Waco, TX Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Message hold time
- At least 8 seconds per message
- Message change speed
- Completed within 2 seconds
- Malfunction rule
- Must freeze in static position automatically
- Replacement ratio
- 4x removed sign footage required for new digital sign
- Prohibited
- Flashing, scrolling, video, or truck-mounted digital signs
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 2009-364, July 7, 2009
Summary
Waco allows digital off-premises billboards only under strict operating rules: each message must hold for at least eight seconds, changes must complete in two seconds and switch the whole face at once, and the sign must default to a frozen display on malfunction. Flashing, scrolling video, and truck-mounted digital signs are flatly banned.
(a)Digital off-premises signs may be located on either side of a roadway; however, each sign must only be visible from one direction of travel.(b)Each message on a digital off-premises sign shall be displayed for at least eight seconds and a change of message shall be accomplished within two seconds.(c)A change of message must occur simultaneously on the entire sign face.(d)Safety. A digital off-premises sign shall:(1)Contain a default mechanism that freezes the sign in one position if a malfunction occurs; and(2)Automatically adjust the intensity of its display according to natural ambient light conditions.(f)Prohibitions. A digital off-premise sign shall not:(1)Be illuminated by flashing, intermittent, or moving lights;(2)Contain or display animated, moving video, or scrolling advertising;(3)Consist of a static image projected upon a stationary object; or(4)Be a mobile sign located on a truck or trailer.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 88).
Full Breakdown
Waco created its digital-sign framework as part of a 2009 sign code overhaul (Ord. No. S. 84). Section 28-1077 then governs how an approved digital billboard operates: it must face only one direction of travel per side, hold each message for at least eight seconds with the message change completed within two seconds, and switch the entire sign face simultaneously rather than scrolling or fading section by section. Every digital billboard must default to a frozen, static display if it malfunctions and must automatically dim or brighten with ambient daylight.
Owners must give inspection services standing contact information for someone able to shut the sign off at any time, and if a sign causes glare or otherwise interferes with drivers, inspection services can order the owner to reduce sign intensity within 12 hours of the request. The section flatly bars flashing or moving lights, animated or scrolling video, static images projected onto a stationary object, and mobile digital signs mounted on trucks or trailers. Section 28-1076 separately lists specific streets where off-premises signs, digital or conventional, cannot be located at all.
Violations & Fines
A digital billboard that scrolls, flashes, shows video, or fails to freeze on malfunction violates Section 28-1077(f) and can be ordered shut down by the inspection services department; an owner who does not respond within 12 hours to a request to dim a glare-causing sign is separately in breach of the owner-responsibilities subsection. Building a new digital off-premises sign without first securing the required square-footage removal credit under Section 28-1078 is a permit violation that blocks issuance of the sign permit itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a digital billboard in Waco show video or scrolling text?
How long must each message stay up on a Waco digital billboard?
What happens if a digital billboard malfunctions in Waco?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Waco
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