Bloomington, IL Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Bloomington's Advertising Sign Code exempts holiday decorations from the sign-permit process altogether, unlike the general commercial signs the rest of Chapter 3 regulates by district and lineal footage. Section 3-802(E) covers signs of a primarily decorative nature, clearly incidental and customary and commonly associated with any national, local, or religious holiday, the same exemption category that covers construction signs, real estate signs, and directional signs listed in the same Article VIII. Because the exemption is content based rather than size based, a holiday sign is allowed to be any type, number, area, height, illumination, or animation, so string lights, an inflatable display, or a lit yard sign for a holiday all qualify without the size caps that apply to identification or off-premise signs elsewhere in the Code.

The exemption comes with two limits instead: a duration cap of 60 consecutive days and no more than 60 days total in any one calendar year, and a location rule requiring the display to sit back at least 10 feet from every boundary line of the lot, with a clear zone kept to a height of 72 inches within 55 feet of a street intersection, a railroad crossing, or a street-and-driveway intersection so sight lines for traffic are not blocked.