Apex, NC Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

There is no specific Apex ordinance setting a deadline for taking down residential holiday lights or seasonal decorations. The UDO definition of 'Sign' in Sec. 8.7.9 covers devices that 'identify or convey information' about commerce, a business, or an event — generic seasonal greetings, wreaths, garlands, snowflakes, inflatables, and Christmas-light displays without a commercial message generally do not meet that definition, and even if a decoration does carry text it falls within the UDO Sec. 8.7.1 exemption for 'Non-commercial signs on a residential property.' Lighting and decoration are still subject to several other rules: (1) UDO Sec. 8.7.2 prohibits anything that obstructs the required sight triangle at an intersection or driveway; (2) UDO Sec. 8.7.2 prohibits 'Animated Signs or Attracting Devices' citywide, but expressly exempts 'decorative banners on residential property displayed by the resident with non-commercial messages,' so seasonal banners on a porch are fine; (3) Apex Town Code Chapter 14 (Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions) governs general nuisances — a sound system or amplified seasonal music must comply with Town Code Sec. 14-31 (amplified-sound rule referenced in the food-truck ordinance), and excessive glare projected onto a neighbor's home or roadway can be cited as a nuisance; (4) holiday inflatables, signs, and lights placed in the public right-of-way violate UDO Sec. 8.7.2 and may be removed by Town staff; (5) HOAs in many Apex subdivisions impose seasonal display windows under their CC&Rs, enforced privately under Chapter 47F of the NC General Statutes (the NC Planned Community Act). Light displays must not cause spillover or glare onto a public right-of-way or residential premises under UDO Sec. 8.7.6 illumination rules. The Town's holiday-decoration policy is therefore: do what you like on your own property, keep it out of the right-of-way and sight triangle, keep it from creating glare or nuisance, and check your HOA rules.