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Southborough, MA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Heavy Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified October 2026

Key Facts

Billboards
Specifically prohibited, § 174-11(C)(2)(b)
Changing message signs
Flashing, moving, changing message and animated signs prohibited
Sign lighting curfew
10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., with police, fire and open-business exceptions
Permit issued by
Building Inspector
Fine
Up to $300 per offense, each day separate
Special permit body
Board of Appeals, after a Planning Board report

Summary

Southborough bans billboards and similar signs outright. Section 174-11(C)(2)(b) prohibits them, and (C)(2)(c) prohibits flashing, moving, changing message and animated signs, which is the category a digital display falls into. The Building Inspector issues every sign permit, and no sign can be lit between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. unless it identifies a police or fire station or a business open to the public on site.

(a) The only signs allowed in the Town of Southborough are signs that advertise, call attention to or indicate the person occupying the premises on which the sign is erected or maintained or the business transacted thereon or that advertise the property itself or any part thereof as for sale or rent and which contain no other matter. (b) Billboards and similar signs are specifically prohibited. (c) Flashing, moving, changing message and animated signs are prohibited. (d) No sign may be illuminated between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. except signs identifying police or fire stations or businesses open to serve the public on site. ... (3) Illumination of signs. Illumination shall be by white, steady, stationary light shielded and directed solely (or by silhouette) at the sign.

View official code

Full Breakdown

The Zoning Bylaw's sign section, § 174-11, opens its basic requirements for all districts with a narrow rule: the only signs allowed in the Town are signs that advertise or indicate the person occupying the premises, the business transacted there, or the property itself as for sale or rent, and which contain no other matter. Off-premises advertising therefore has no footing, and subsection (b) removes any doubt by prohibiting billboards and similar signs specifically. Subsection (c) separately prohibits flashing, moving, changing message and animated signs. A display that cycles through messages is the kind of sign subsection (c) names.

Illumination is tightly controlled as well. Subsection (3) requires white, steady, stationary light that is shielded and directed solely at the sign, bars signs that use translucent panels or similar components to create an image by allowing light to pass through (businesses fronting on Route 9 are excepted from that one limit), and prohibits illuminated signs in residential and conservation districts. Subsection (d) sets the 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. dark period.

Relief is narrow. The Board of Appeals can grant a special permit for a sign that misses the limits on sign height, maximum number of signs, illumination, maximum area or minimum setback, but only if the sign is otherwise in compliance with the section, and it will not act without a written report from the Planning Board. The billboard and changing message prohibitions are not among the limits that sentence names. A legal nonconforming sign can stay but cannot be enlarged, reworded, redesigned or altered, and the protection ends for a sign abandoned for six months or more.

Violations & Fines

The Building Inspector, acting as Zoning Enforcement Officer, enforces the sign section. Under § 174-24(A) a violation is punished by a fine not exceeding $300 for each offense, and each day the violation continues is a separate offense. Under § 174-24(B) the officer can use noncriminal disposition under MGL c. 40, § 21D, by giving written notice to appear before the Clerk of the Westborough District Court within 21 days. The Inspector of Buildings can also order removal of any sign not maintained in accordance with the bylaw.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a business install an electronic message board in Southborough?
Not if the display flashes, moves, changes its message or is animated, because § 174-11(C)(2)(c) prohibits those signs. The special permit sentence in § 174-11(E)(1) names limits on height, number of signs, illumination, area and setback, and does not name the changing message ban. A business can still use a conventional wall, window, awning or standing sign within the sign table.
Are billboards allowed along Route 9?
No. Section 174-11(C)(2)(b) prohibits billboards and similar signs in the basic requirements that apply in all districts. Route 9 frontage in the Highway Business, Industrial and Industrial Park districts gets a larger standing sign in the sign table, 100 square feet at 25 feet high, one per lot, but that is a sign for the business on the lot.
When can a Southborough sign be lit?
Not between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. under § 174-11(C)(2)(d), except signs identifying police or fire stations or businesses open to serve the public on site. Illumination must be white, steady, stationary light shielded and directed solely at the sign, and illuminated signs are prohibited in residential and conservation districts.
Who issues a sign permit?
The Building Inspector. Section 174-11(C)(2)(f) requires an application with the information and drawings he requires, and an issued permit, before any sign is erected or altered on a building or on land. Signs of up to four square feet bearing only property numbers or resident names, and open/closed signs up to two feet by three feet, are listed as not needing a permit.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Southborough

Political SignsSome RestrictionsWindow SignsSome RestrictionsGarage Sale SignsSome RestrictionsHoliday DisplaysLight RestrictionsParking Rules: Loading ZonesSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Driveway RulesSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Commercial & Oversized VehiclesSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Abandoned VehiclesSome RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic ZoningSignificant RestrictionsLandscaping Rules: Native PlantsLight Restrictions

All Southborough rules

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