Chattanooga, TN Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Chattanooga City Code § 3-174(2)(d)
- What's exempt
- Holiday decorations incidental/customary to a holiday
- Permit needed
- None for qualifying holiday decorations
- Also exempt
- Government signs, civic/religious flags, memorial plaques
- Loses exemption if
- Permanent, flashing, or advertises a product
- Enforcement
- Land Development Office; misdemeanor, $25-$50/day
- Applies
- Citywide, all Sign Code character areas
Summary
Chattanooga's on-premise Sign Code exempts holiday decorations from its Article XIX character-area sign rules: displays with lighting that are clearly incidental to, and customarily associated with, a national, state, local, or religious holiday need no sign permit and don't count toward a property's sign-area cap. The same exemption clears governmental signs, civic/political flags, and memorial plaques citywide.
2.Exclusions from Article. The following shall not be subject to the provisions of this Article:a.Signs provided or required by a duly constituted governmental body, including traffic or similar regulatory devices, or legal notices.b.Flags or emblems of a political, philanthropic, educational, or religious organization.c.Memorial plaques or tablets.d.Holiday decorations which are clearly incidental to and customarily and commonly associated with any national, local, or religious holiday.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 40 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
The exemption sits in Article XIX of Chapter 3B, the City's On-Premise Sign Code, inside the division written for the Veterans Bridge Sign-Control District but scoped to reach the whole Article: it excuses holiday decorations, government signs, political/philanthropic/educational/religious flags, and memorial plaques from the character-area standards that otherwise cap sign area, number, and type by zone (Brainerd Overlay, General, Highway Commercial, Lovell Field Gateway Overlay, Residential, Scenic Areas/Corridors, and Veterans Bridge). Elsewhere in the Code's definitions, 'Holiday Decorations' is defined as displays including lighting that are a nonpermanent installation celebrating national, state, and local holidays or holiday seasons; the 'nonpermanent' and 'customarily associated' language is what keeps a wreath or string of lights out of permit review while a year-round illuminated sign shaped like a business logo stays subject to full review.
Because the carve-out reaches only Article XIX, a holiday display that also qualifies as a prohibited sign under Article XVI, for example one that flashes, blinks, or simulates movement, is not automatically shielded, and a display placed in the public right-of-way is still governed by other City rules. Practically, homeowners and businesses can put up seasonal lighting without applying to the Land Development Office or paying the $70-$330 on-premise sign permit fee, and the display doesn't count against the sign-area limits that apply to commercial signage. The exemption is available citywide wherever the Sign Code's character-area rules apply, not just at Veterans Bridge.
Violations & Fines
Because holiday decorations sit outside Article XIX's sign standards, there's no violation for putting them up without a permit as long as they're genuinely seasonal and incidental. A permanent, year-round installation dressed up as a 'holiday' display, or a light show that flashes, blinks, or simulates movement, loses the exemption and becomes an ordinary sign: violating the Sign Code (Chapter 3B) is a misdemeanor under Sec. 3-202, punishable by a $25 to $50 fine per day, enforced by the Land Development Office's Director and heard by the City's Administrative Hearing Officer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to put up Christmas lights in Chattanooga?
Can a business use holiday lights to advertise instead of decorate?
What happens if a holiday display violates the sign rules?
Does the holiday decoration exemption apply everywhere in Chattanooga?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chattanooga
Compare Chattanooga to another location·View the Tennessee sign regulations overview
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