontage.

Message rules are strict. Surface area copy cannot change more frequently than every 30 seconds, a limit added by Ord. No. 16-12 on 2-14-2017. The sign can have no revolving, flashing, moving, scrolling, rotating or similar intermittent lights or features that simulate movement, and cannot be animated, play video or audio messages, or blink in any manner. It consists only of alphabetic or numeric characters on a plain background, though company or business logos and graphic, pictorial, or photographic images are allowed if they are not distasteful or distracting.

Brightness is capped at 7,500 nits during daylight hours and 750 nits between sunset and sunrise, measured from the sign's face at maximum brightness. The applicant must provide written certification from the sign manufacturer that the light intensity is preset not to exceed those levels and is protected from end-user manipulation by password protected software or other appropriate methods.

Billboards are a separate question. Section 18:1-82H states that off-premises signs, including billboards, are prohibited except as specifically allowed under Chapter 18:1. Chapter 18:1 defines an electronic sign as one whose message may be changed at intervals by electronic process or by remote control. Section 18:1-81A(1) requires a sign permit under Part 7 before any sign is erected, and § 18:1-81A(10)(c) limits freestanding sign height in the commercial districts to 20, 25, or 30 feet depending on the setback from the nearest property line. These rules apply in unincorporated Queen Anne's County, including the Kent Island commercial corridor; incorporated towns use their own codes.