Salt Lake City, UT Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- New electronic billboards
- Prohibited outright
- Existing-to-electronic conversion
- Prohibited
- Max brightness (if exception applies)
- 0.3 foot-candle
- Min dwell time (if exception applies)
- 8 seconds
- Curfew near residential/business zones
- Off 12am-6am
Summary
Salt Lake City prohibits building or converting any billboard to an electronic format, with only a narrow legally-compelled exception under strict brightness, motion, and curfew limits.
U. Electronic Billboards: 1. Prohibitions: Except as provided in subsection U2 of this section, after the effective date of this subsection U: a. No electronic billboard shall be constructed or reconstructed for any reason, and b. The conversion, remodeling, or rehabilitation of any existing billboard to an electronic format is prohibited.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-21: Code current through: Ord. 40-26, passed June 16, 2026).
Full Breakdown
City code flatly bars new electronic billboards and bars converting an existing billboard to electronic display. The only path to an electronic billboard is if a court or state law forces the city to allow one, and even then it must run static images only (no motion), an 8-second minimum dwell time, quarter-second twirl time, brightness capped at 0.3 foot-candle, and no illumination from midnight to 6 a.m. near residential and business districts.
Violations & Fines
Building or converting a billboard to electronic format without meeting the legal-compulsion exception is unlawful new billboard construction under § 21A.46.160(J); a compliant exception billboard that exceeds brightness, motion, or dwell-time limits, or lacks an automatic dimmer and annual compliance certification, is a code violation subject to permit denial or revocation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put up a new digital billboard in Salt Lake City?
What if the city is legally required to allow one?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salt Lake City
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Digital Billboards in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Salt Lake County handle digital billboards.