Sherman, TX Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Digital billboards have almost no path to approval in the City of Sherman, Texas. Section 14.07.003 opens by saying that, except as otherwise expressly allowed by the chapter, certain signs and conditions are prohibited. The list names billboards, off-location or off-premises signs, and outdoor advertising signs. It also prohibits any changeable electronic variable message sign (CEVMS) or light emitting diode (LED) billboard located, relocated or upgraded along a regulated highway.

Section 14.07.012 closes the remaining gap: all new billboard signs are prohibited, and billboards that were legally existing prior to June 17, 2024 may remain subject to § 14.07.006. Subsection 14.07.002(k) adds that no off-premises advertising is allowed. The code defines a billboard as an off-premises sign designed for a change in copy, so that characters, letters, display or illustrations can be changed or rearranged within a fixed sign face.

An existing billboard that stays under the nonconforming rules cannot be modernized into a digital face. Section 14.07.006 lists what a nonconforming sign cannot do, including being changed to use a different method or technology to convey a message, being expanded, or being moved. Its list of actions that are not maintenance includes converting a sign to utilize animated display or moveable copy technology, updating the technology in an already existing animated display or moveable copy sign, and adding illumination to a nonilluminated sign. Repairs and part replacements are limited to 60 percent of the cost of erecting a new sign of the same type in any consecutive 365 calendar day period.

The owner of a nonconforming sign had to register it and obtain a certificate of nonconforming rights from the city manager within 12 months, or the sign is considered an illegal sign. Billboards are also barred inside the central business district and the Blalock Commercial Overlay District. Where digital displays are allowed on other signs, § 14.07.002(j) sets an eight-second minimum display, a two-second transition, and a brightness cap of 0.3 footcandles over ambient light.