Rankin County, MS Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Animated signs
- Banned: any sign with motion
- Flashing signs
- Banned: any flashing or intermittent light
- Illumination
- No blinking, flashing, or changing color
- Static billboards
- C-3 conditional use only
- Billboard spacing
- 1.5 miles from other billboards
Summary
Inside Rankin County's Reservoir Community District, digital and animated billboards are banned outright: Section 3009.05 prohibits any sign with 'action or motion' or intermittent, flashing light, and even static billboards need a conditional-use permit in C-3 zones only.
3009.05 Prohibited Signs:
A. Animated signs: Any sign, which includes action or motion. 166
B. Billboard (prohibited in all zoning districts except C-3 as a conditional use): An on- or offpremise board, panel or tablet used for the display of posters, printed or painted matter, either illuminated or nonilluminated, that directs attention to goods, merchandise, entertainment or services offered. Petition: The owner of any existing billboard may voluntarily petition the District to allow the relocation or modification of an existing billboard. Approval of any such Petition shall be conditioned on an overall net reduction in the number of billboards within the District by voluntary removal. The approval of the District is discretionary. At a minimum, the Petition shall set out the following:
1. A description of any modification to an existing sign.
2. The existing and proposed locations of a relocated sign.
3. The location of any signs proposed to be removed from within the District.
4. An acknowledgement that the request is voluntary and that to the extent that compensation is waived.
5. The time required to remove any existing signs.
6. Other information as may be requested by the Director of Building and Permits.
C. Canopy Sign: A sign hanging beneath the canopy.
D. Roof Top Mounted Sign
E. Flashing Sign: Any sign which contains an intermittent or flashing light by means of animation, or an externally mounted intermittent light source.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
Rankin County's sign rules for the Reservoir Community District (RCD), the overlay covering land near Ross Barnett Reservoir, outlaw the changing-image displays that make a billboard 'digital.' Section 3009.05 bans animated signs (any sign with action or motion) and flashing signs (any intermittent or flashing light, animated or externally mounted). Section 3009.03(B) separately bars blinking, flashing, or changing-intensity illumination on any sign. Even where a static billboard would otherwise be allowed, § 3009.01(C) bars them from every zoning district except as a conditional use in C-3, with a 1.5-mile spacing rule from other billboards. This is RCD sign law: it doesn't reach signs in Brandon, Pearl, Flowood, Richland, Florence, Puckett, or Star.
Violations & Fines
A sign that violates § 3009.03(B) or § 3009.05 is a zoning violation; under § 714, willful violations are a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and up to one year in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are digital billboards allowed in Rankin County's Reservoir Community District?
Can I put up a regular (non-digital) billboard near the reservoir?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rankin County
Compare Rankin County to another location·View the Mississippi sign regulations overview
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